Gates Brown
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1963-1975)
Gates Brown was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1975 for the Detroit Tigers, a span of 13 seasons. In 1,051 career games, he hit .257 with 582 hits, 84 home runs, and 322 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 3,816.
- 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
- Outfielder
- Bats / Throws
- L / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 220 lb
- Died
- 9/27/2013 in Detroit, MI, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1963-06-19
- Last Game
- 1975-09-26
Full name: William James Brown
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,051 | 2,262 | 330 | 582 | 78 | 19 | 84 | 322 | 30 | 242 | 275 | .257 | .330 | .420 | .750 | 3,816 |
Career AVG .257 vs. league average .249 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .330 vs. league average .316 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .420 vs. league average .369 across their career seasons — +13.9% above league average.
Career OPS .750 vs. league average .685 across their career seasons — +9.6% above 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | DET | AL | 55 | 82 | 16 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 2 | 8 | 13 | .268 | .246 (+9%) | .308 (+8%) | .371 (+8%) | .680 (+8%) | 105.8 |
| 1964 | DET | AL | 123 | 426 | 65 | 116 | 22 | 6 | 15 | 54 | 11 | 31 | 53 | .272 | .250 (+9%) | .312 (+4%) | .377 (+21%) | .690 (+14%) | 977.7 |
| 1965 | DET | AL | 96 | 227 | 33 | 58 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 43 | 6 | 17 | 33 | .256 | .245 (+4%) | .310 (-2%) | .371 (+26%) | .682 (+13%) | 427.4 |
| 1966 | DET | AL | 88 | 169 | 27 | 45 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 27 | 3 | 18 | 19 | .266 | .248 (+7%) | .309 (+9%) | .376 (+15%) | .685 (+12%) | 361.6 |
| 1967 | DET | AL | 51 | 91 | 17 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 15 | .187 | .242 (-23%) | .306 (-7%) | .357 (-20%) | .663 (-14%) | -169.7 |
| 1968 | DET | AL | 67 | 92 | 15 | 34 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 12 | 4 | .370 | .236 (+56%) | .298 (+48%) | .340 (+101%) | .638 (+76%) | 1115.6 |
| 1969 | DET | AL | 60 | 93 | 13 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 17 | .204 | .248 (-18%) | .320 (-22%) | .369 (-21%) | .689 (-22%) | -332.8 |
| 1970 | DET | AL | 81 | 124 | 18 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 0 | 20 | 14 | .226 | .253 (-11%) | .325 (+2%) | .385 (-16%) | .711 (-8%) | -124.2 |
| 1971 | DET | AL | 82 | 195 | 37 | 66 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 29 | 4 | 21 | 17 | .338 | .249 (+36%) | .316 (+29%) | .365 (+50%) | .682 (+40%) | 1399.8 |
| 1972 | DET | AL | 103 | 252 | 33 | 58 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 31 | 3 | 26 | 28 | .230 | .243 (-6%) | .310 (-2%) | .353 (+4%) | .664 (+1%) | 59.5 |
| 1973 | DET | AL | 125 | 377 | 48 | 89 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 50 | 1 | 52 | 41 | .236 | .256 (-8%) | .325 (+1%) | .378 (-3%) | .703 (-1%) | -15.2 |
| 1974 | DET | AL | 73 | 99 | 7 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 15 | .242 | .256 (-6%) | .324 (-4%) | .369 (+4%) | .693 (avg) | 10.1 |
| 1975 | DET | AL | 47 | 35 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 6 | .171 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 13 seasons | 1,051 | 2,262 | 330 | 582 | 78 | 19 | 84 | 322 | 30 | 242 | 275 | .257 | — | — | — | — | 3,816 | ||
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
Playoff Batting by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1051 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 533 | 1121 | 172 | 278 | 50 | 167 | .248 |
| Away | 518 | 1141 | 158 | 304 | 34 | 155 | .266 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975-09-26 | DET | MIL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1975-09-21 | DET | BOS | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1975-09-19 | DET | BOS | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975-09-14 | DET | BAL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975-09-12 | DET | BAL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1975-09-11 | DET | BOS | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1975-09-10 | DET | BOS | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1975-09-10 | DET | BOS | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975-09-07 | DET | CLE | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975-09-06 | DET | CLE | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| OF | 428 | 388 | 690 | 23 | 17 | 3 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | DET | OF | 16 | 12 | 35 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 1964 | DET | OF | 106 | 101 | 205 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 1965 | DET | OF | 56 | 51 | 108 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1966 | DET | OF | 43 | 34 | 46 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 1967 | DET | OF | 20 | 17 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968 | DET | 1B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968 | DET | OF | 17 | 16 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969 | DET | OF | 14 | 14 | 28 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1970 | DET | OF | 26 | 26 | 37 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1971 | DET | OF | 56 | 49 | 68 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1972 | DET | OF | 72 | 67 | 122 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| 1973 | DET | OF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 1 |
| Left Field | 420 |
| Right Field | 7 |
| Designated Hitter | 132 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Gates Brown (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Gates Brown: the record in brief
June 19, 1963 and September 26, 1975 bracket Gates Brown's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Every season row on the page belongs to the Detroit Tigers, from 1963 through 1975. Brown is listed as an outfielder at 5-foot-11 and 220 pounds. The bio says Brown hit left-handed while throwing right-handed. Brown was born on May 2, 1939, in Crestline, OH, USA. Brown died on September 27, 2013, in Detroit, MI, USA. Brown's full given name, per the bio, is William James Brown.
Brown finished with 582 hits from 2,262 at bats in 1,051 games, which works out to .257, plus 84 home runs, 322 RBI, and 30 stolen bases. Brown got on base at a .330 rate and slugged .420 (.750 OPS). The .257 career average is close to the .249 the league hit across the same seasons. The OPS comparison is .750 to a league .685, 9.6% above average. The home run peak was 15 in 1964 with the Detroit Tigers. 1964 produced Brown's most hits, 116 of them for the Detroit Tigers.
Frequently Asked Questions about Gates Brown
- What years did Gates Brown play?
- Gates Brown played in Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1975.
- Was Gates Brown a pitcher?
- No. Gates Brown was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Gates Brown hit?
- Gates Brown hit 84 career home runs with 582 hits.
- What was Gates Brown's career batting average?
- Gates Brown batted .257 over his career, with 582 hits in 2,262 at bats.
- How many RBI did Gates Brown have?
- Gates Brown drove in 322 runs in his career.
- Is Gates Brown in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Gates Brown has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.