Gordon Beckham
Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2009-2019)
Gordon Beckham was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 2009 to 2019 for 6 teams, including the Chicago White Sox, a span of 11 seasons. In 1,069 career games, he hit .237 with 807 hits, 80 home runs, and 351 RBI.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Second Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'0" / 188 lb
- MLB Debut
- 2009-06-04
- Last Game
- 2019-09-28
Full name: James Gordon Beckham
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,069 | 3,403 | 420 | 807 | 187 | 7 | 80 | 351 | 35 | 266 | 670 | .237 | .300 | .367 | .667 | -3,928 |
Career AVG .237 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — 6.8% below league average.
Career OBP .300 vs. league average .321 across their career seasons — 6.5% below league average.
Career SLG .367 vs. league average .409 across their career seasons — 10.4% below league average.
Career OPS .667 vs. league average .730 across their career seasons — 8.7% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | CHA | AL | 103 | 378 | 58 | 102 | 28 | 1 | 14 | 63 | 7 | 41 | 65 | .270 | .262 (+3%) | .332 (+4%) | .417 (+10%) | .750 (+8%) | 557.7 |
| 2010 | CHA | AL | 131 | 444 | 58 | 112 | 25 | 2 | 9 | 49 | 4 | 37 | 92 | .252 | .257 (-2%) | .325 (-3%) | .402 (-6%) | .728 (-5%) | -324.8 |
| 2011 | CHA | AL | 150 | 499 | 60 | 115 | 23 | 0 | 10 | 44 | 5 | 35 | 111 | .230 | .255 (-10%) | .320 (-8%) | .399 (-16%) | .719 (-12%) | -906.2 |
| 2012 | CHA | AL | 151 | 525 | 62 | 123 | 24 | 0 | 16 | 60 | 5 | 40 | 89 | .234 | .254 (-8%) | .318 (-7%) | .405 (-8%) | .724 (-8%) | -639.4 |
| 2013 | CHA | AL | 103 | 371 | 46 | 99 | 22 | 1 | 5 | 24 | 5 | 28 | 56 | .267 | .253 (+5%) | .317 (+1%) | .396 (-6%) | .714 (-3%) | -162.8 |
| 2014 | CHA | AL | 101 | 390 | 43 | 86 | 24 | 0 | 7 | 36 | 3 | 19 | 70 | .221 | .251 (-12%) | .313 (-16%) | .386 (-13%) | .700 (-15%) | -954.4 |
| 2014 | LAA | AL | 26 | 56 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 11 | .268 | .251 (+7%) | .313 (+5%) | .386 (+11%) | .700 (+8%) | -954.4 |
| 2015 | CHA | AL | 100 | 211 | 24 | 44 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 20 | 0 | 19 | 43 | .209 | .254 (-18%) | .316 (-13%) | .404 (-18%) | .721 (-16%) | -546.9 |
| 2016 | ATL | NL | 85 | 240 | 25 | 52 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 30 | 1 | 26 | 50 | .217 | .255 (-15%) | .321 (-7%) | .417 (-15%) | .738 (-11%) | -444.9 |
| 2016 | SFN | NL | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | — | — | — | — | -444.9 |
| 2017 | SEA | AL | 11 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .176 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2018 | SEA | AL | 22 | 44 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 11 | .182 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2019 | DET | AL | 83 | 223 | 29 | 48 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 3 | 13 | 68 | .215 | .252 (-15%) | .322 (-16%) | .434 (-14%) | .757 (-15%) | -583.9 |
| Career · 13 seasons | 1,069 | 3,403 | 420 | 807 | 187 | 7 | 80 | 351 | 35 | 266 | 670 | .237 | — | — | — | — | -5,405 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1069 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 536 | 1638 | 210 | 371 | 44 | 179 | .226 |
| Away | 533 | 1765 | 210 | 436 | 36 | 172 | .247 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-09-28 | DET | CHW | W | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019-09-22 | DET | CHW | W | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019-09-19 | DET | CLE | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019-09-17 | DET | CLE | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019-09-15 | DET | BAL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019-09-12 | DET | NYY | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019-09-06 | DET | OAK | W | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019-09-04 | DET | KCR | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019-09-03 | DET | KCR | L | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019-08-31 | DET | MIN | W | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 4 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2B | 751 | 712 | 1370 | 2070 | 52 | 495 |
| 3B | 221 | 167 | 123 | 349 | 21 | 35 |
| SS | 48 | 32 | 54 | 104 | 6 | 28 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | CHA | 3B | 102 | 102 | 73 | 205 | 14 | 21 |
| 2010 | CHA | 2B | 126 | 125 | 245 | 375 | 12 | 100 |
| 2011 | CHA | 2B | 149 | 147 | 272 | 443 | 8 | 84 |
| 2012 | CHA | 2B | 149 | 148 | 280 | 411 | 7 | 110 |
| 2013 | CHA | 2B | 103 | 100 | 212 | 255 | 12 | 69 |
| 2013 | CHA | SS | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | CHA | 2B | 100 | 100 | 202 | 312 | 10 | 74 |
| 2014 | LAA | 2B | 5 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
| 2014 | LAA | 3B | 13 | 7 | 10 | 18 | 2 | 3 |
| 2014 | LAA | SS | 6 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 4 |
| 2015 | CHA | 2B | 11 | 7 | 22 | 25 | 0 | 10 |
| 2015 | CHA | 3B | 76 | 39 | 24 | 96 | 3 | 7 |
| 2015 | CHA | SS | 5 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 1 | 6 |
| 2016 | ATL | 2B | 51 | 38 | 61 | 118 | 2 | 17 |
| 2016 | ATL | 3B | 15 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 1 | 3 |
| 2016 | ATL | SS | 11 | 7 | 11 | 23 | 1 | 7 |
| 2016 | SFN | 3B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | SEA | 2B | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| 2017 | SEA | 3B | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 2017 | SEA | SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | SEA | 2B | 13 | 10 | 18 | 38 | 0 | 5 |
| 2018 | SEA | 3B | 6 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | SEA | SS | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019 | DET | 1B | 4 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | DET | 2B | 39 | 34 | 50 | 81 | 1 | 21 |
| 2019 | DET | 3B | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 2019 | DET | SS | 18 | 16 | 23 | 46 | 3 | 10 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 4 |
| Second Base | 751 |
| Third Base | 221 |
| Shortstop | 48 |
| Designated Hitter | 22 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | MLB Players Choice Outstanding Rookie | |
| 2009 | Rookie of the Month | July |
| 2009 | TSN Rookie of the Year |
Salary History
Gordon Beckham's recorded salaries total $11,800,000 over 7 seasons, 2010 to 2016. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Beckham's career ran from 2009 to 2019. His seasons after 2016 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 2009.
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | ATL | NL | $1,250,000 |
| 2015 | CHA | AL | $2,000,000 |
| 2014 | CHA | AL | $4,175,000 |
| 2013 | CHA | AL | $2,925,000 |
| 2012 | CHA | AL | $520,000 |
| 2011 | CHA | AL | $485,000 |
| 2010 | CHA | AL | $445,000 |
| Total recorded salary (partial) | $11,800,000 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Georgia | Athens | GA | 2006, 2007, 2008 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Rookie of the Year | AL | 5th | 10.0 | 160 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Gordon Beckham (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Gordon Beckham: the record in brief
Between the debut on June 4, 2009 and the final game on September 28, 2019, Gordon Beckham built the record summarized on this page. Beckham played for the Chicago White Sox (2009 through 2015), the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2014), the Atlanta Braves (2016), the San Francisco Giants (2016), the Seattle Mariners (2017 to 2018), and the Detroit Tigers (2019). Listed as a second baseman, Beckham threw and hit right-handed. The recorded size is 188 pounds on a 6-foot-0 frame. The birth record reads September 16, 1986, in Atlanta, GA, USA. On the record, Gordon Beckham was born James Gordon Beckham.
The batting record for Beckham: 1,069 games, 807 hits in 3,403 at bats, and a .237 average, plus 80 home runs, 351 runs batted in, and 35 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .300 clip and slugging .367, Beckham finished with a .667 OPS. Over the seasons Beckham played, league hitters batted .254; the .237 career figure is 6.8% below that. 2012 was Beckham's biggest home run year, with 16. The highest hit total in a season was 123, in 2012. Beckham drove in a season-high 63 runs in 2009.
Frequently Asked Questions about Gordon Beckham
- What years did Gordon Beckham play?
- Gordon Beckham played in Major League Baseball from 2009 to 2019.
- Was Gordon Beckham a pitcher?
- No. Gordon Beckham was a position player (Second Baseman).
- How many home runs did Gordon Beckham hit?
- Gordon Beckham hit 80 career home runs with 807 hits.
- What teams did Gordon Beckham play for?
- Gordon Beckham played for 6 teams: the Chicago White Sox (2009–2015), the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2014), the Atlanta Braves (2016), the San Francisco Giants (2016), the Seattle Mariners (2017–2018), and the Detroit Tigers (2019).
- What were Gordon Beckham's career stats?
- In 1,069 games, Gordon Beckham had 807 hits, 80 home runs, 351 RBI, 420 runs, and 35 stolen bases, with a .237 batting average.
- How much did Gordon Beckham earn in his career?
- Gordon Beckham's recorded salaries total $11,800,000 over 7 seasons, 2010 to 2016. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Beckham's career ran from 2009 to 2019. His seasons after 2016 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 2009.
- What was Gordon Beckham's salary?
- Gordon Beckham's last recorded salary was $1,250,000, in 2016. His highest recorded salary was $4,175,000, in 2014, and his lowest was $445,000, in 2010. The Salary History table lists each season from 2010 to 2016.
- What position did Gordon Beckham play?
- Gordon Beckham played primarily as a second baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Gordon Beckham and how much did he weigh?
- Gordon Beckham was listed at 6 feet and 188 pounds.
- How many home runs did Gordon Beckham hit each season?
- Gordon Beckham's home runs by season: 14 in 2009, 9 in 2010, 10 in 2011, 16 in 2012, 5 in 2013, 9 in 2014, 6 in 2015, 5 in 2016, 0 in 2017, 0 in 2018, and 6 in 2019. His most in one season was 16, in 2012.
- What was Gordon Beckham's career batting average?
- Gordon Beckham batted .237 over his career, with 807 hits in 3,403 at bats.
- How many RBI did Gordon Beckham have?
- Gordon Beckham drove in 351 runs in his career.
- Is Gordon Beckham in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Gordon Beckham has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.