John Buck

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2004-2014)

John Buck was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 2004 to 2014 for 8 teams, including the Kansas City Royals, a span of 11 seasons. In 1,090 career games, he hit .234 with 844 hits, 134 home runs, and 491 RBI. John Buck was an All-Star.

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 .234
HR 134
RBI 491
H 844
OPS .698
PIV -3,311
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 245 lb
Born
7/7/1980 in Kemmerer, WY, USA
MLB Debut
2004-06-25
Last Game
2014-09-28
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Johnathan Richard Buck

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Career Batting Statistics

John Buck — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,090 3,612 389 844 172 9 134 491 6 307 959 .234 .301 .398 .698 -3,311

Career AVG .234 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 10.3% below league average.

Career OBP .301 vs. league average .327 across their career seasons — 8.1% below league average.

Career SLG .398 vs. league average .411 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .698 vs. league average .739 across their career seasons — 5.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Buck 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
2004 KCA AL 71 238 36 56 9 0 12 30 1 15 79 .235 .266 (-12%) .335 (-17%) .427 (-1%) .762 (-8%) -356.5
2005 KCA AL 118 401 40 97 21 1 12 47 2 23 94 .242 .264 (-9%) .330 (-13%) .418 (-7%) .749 (-10%) -704.7
2006 KCA AL 114 371 37 91 21 1 11 50 0 26 84 .245 .269 (-9%) .336 (-9%) .431 (-8%) .768 (-9%) -543.7
2007 KCA AL 113 347 41 77 18 0 18 48 0 36 92 .222 .268 (-17%) .335 (-8%) .422 (+2%) .758 (-3%) -200.8
2008 KCA AL 109 370 48 83 23 1 9 48 0 38 96 .224 .263 (-15%) .333 (-9%) .416 (-12%) .749 (-11%) -669.8
2009 KCA AL 59 186 16 46 12 4 8 36 1 13 55 .247 .262 (-6%) .332 (-10%) .417 (+16%) .750 (+4%) 52.8
2010 TOR AL 118 409 53 115 25 0 20 66 0 16 111 .281 .257 (+9%) .325 (-4%) .402 (+21%) .728 (+10%) 627.6
2011 FLO NL 140 466 41 106 15 1 16 57 0 54 115 .227 .255 (-11%) .320 (-1%) .399 (-8%) .719 (-5%) -266.4
2012 MIA NL 106 343 29 66 15 1 12 41 0 49 103 .192 .254 (-24%) .318 (-7%) .405 (-14%) .724 (-11%) -550.4
2013 NYN NL 101 368 38 79 11 0 15 60 2 29 99 .215 .253 (-15%) .317 (-10%) .396 (-7%) .714 (-9%) -496.3
2013 PIT NL 9 24 1 8 0 0 0 2 0 0 5 .333 — — — — -496.3
2014 SEA AL 27 84 9 19 2 0 1 6 0 8 24 .226 .251 (-10%) .313 (-6%) .386 (-26%) .700 (-17%) -202.9
2014 LAA AL 5 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .200 — — — — -202.9
Career · 13 seasons 1,090 3,612 389 844 172 9 134 491 6 307 959 .234 — — — — -4,010

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

John Buck — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

John Buck — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2013 NLDS1 PIT 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1090 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

John Buck — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home543176517941054239.232
Away547184721043480252.235

Last 10 Games — Batting

John Buck — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
2014-09-28 LAASEAL 000000000
2014-09-19 LAATEXL 201000000
2014-09-16 LAASEAL 100000000
2014-09-12 LAAHOUW 000000000
2014-09-07 LAAMINW 200000002
2014-07-06 SEACHWL 400000002
2014-07-02 SEAHOUW 402000101
2014-06-29 SEACLEW 301000000
2014-06-24 SEABOSW 400000002
2014-06-21 SEAKCRW 400000001

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

John Buck — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1 0 3 2 0 0
C 1042 992 6733 363 58 50

Season-by-Season Fielding

John Buck — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
2004 KCA C 68 66 376 14 3 4
2005 KCA C 117 112 640 56 3 5
2006 KCA C 112 107 615 37 6 7
2007 KCA C 112 104 697 29 8 6
2008 KCA C 107 106 751 24 8 6
2009 KCA C 46 41 309 14 8 4
2010 TOR C 112 104 733 40 5 6
2011 FLO C 135 129 1008 42 5 5
2012 MIA C 105 103 715 57 7 4
2013 NYN C 97 95 704 40 4 1
2013 PIT C 7 6 42 1 0 0
2014 SEA 1B 1 0 3 2 0 0
2014 SEA C 19 19 132 9 1 2
2014 LAA C 5 0 11 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

John Buck Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 1042
First Base 1
Designated Hitter 25

Salary History

John Buck — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
2014 SEA AL $1,000,000
2013 NYN NL $6,500,000
2012 MIA NL $6,500,000
2011 FLO NL $5,000,000
2010 TOR AL $2,000,000
2009 KCA AL $2,900,000
2008 KCA AL $2,200,000
2007 KCA AL $440,000
2006 KCA AL $349,500
2005 KCA AL $318,500
Total Career Earnings $27,208,000

Award Voting History

John Buck — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
2004 Rookie of the Year AL 8th 1.0 140 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

John Buck (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Yan Gomes
    .246 avg, 137 HR
  2. 97
    Jody Davis
    .245 avg, 127 HR
  3. 92
    Jarrod Saltalamacchia
    .232 avg, 110 HR
  4. 88
    Travis d'Arnaud
    .243 avg, 130 HR
  5. 86
    Rod Barajas
    .235 avg, 136 HR
  6. 83
    Joe Oliver
    .247 avg, 102 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about John Buck

What years did John Buck play?
John Buck played in Major League Baseball from 2004 to 2014.
Was John Buck a pitcher?
No. John Buck was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did John Buck hit?
John Buck hit 134 career home runs with 844 hits.
What was John Buck's career batting average?
John Buck batted .234 over his career, with 844 hits in 3,612 at bats.
How many RBI did John Buck have?
John Buck drove in 491 runs in his career.
Is John Buck in the Hall of Fame?
No. John Buck has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.