Paul Blair

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1964-1980)

Paul Blair was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1964 to 1980 for the Baltimore Orioles, the New York Yankees, and the Cincinnati Reds, a span of 17 seasons. In 1,947 career games, he hit .250 with 1,513 hits, 134 home runs, and 620 RBI. Paul Blair was a 2-time All-Star and a 8-time Gold Glove.

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

AVG .250
HR 134
RBI 620
H 1,513
OPS .684
PIV -154
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 168 lb
Born
2/1/1944 in Cushing, OK, USA
Died
12/26/2013 in Baltimore, MD, USA
MLB Debut
1964-09-09
Last Game
1980-06-20
Awards
2× All-Star · 8× Gold Glove

Full name: Paul L. D. Blair

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Career Batting Statistics

Paul Blair — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,947 6,042 776 1,513 282 55 134 620 171 449 877 .250 .302 .382 .684 -154

Career AVG .250 vs. league average .253 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .302 vs. league average .319 across their career seasons — 5.4% below league average.

Career SLG .382 vs. league average .374 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .684 vs. league average .694 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Paul Blair Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1964 BAL AL 8 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1965 BAL AL 119 364 49 85 19 2 5 25 8 32 52 .234 .245 (-5%) .310 (-3%) .371 (-9%) .682 (-6%) -326.1
1966 BAL AL 133 303 35 84 20 2 6 33 5 15 36 .277 .248 (+12%) .309 (avg) .376 (+10%) .685 (+6%) 228.3
1967 BAL AL 151 552 72 162 27 12 11 64 8 50 68 .293 .242 (+21%) .306 (+15%) .357 (+25%) .663 (+20%) 2037.2
1968 BAL AL 141 421 48 89 22 1 7 38 4 37 60 .211 .236 (-11%) .298 (-7%) .340 (-6%) .638 (-7%) -422.6
1969 BAL AL 150 625 102 178 32 5 26 76 20 40 72 .285 .248 (+15%) .320 (+2%) .369 (+29%) .689 (+17%) 1729.8
1970 BAL AL 133 480 79 128 24 2 18 65 24 56 93 .267 .253 (+5%) .325 (+6%) .385 (+14%) .711 (+10%) 939.9
1971 BAL AL 141 516 75 135 24 8 10 44 14 32 94 .262 .249 (+5%) .316 (-3%) .365 (+9%) .682 (+3%) 145.8
1972 BAL AL 142 477 47 111 20 8 8 49 7 25 78 .233 .243 (-5%) .310 (-14%) .353 (+1%) .664 (-6%) -625.5
1973 BAL AL 146 500 73 140 25 3 10 64 18 43 72 .280 .256 (+9%) .325 (+3%) .378 (+6%) .703 (+5%) 380.4
1974 BAL AL 151 552 77 144 27 4 17 62 27 43 59 .261 .256 (+2%) .324 (-4%) .369 (+13%) .693 (+5%) 371.0
1975 BAL AL 140 440 51 96 13 4 5 31 17 25 82 .218 .257 (-15%) .327 (-21%) .374 (-20%) .701 (-21%) -1514.2
1976 BAL AL 145 375 29 74 16 0 3 16 15 22 49 .197 .255 (-23%) .320 (-23%) .360 (-27%) .681 (-25%) -1458.6
1977 NYA AL 83 164 20 43 4 3 4 25 3 9 16 .262 .264 (-1%) .329 (-8%) .401 (-1%) .730 (-4%) -153.9
1978 NYA AL 75 125 10 22 5 0 2 13 1 9 17 .176 .257 (-32%) .323 (-28%) .378 (-30%) .702 (-29%) -579.4
1979 NYA AL 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .200 — — — — 0.0
1979 CIN NL 75 140 7 21 4 1 2 15 0 11 27 .150 .265 (-44%) .329 (-37%) .397 (-41%) .727 (-39%) 0.0
1980 NYA AL 12 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 18 seasons 1,947 6,042 776 1,513 282 55 134 620 171 449 877 .250 — — — — 752

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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Paul Blair — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
52 146 21 38 6 0 3 15 12 31 .260

Playoff Batting by Year

Paul Blair — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1978 ALCS NYA 4 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1978 WS NYA 6 8 2 3 1 0 0 0 1 4 .375
1977 ALCS NYA 3 5 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400
1977 WS NYA 4 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .250
1974 ALCS BAL 4 14 3 4 0 0 1 2 2 2 .286
1973 ALCS BAL 5 18 2 3 0 0 0 0 1 5 .167
1971 ALCS BAL 2 9 1 3 1 0 0 2 0 3 .333
1971 WS BAL 4 9 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 .333
1970 ALCS BAL 3 13 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 .077
1970 WS BAL 5 19 5 9 1 0 0 3 2 4 .474
1969 ALCS BAL 3 15 1 6 2 0 1 6 2 2 .400
1969 WS BAL 5 20 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 5 .100
1966 WS BAL 4 6 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 .167

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1946 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Paul Blair — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home962292336671557299.245
Away984311840979777321.256

Last 10 Games — Batting

Paul Blair — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1980-06-20 NYYOAKW 010000000
1980-06-19 NYYLAAW 000000000
1980-06-18 NYYLAAW 000000000
1980-06-17 NYYSEAW 100000000
1980-06-16 NYYSEAW 000000000
1980-06-14 NYYOAKW 010000000
1980-06-13 NYYOAKW 000000000
1980-06-11 NYYLAAW 000000000
1980-06-09 NYYLAAW 000000000
1980-06-07 NYYSEAW 000000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Paul Blair — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
2B 5 0 2 3 1 0
3B 5 0 1 1 2 1
OF 1878 1461 4343 111 54 26
SS 4 0 1 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Paul Blair — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1964 BAL OF 6 0 2 0 0 0
1965 BAL OF 116 97 241 5 2 0
1966 BAL OF 127 79 204 4 2 2
1967 BAL OF 146 139 369 13 6 3
1968 BAL 3B 1 0 1 1 1 1
1968 BAL OF 132 100 271 10 2 2
1969 BAL OF 150 149 407 14 5 5
1970 BAL 3B 1 0 0 0 1 0
1970 BAL OF 128 117 368 10 4 3
1971 BAL OF 138 121 331 4 3 1
1972 BAL OF 139 113 337 10 3 1
1973 BAL OF 144 123 369 14 4 4
1974 BAL OF 151 136 447 7 7 2
1975 BAL 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1975 BAL OF 138 103 327 8 3 1
1976 BAL OF 139 89 327 6 7 1
1977 NYA OF 79 37 125 1 4 0
1978 NYA 2B 5 0 2 3 1 0
1978 NYA 3B 3 0 0 0 0 0
1978 NYA OF 64 20 87 2 1 1
1978 NYA SS 4 0 1 0 0 0
1979 NYA OF 2 1 6 0 0 0
1979 CIN OF 67 37 117 3 1 0
1980 NYA OF 12 0 8 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Paul Blair Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 5
Third Base 5
Shortstop 4
Left Field 31
Center Field 1802
Right Field 62
Designated Hitter 5

Awards & Honors

Paul Blair — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1975 Gold Glove OF
1974 Gold Glove OF
1974 TSN All-Star OF
1973 Gold Glove OF
1972 Gold Glove OF
1971 Gold Glove OF
1970 Gold Glove OF
1969 Gold Glove OF
1969 TSN All-Star OF
1967 Gold Glove OF

Award Voting History

Paul Blair — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1974 Most Valuable Player AL 13th 27.0 336 0
1973 Most Valuable Player AL 33th 2.0 336 0
1969 Most Valuable Player AL 11th 28.0 336 0
1967 Most Valuable Player AL 16th 9.0 280 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Paul Blair (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Mickey Stanley
    .248 avg, 117 HR
  2. 94
    Del Unser
    .258 avg, 87 HR
  3. 92
    Bill Virdon
    .267 avg, 91 HR
  4. 91
    Jeffrey Leonard
    .266 avg, 144 HR
  5. 91
    Al Cowens
    .270 avg, 108 HR
  6. 90
    Jeff Francoeur
    .261 avg, 160 HR

Paul Blair: the record in brief

The profile opens with Paul Blair's first major league game on September 9, 1964; the last one listed came on June 20, 1980. Club by club, the record runs the Baltimore Orioles (1964 through 1976), the New York Yankees (1977 to 1980), and the Cincinnati Reds (1979). Born on February 1, 1944, in Cushing, OK, USA, Blair is listed as an outfielder and threw and hit right-handed. Size on record: 6-foot-0 and 168 pounds. Blair's death is recorded on December 26, 2013, in Baltimore, MD, USA. The given name on file is Paul L. D. Blair.

Across 1,947 games at the plate, Blair's career line reads 1,513 hits in 6,042 at bats for a .250 average, plus 134 home runs, 620 runs batted in, and 171 stolen bases. Blair's career OPS of .684 combines a .302 on-base mark with .382 slugging. Blair hit .250 while the league hit .253 over the same span, a figure close to average. Blair's most home runs in a season came in 1969, when the total reached 26 for the Baltimore Orioles.

Frequently Asked Questions about Paul Blair

What years did Paul Blair play?
Paul Blair played in Major League Baseball from 1964 to 1980.
Was Paul Blair a pitcher?
No. Paul Blair was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Paul Blair hit?
Paul Blair hit 134 career home runs with 1,513 hits.
What teams did Paul Blair play for?
Paul Blair played for 3 teams: the Baltimore Orioles (1964–1976), the New York Yankees (1977–1980), and the Cincinnati Reds (1979).
Did Paul Blair win an MVP award?
No. Paul Blair did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Paul Blair win?
Paul Blair won 8 Gold Gloves (1967, 1969–1975). He was selected to 2 All-Star Games.
What were Paul Blair's career stats?
In 1,947 games, Paul Blair had 1,513 hits, 134 home runs, 620 RBI, 776 runs, and 171 stolen bases, with a .250 batting average.
What position did Paul Blair play?
Paul Blair played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Paul Blair and how much did he weigh?
Paul Blair was listed at 6 feet and 168 pounds.
How many home runs did Paul Blair hit each season?
Paul Blair's home runs by season: 0 in 1964, 5 in 1965, 6 in 1966, 11 in 1967, 7 in 1968, 26 in 1969, 18 in 1970, 10 in 1971, 8 in 1972, 10 in 1973, 17 in 1974, 5 in 1975, 3 in 1976, 4 in 1977, 2 in 1978, 2 in 1979, and 0 in 1980. His most in one season was 26, in 1969.
What was Paul Blair's career batting average?
Paul Blair batted .250 over his career, with 1,513 hits in 6,042 at bats.
How many RBI did Paul Blair have?
Paul Blair drove in 620 runs in his career.
Is Paul Blair in the Hall of Fame?
No. Paul Blair has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Paul Blair make?
Paul Blair was selected to 2 All-Star Games.