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
- Position
- Catcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'3" / 245 lb
- MLB Debut
- 2004-06-25
- Last Game
- 2014-09-28
- Awards
- All-Star
Full name: Johnathan Richard 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1090 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 543 | 1765 | 179 | 410 | 54 | 239 | .232 |
| Away | 547 | 1847 | 210 | 434 | 80 | 252 | .235 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-09-28 | LAA | SEA | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014-09-19 | LAA | TEX | L | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014-09-16 | LAA | SEA | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014-09-12 | LAA | HOU | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014-09-07 | LAA | MIN | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2014-07-06 | SEA | CHW | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2014-07-02 | SEA | HOU | W | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2014-06-29 | SEA | CLE | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014-06-24 | SEA | BOS | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2014-06-21 | SEA | KCR | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
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
| 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
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 1042 |
| First Base | 1 |
| Designated Hitter | 25 |
Salary History
John Buck's recorded salaries total $27,208,000 over 10 seasons, 2005 to 2014. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Buck's career ran from 2004 to 2014. No salary is recorded for 2004.
| 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 recorded salary (partial) | $27,208,000 | ||
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%.
John Buck (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
John Buck: the record in brief
John Buck played a first major league game on June 25, 2004 and a last one on September 28, 2014. Buck played for the Kansas City Royals (2004 to 2009), the Toronto Blue Jays (2010), the Florida Marlins (2011), the Miami Marlins (2012), the New York Mets (2013), the Pittsburgh Pirates (2013), the Seattle Mariners (2014), and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2014). Buck played primarily as a catcher and both batted and threw right-handed. Born on July 7, 1980, in Kemmerer, WY, USA, Buck was listed at 245 pounds on a 6-foot-3 frame. The given name on file is Johnathan Richard Buck.
Buck collected 844 hits in 3,612 at bats across 1,090 games, good for a .234 batting average, along with 134 home runs and 491 runs batted in. Buck's career OPS of .698 combines a .301 on-base mark with .398 slugging. Measured against the leagues Buck played in, the .234 career average compares with a .261 league average over the same seasons, 10.3% below the league. The OPS comparison is .698 to a league .739, 5.5% below average.
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 teams did John Buck play for?
- John Buck played for 7 teams: the Kansas City Royals (2004–2009), the Toronto Blue Jays (2010), the Miami Marlins (2011–2012), the New York Mets (2013), the Pittsburgh Pirates (2013), the Seattle Mariners (2014), and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2014).
- Did John Buck win an MVP award?
- No. John Buck did not win the MVP award.
- What awards did John Buck win?
- John Buck was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
- What were John Buck's career stats?
- In 1,090 games, John Buck had 844 hits, 134 home runs, 491 RBI, 389 runs, and 6 stolen bases, with a .234 batting average.
- How much did John Buck earn in his career?
- John Buck's recorded salaries total $27,208,000 over 10 seasons, 2005 to 2014. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Buck's career ran from 2004 to 2014. No salary is recorded for 2004.
- What was John Buck's salary?
- John Buck's last recorded salary was $1,000,000, in 2014. His highest recorded salary was $6,500,000, in 2012, and his lowest was $318,500, in 2005. The Salary History table lists each season from 2005 to 2014.
- What position did John Buck play?
- John Buck played primarily as a catcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was John Buck and how much did he weigh?
- John Buck was listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 245 pounds.
- How many home runs did John Buck hit each season?
- John Buck's home runs by season: 12 in 2004, 12 in 2005, 11 in 2006, 18 in 2007, 9 in 2008, 8 in 2009, 20 in 2010, 16 in 2011, 12 in 2012, 15 in 2013, and 1 in 2014. His most in one season was 20, in 2010.
- 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.