John Cummings

John Russell Cummings

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 3", Weight 200 lb.
• School University of Southern California
• High School Canyon High School (Anaheim)
• Debut April 10, 1993
• Final Game June 5, 1997
• Born May 10, 1969 in Torrance, CA USA

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Biographical Information

John Cummings pitched in the major leagues from 1993, when he made his major league season in early April with the Seattle Mariners, until 1997, when he spent the first half of the season with the Detroit Tigers. He also pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Mariners drafted Cummings in the 8th round of the 1990 amateur draft out of the University of Southern California; he had previously been drafted by the New York Yankees in the 32nd round of the 1988 amateur draft, coming out of high school, but had not signed. He was used at first as a starter in the majors, but with little success, going 0-6, 6.02 in 1993 and 2-4, 5.63 in 1994. After posting an ERA of 11.81 oer his first four outings of 1995, he was claimed off waivers by the Dodgers on May 25th and pitched much better as a reliever after that, going 3-1, 3.00 in 35 games. The Dodgers made it into the postseason that year and he appeared twice in the Division Series against the Cincinnati Reds but gave up 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks in one inning and a third.

He started the 1996 season with the Dodgers but after appearing in just four games, he was traded to the Tigers on July 31st alongside fellow lefty Joey Eischen in return for OF Chad Curtis. He went 3-3, 5.12 in 21 games after the trade, struggling with his control as he gave up 20 walks in 31 2/3 innings. He pitched another 19 games for the Bengals at the start of the 1997 season and went 2-0, 5.47 as his control problems again got the best of him: in 24 2/3 innings, he walked 14 batters, but struck out only 8. He was sent back to the minors in early June and never pitched in the majors after that. In five seasons, his overall record was 10-15, 5.33 in 110 games, including 16 starts.

He was signed by the Cleveland Indians before the 1998 season, but only pitched for them in AAA. He was in a couple more organizations before calling it a career after the 1999 season when he had a bloated ERA of 8.31 for the Tucson Sidewinders of the Pacific Coast League.