Leo Cardenas

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1960-1975)

AVG .257
HR 118
RBI 689
H 1,725
OPS .679
PIV -717
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 160 lb
Born
12/17/1938 in Matanzas, Matanzas, Cuba
MLB Debut
1960-07-25
Last Game
1975-09-26
Awards
5× All-Star · Gold Glove

Full name: Leonardo Lazaro Cardenas

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,941 6,707 662 1,725 285 49 118 689 39 522 1,135 .257 .311 .367 .679 -717

Career AVG .257 vs. league average .251 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .311 vs. league average .317 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .367 vs. league average .373 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .679 vs. league average .690 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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
1960 CIN NL 48 142 13 33 2 4 1 12 0 6 32 .232 .255 (-9%) .323 (-19%) .387 (-16%) .711 (-17%) -421.1
1961 CIN NL 74 198 23 61 18 1 5 24 1 15 39 .308 .258 (+19%) .328 (+8%) .399 (+21%) .727 (+15%) 491.1
1962 CIN NL 153 589 77 173 31 4 10 60 2 39 99 .294 .257 (+14%) .326 (+4%) .393 (+4%) .719 (+4%) 482.8
1963 CIN NL 158 565 42 133 22 4 7 48 3 23 101 .235 .246 (-4%) .308 (-13%) .371 (-12%) .680 (-13%) -1134.2
1964 CIN NL 163 597 61 150 32 2 9 69 4 41 110 .251 .250 (avg) .312 (-4%) .377 (-6%) .690 (-5%) -525.8
1965 CIN NL 156 557 65 160 25 11 11 57 1 60 100 .287 .245 (+17%) .310 (+14%) .371 (+16%) .682 (+15%) 1657.3
1966 CIN NL 160 568 59 145 25 4 20 81 9 45 87 .255 .248 (+3%) .309 (avg) .376 (+11%) .685 (+6%) 582.3
1967 CIN NL 108 379 30 97 14 3 2 21 4 34 77 .256 .242 (+6%) .306 (+4%) .357 (-9%) .663 (-3%) -107.3
1968 CIN NL 137 452 45 106 13 2 7 41 2 36 83 .235 .236 (-1%) .298 (-2%) .340 (-6%) .638 (-4%) -275.7
1969 MIN AL 160 578 67 162 24 4 10 70 5 66 96 .280 .248 (+13%) .320 (+10%) .369 (+5%) .689 (+7%) 919.4
1970 MIN AL 160 588 67 145 34 4 11 65 2 42 101 .247 .253 (-3%) .325 (-8%) .385 (-3%) .711 (-5%) -572.2
1971 MIN AL 153 554 59 146 25 4 18 75 3 51 69 .264 .249 (+6%) .316 (+1%) .365 (+15%) .682 (+9%) 761.0
1972 CAL AL 150 551 25 123 11 2 6 42 1 35 73 .223 .243 (-8%) .310 (-13%) .353 (-20%) .664 (-17%) -1342.8
1973 CLE AL 72 195 9 42 4 0 0 12 1 13 42 .215 .256 (-16%) .325 (-19%) .378 (-38%) .703 (-29%) -856.3
1974 TEX AL 34 92 5 25 3 0 0 7 1 2 14 .272 .256 (+6%) .324 (-11%) .369 (-18%) .693 (-15%) -215.6
1975 TEX AL 55 102 15 24 2 0 1 5 0 14 12 .235 .257 (-9%) .327 (avg) .374 (-24%) .701 (-13%) -159.5
Career · 16 seasons 1,941 6,707 662 1,725 285 49 118 689 39 522 1,135 .257 — — — — -717

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
9 27 1 5 1 1 0 1 1 9 .185

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1970 ALCS MIN 3 11 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 .182
1969 ALCS MIN 3 13 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 7 .154
1961 WS CIN 3 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 .333

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1941 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home971327437287757353.268
Away970343329084861336.247

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1975-09-26 TEXKCRL 000000000
1975-09-23 TEXKCRL 100000001
1975-09-19 TEXCHWW 101000000
1975-09-17 TEXLAAL 300000000
1975-09-16 TEXOAKL 100000000
1975-09-14 TEXCHWW 100000000
1975-09-13 TEXCHWW 000000000
1975-09-09 TEXMINW 201000000
1975-09-07 TEXOAKL 100000001
1975-09-05 TEXOAKW 201000010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 3 0 1 2 0 0
3B 69 48 52 124 7 14
SS 1843 1783 3218 5303 259 1036

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1960 CIN SS 47 43 76 128 9 32
1961 CIN SS 63 46 83 133 6 21
1962 CIN SS 149 147 273 443 21 84
1963 CIN SS 157 152 270 420 20 84
1964 CIN SS 163 163 336 436 32 87
1965 CIN SS 155 155 292 440 19 92
1966 CIN SS 160 160 279 446 15 87
1967 CIN SS 108 108 190 316 15 57
1968 CIN SS 136 129 221 388 29 66
1969 MIN SS 160 159 310 570 32 126
1970 MIN SS 160 158 280 487 17 91
1971 MIN SS 153 152 266 445 11 89
1972 CAL SS 150 149 241 471 22 82
1973 CLE 3B 5 3 3 13 2 4
1973 CLE SS 67 56 87 154 9 33
1974 TEX 3B 21 17 17 35 0 1
1974 TEX SS 10 4 9 19 2 2
1975 TEX 2B 3 0 1 2 0 0
1975 TEX 3B 43 28 32 76 5 9
1975 TEX SS 5 2 5 7 0 3

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Second Base 3
Third Base 69
Shortstop 1843
Designated Hitter 4

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1971 TSN All-Star SS
1965 Gold Glove SS

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1971 Most Valuable Player AL 21th 5.0 336 0
1969 Most Valuable Player AL 12th 27.0 336 0
1965 Most Valuable Player NL 21th 7.0 280 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Leo Cardenas (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Greg Gagne
    .254 avg, 111 HR
  2. 93
    Mike Bordick
    .260 avg, 91 HR
  3. 91
    Brandon Crawford
    .249 avg, 147 HR
  4. 90
    Bill Mazeroski HOF
    .260 avg, 138 HR
  5. 88
    Chris Speier
    .246 avg, 112 HR
  6. 88
    Manny Trillo
    .263 avg, 61 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Leo Cardenas

What years did Leo Cardenas play?
Leo Cardenas played in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1975.
Was Leo Cardenas a pitcher?
No. Leo Cardenas was a position player (Shortstop).
How many home runs did Leo Cardenas hit?
Leo Cardenas hit 118 career home runs with 1725 hits.