Bob Brenly

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1981-1989)

Bob Brenly was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1989 for the San Francisco Giants and the Toronto Blue Jays, a span of 9 seasons. In 871 career games, he hit .247 with 647 hits, 91 home runs, and 333 RBI. Bob Brenly was an All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 1,938.

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 .247
HR 91
RBI 333
H 647
OPS .733
PIV 1,938
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 210 lb
Born
2/25/1954 in Coshocton, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1981-08-14
Last Game
1989-10-01
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Robert Earl Brenly

📋 View Manager Career

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Batting Statistics

Bob Brenly — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
871 2,615 321 647 119 7 91 333 45 318 438 .247 .330 .403 .733 1,938

Career AVG .247 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .330 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .403 vs. league average .388 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .733 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Brenly 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
1981 SFN NL 19 45 5 15 2 1 1 4 0 6 4 .333 — — — — 252.9
1982 SFN NL 65 180 26 51 4 1 4 15 6 18 26 .283 .261 (+8%) .324 (+7%) .388 (-1%) .712 (+3%) 120.2
1983 SFN NL 104 281 36 63 12 2 7 34 10 37 48 .224 .260 (-14%) .324 (-3%) .389 (-9%) .714 (-6%) -215.6
1984 SFN NL 145 506 74 147 28 0 20 80 6 48 52 .291 .259 (+12%) .322 (+9%) .384 (+21%) .707 (+15%) 1520.5
1985 SFN NL 133 440 41 97 16 1 19 56 1 57 62 .220 .257 (-14%) .323 (-4%) .390 (avg) .714 (-2%) -74.7
1986 SFN NL 149 472 60 116 26 0 16 62 10 74 97 .246 .257 (-5%) .325 (+7%) .395 (+2%) .720 (+4%) 598.9
1987 SFN NL 123 375 55 100 19 1 18 51 10 47 85 .267 .262 (+1%) .331 (+5%) .415 (+12%) .746 (+9%) 690.4
1988 SFN NL 73 206 13 39 7 0 5 22 1 20 40 .189 .254 (-26%) .317 (-17%) .377 (-22%) .695 (-19%) -610.2
1989 TOR AL 48 88 9 15 3 1 1 6 1 10 17 .170 .254 (-33%) .319 (-20%) .375 (-30%) .694 (-26%) -344.6
1989 SFN NL 12 22 2 4 2 0 0 3 0 1 7 .182 — — — — -344.6
Career · 10 seasons 871 2,615 321 647 119 7 91 333 45 318 438 .247 — — — — 1,593

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

Bob Brenly — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
6 17 3 4 1 0 1 2 3 7 .235

Playoff Batting by Year

Bob Brenly — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1987 NLCS SFN 6 17 3 4 1 0 1 2 3 7 .235

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (871 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bob Brenly — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home440128014831542167.246
Away431133517333249166.249

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bob Brenly — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1989-10-01 SFGSDPL 100000000
1989-09-17 SFGSDPL 200000001
1989-09-15 SFGSDPL 100000100
1989-09-14 SFGCINW 201000101
1989-09-13 SFGCINW 200000012
1989-09-11 SFGATLW 201000000
1989-09-10 SFGHOUW 100000000
1989-09-08 SFGHOUL 000000000
1989-09-06 SFGATLW 411100002
1989-09-04 SFGCINW 110000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bob Brenly — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 72 54 474 22 8 39
3B 68 55 54 83 16 13
C 705 590 3577 408 63 41
OF 6 0 2 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bob Brenly — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1981 SFN 3B 3 3 2 3 2 0
1981 SFN C 14 10 50 3 2 2
1981 SFN OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1982 SFN 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1982 SFN C 61 49 265 32 12 2
1983 SFN 1B 10 8 61 3 1 6
1983 SFN C 90 70 403 70 8 9
1983 SFN OF 2 0 1 0 0 0
1984 SFN 1B 22 20 171 7 3 17
1984 SFN C 127 113 635 69 10 4
1984 SFN OF 3 0 1 0 0 0
1985 SFN 1B 10 3 42 3 1 4
1985 SFN 3B 17 16 15 20 4 4
1985 SFN C 110 102 662 62 12 8
1986 SFN 1B 19 15 133 4 3 7
1986 SFN 3B 45 36 37 59 10 9
1986 SFN C 101 78 518 55 3 4
1987 SFN 1B 6 5 43 2 0 4
1987 SFN 3B 2 0 0 1 0 0
1987 SFN C 108 100 642 83 9 10
1988 SFN C 69 55 334 27 6 2
1989 TOR 1B 5 3 24 3 0 1
1989 TOR C 13 7 37 2 1 0
1989 SFN C 12 6 31 5 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bob Brenly Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 705
First Base 72
Third Base 68
Left Field 3
Right Field 3
Designated Hitter 28

Awards & Honors

Bob Brenly — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1984 Player of the Week Week of 1984-08-24

Salary History

Bob Brenly — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1989 TOR AL $680,000
1988 SFN NL $600,000
1987 SFN NL $600,000
1986 SFN NL $460,000
1985 SFN NL $385,000
Total Career Earnings $2,725,000

College History

Bob Brenly — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Ohio University Athens OH 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976

Award Voting History

Bob Brenly — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1984 Most Valuable Player NL 21th 1.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Bob Brenly (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Rick Wilkins
    .244 avg, 81 HR
  2. 97
    Gene Oliver
    .246 avg, 93 HR
  3. 97
    Duke Sims
    .239 avg, 100 HR
  4. 96
    Jim Pagliaroni
    .252 avg, 90 HR
  5. 96
    Ozzie Virgil
    .243 avg, 98 HR
  6. 85
    Geovany Soto
    .245 avg, 108 HR

Bob Brenly: the record in brief

Between the debut on August 14, 1981 and the final game on October 1, 1989, Bob Brenly built the record summarized on this page. The season rows list, in order, the San Francisco Giants (1981 to 1989) and the Toronto Blue Jays (1989). Brenly, born on February 25, 1954, in Coshocton, OH, USA, is listed as a catcher and batted and threw right-handed. Size on record: 6'2" and 210 pounds. Brenly's full given name, per the bio, is Robert Earl Brenly.

Brenly finished with 647 hits from 2,615 at bats in 871 games, which works out to .247, plus 91 home runs, 333 runs batted in, and 45 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .330 clip and slugging .403, Brenly finished with a .733 OPS. Brenly hit .247 while the league hit .258 over the same span, a figure close to average. No season beat the 20 home runs Brenly hit in 1984. The hits column peaks at 147, in 1984.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Brenly

What years did Bob Brenly play?
Bob Brenly played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1989.
Was Bob Brenly a pitcher?
No. Bob Brenly was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Bob Brenly hit?
Bob Brenly hit 91 career home runs with 647 hits.
What was Bob Brenly's career batting average?
Bob Brenly batted .247 over his career, with 647 hits in 2,615 at bats.
How many RBI did Bob Brenly have?
Bob Brenly drove in 333 runs in his career.
Is Bob Brenly in the Hall of Fame?
No. Bob Brenly has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.