Tom Brookens

Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1979-1990)

Tom Brookens was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1979 to 1990 for the Detroit Tigers, the New York Yankees, and the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 12 seasons. In 1,336 career games, he hit .246 with 950 hits, 71 home runs, and 431 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

AVG .246
HR 71
RBI 431
H 950
OPS .663
PIV -4,913
Position
Third Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 165 lb
Born
8/10/1953 in Chambersburg, PA, USA
MLB Debut
1979-07-10
Last Game
1990-09-30

Full name: Thomas Dale Brookens

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Career Batting Statistics

Tom Brookens — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,336 3,865 477 950 175 40 71 431 86 281 605 .246 .296 .367 .663 -4,913

Career AVG .246 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 5.3% below league average.

Career OBP .296 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 8.6% below league average.

Career SLG .367 vs. league average .389 across their career seasons — 5.6% below league average.

Career OPS .663 vs. league average .713 across their career seasons — 7.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Tom Brookens 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
1979 DET AL 60 190 23 50 5 2 4 21 10 11 40 .263 .265 (-1%) .329 (-6%) .397 (-6%) .727 (-6%) -197.5
1980 DET AL 151 509 64 140 25 9 10 66 13 32 71 .275 .264 (+4%) .326 (-3%) .387 (+8%) .714 (+3%) 82.2
1981 DET AL 71 239 19 58 10 1 4 25 5 14 43 .243 .255 (-5%) .320 (-11%) .368 (-7%) .688 (-9%) -397.4
1982 DET AL 140 398 40 92 15 3 9 58 5 27 63 .231 .261 (-12%) .324 (-15%) .388 (-10%) .712 (-12%) -825.4
1983 DET AL 138 332 50 71 13 3 6 32 10 29 46 .214 .260 (-18%) .324 (-15%) .389 (-16%) .714 (-16%) -883.2
1984 DET AL 113 224 32 55 11 4 5 26 6 19 33 .246 .259 (-6%) .322 (-5%) .384 (+3%) .707 (-1%) -56.7
1985 DET AL 156 485 54 115 34 6 7 47 14 27 78 .237 .257 (-8%) .323 (-14%) .390 (-4%) .714 (-9%) -803.6
1986 DET AL 98 281 42 76 11 2 3 25 11 20 42 .270 .257 (+5%) .325 (-2%) .395 (-10%) .720 (-6%) -288.3
1987 DET AL 143 444 59 107 15 3 13 59 7 33 63 .241 .262 (-8%) .331 (-11%) .415 (-9%) .746 (-10%) -767.5
1988 DET AL 136 441 62 107 23 5 5 38 4 44 74 .243 .254 (-5%) .317 (-2%) .377 (-7%) .695 (-4%) -299.3
1989 NYA AL 66 168 14 38 6 0 4 14 1 11 27 .226 .254 (-11%) .319 (-15%) .375 (-11%) .694 (-13%) -351.2
1990 CLE AL 64 154 18 41 7 2 1 20 0 14 25 .266 .257 (+3%) .324 (-1%) .385 (-7%) .710 (-4%) -124.8
Career · 12 seasons 1,336 3,865 477 950 175 40 71 431 86 281 605 .246 — — — — -4,913

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

Tom Brookens — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
10 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Tom Brookens — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1987 ALCS DET 5 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000
1984 ALCS DET 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1984 WS DET 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1336 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Tom Brookens — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home669188324446941205.249
Away667198223348130226.243

Last 10 Games — Batting

Tom Brookens — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1990-09-30 CLEBALW 503000100
1990-09-21 CLETORW 312010001
1990-09-11 CLECHWW 301000000
1990-09-10 CLECHWW 200000021
1990-09-09 CLEMINW 533200100
1990-09-07 CLEMINL 301000000
1990-09-05 CLETEXL 100000010
1990-09-02 CLETORL 200000002
1990-08-24 CLEBALL 101000000
1990-08-22 CLEMILW 311001112

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Tom Brookens — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 2 1 3 1 0 1
2B 162 121 256 344 16 89
3B 1065 867 728 1833 155 171
C 1 0 7 1 0 0
OF 7 3 7 1 0 0
SS 119 66 119 225 13 37

Season-by-Season Fielding

Tom Brookens — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1979 DET 2B 19 17 37 42 3 10
1979 DET 3B 42 38 39 99 8 11
1980 DET 2B 9 8 13 26 0 10
1980 DET 3B 138 129 112 279 29 27
1980 DET SS 1 0 2 2 0 1
1981 DET 3B 71 70 58 139 10 13
1982 DET 2B 26 18 37 57 2 7
1982 DET 3B 113 80 72 206 18 20
1982 DET OF 1 0 3 0 0 0
1982 DET SS 9 4 7 13 0 0
1983 DET 2B 10 8 8 28 1 4
1983 DET 3B 103 72 54 164 17 21
1983 DET SS 30 17 35 62 4 9
1984 DET 2B 26 19 28 48 4 14
1984 DET 3B 68 22 32 63 3 10
1984 DET SS 28 22 38 76 5 11
1985 DET 2B 3 2 2 6 0 1
1985 DET 3B 151 134 123 261 23 26
1985 DET C 1 0 7 1 0 0
1985 DET SS 8 1 3 9 1 1
1986 DET 2B 31 25 67 61 2 18
1986 DET 3B 35 31 26 59 4 4
1986 DET OF 3 1 0 0 0 0
1986 DET SS 14 9 13 24 1 4
1987 DET 2B 11 5 20 20 3 10
1987 DET 3B 122 110 85 208 14 15
1987 DET SS 16 11 14 28 2 8
1988 DET 2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1988 DET 3B 136 126 101 234 17 16
1988 DET SS 3 0 0 0 0 0
1989 NYA 2B 5 1 4 7 0 1
1989 NYA 3B 51 36 17 70 7 4
1989 NYA OF 3 2 4 1 0 0
1989 NYA SS 7 1 2 7 0 2
1990 CLE 1B 2 1 3 1 0 1
1990 CLE 2B 21 18 40 48 1 14
1990 CLE 3B 35 19 9 51 5 4
1990 CLE SS 3 1 5 4 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Tom Brookens Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 1
First Base 3
Second Base 163
Third Base 1063
Shortstop 120
Center Field 2
Right Field 6
Designated Hitter 23

Awards & Honors

Tom Brookens — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1980 Player of the Week Week of 1980-08-22

Salary History

Tom Brookens — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1990 CLE AL $425,000
1989 NYA AL $475,000
1988 DET AL $350,000
1987 DET AL $360,000
1986 DET AL $325,000
1985 DET AL $250,000
Total Career Earnings $2,185,000

College History

Tom Brookens — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania Mansfield PA 1972, 1973, 1974

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Tom Brookens (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Tommy McCraw
    .246 avg, 75 HR
  2. 94
    Clint Barmes
    .245 avg, 89 HR
  3. 91
    Jose Pagan
    .250 avg, 52 HR
  4. 91
    Gene Alley
    .254 avg, 55 HR
  5. 89
    Dan Meyer
    .253 avg, 86 HR
  6. 87
    Dick Green
    .240 avg, 80 HR

Tom Brookens: the record in brief

The profile opens with Tom Brookens's first major league game on July 10, 1979; the last one listed came on September 30, 1990. Brookens played for the Detroit Tigers (1979 through 1988), the New York Yankees (1989), and the Cleveland Indians (1990). Brookens played primarily as a third baseman and threw and hit right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on August 10, 1953, in Chambersburg, PA, USA and a listed size of 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds. Brookens's full given name, per the bio, is Thomas Dale Brookens.

Brookens finished with 950 hits from 3,865 at bats in 1,336 games, which works out to .246, along with 71 home runs, 431 runs batted in, and 86 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .296 clip and slugging .367, Brookens finished with a .663 OPS. Set against a .259 league average for the same years, Brookens's .246 average sits 5.3% below it. In OPS terms, Brookens's .663 stands 7.0% below the league's .713. The home run peak was 13 in 1987 with the Detroit Tigers. The hits column peaks at 140, in 1980.

Frequently Asked Questions about Tom Brookens

What years did Tom Brookens play?
Tom Brookens played in Major League Baseball from 1979 to 1990.
Was Tom Brookens a pitcher?
No. Tom Brookens was a position player (Third Baseman).
How many home runs did Tom Brookens hit?
Tom Brookens hit 71 career home runs with 950 hits.
What was Tom Brookens's career batting average?
Tom Brookens batted .246 over his career, with 950 hits in 3,865 at bats.
How many RBI did Tom Brookens have?
Tom Brookens drove in 431 runs in his career.
Is Tom Brookens in the Hall of Fame?
No. Tom Brookens has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.