Bob Cerv

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1951-1962)

Bob Cerv was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1962 for 4 teams, including the New York Yankees, a span of 12 seasons. In 829 career games, he hit .276 with 624 hits, 105 home runs, and 374 RBI. Bob Cerv was an All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 6,216.

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 .276
HR 105
RBI 374
H 624
OPS .821
PIV 6,216
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 200 lb
Born
5/5/1925 in Weston, NE, USA
Died
4/6/2017 in Blair, NE, USA
MLB Debut
1951-08-01
Last Game
1962-07-29
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Robert Henry Cerv

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Career Batting Statistics

Bob Cerv — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
829 2,261 320 624 96 26 105 374 12 212 392 .276 .340 .481 .821 6,216

Career AVG .276 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — +6.9% above league average.

Career OBP .340 vs. league average .329 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .481 vs. league average .391 across their career seasons — +22.9% above league average.

Career OPS .821 vs. league average .720 across their career seasons — +14.0% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Cerv 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
1951 NYA AL 12 28 4 6 1 0 0 2 0 4 6 .214 — — — — 0.0
1952 NYA AL 36 87 11 21 3 2 1 8 0 9 22 .241 .252 (-4%) .326 (-4%) .369 (-4%) .696 (-4%) -65.0
1953 NYA AL 8 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1954 NYA AL 56 100 14 26 6 0 5 13 0 11 17 .260 .261 (avg) .333 (-1%) .390 (+20%) .723 (+11%) 168.7
1955 NYA AL 55 85 17 29 4 2 3 22 4 7 16 .341 .258 (+32%) .332 (+24%) .393 (+37%) .726 (+31%) 476.2
1956 NYA AL 54 115 16 35 5 6 3 25 0 18 13 .304 .258 (+18%) .331 (+19%) .397 (+33%) .728 (+27%) 543.9
1957 KC1 AL 124 345 35 94 14 2 11 44 1 20 57 .272 .257 (+6%) .323 (-4%) .391 (+7%) .715 (+2%) 68.9
1958 KC1 AL 141 515 93 157 20 7 38 104 3 50 82 .305 .257 (+18%) .324 (+14%) .394 (+50%) .719 (+34%) 3409.9
1959 KC1 AL 125 463 61 132 22 4 20 87 3 35 87 .285 .256 (+11%) .323 (+3%) .392 (+22%) .715 (+13%) 1012.5
1960 KC1 AL 23 78 14 20 1 1 6 12 0 10 17 .256 .255 (+1%) .323 (+4%) .387 (+36%) .711 (+21%) 257.6
1960 NYA AL 87 216 32 54 11 1 8 28 0 30 36 .250 .255 (-2%) .323 (+8%) .387 (+9%) .711 (+8%) 257.6
1961 LAA AL 18 57 3 9 3 0 2 6 0 1 8 .158 .258 (-39%) .328 (-48%) .399 (-21%) .727 (-33%) -336.1
1961 NYA AL 57 118 17 32 5 1 6 20 1 12 17 .271 .258 (+5%) .328 (+5%) .399 (+21%) .727 (+14%) -336.1
1962 NYA AL 14 17 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 3 .118 — — — — 0.0
1962 HOU NL 19 31 2 7 0 0 2 3 0 2 10 .226 — — — — 0.0
Career · 15 seasons 829 2,261 320 624 96 26 105 374 12 212 392 .276 — — — — 5,458

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

Bob Cerv — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
10 31 2 8 0 0 1 1 0 7 .258

Playoff Batting by Year

Bob Cerv — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1960 WS NYA 4 14 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 .357
1956 WS NYA 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1955 WS NYA 5 16 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 4 .125

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (829 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bob Cerv — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home416110316030353198.275
Away413115815932152176.277

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bob Cerv — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1962-07-29 HOUCHCW 000000010
1962-07-29 HOUCHCL 100000000
1962-07-27 HOUCHCL 100000000
1962-07-25 HOUSFGL 401000003
1962-07-24 HOUSFGL 400000002
1962-07-22 HOUSTLL 100000000
1962-07-18 HOUPHIL 100000000
1962-07-17 HOUPHIL 401000002
1962-07-17 HOUPHIL 101000000
1962-07-15 HOUCHCL 100000001

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bob Cerv — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 6 6 46 5 1 5
OF 594 506 1094 47 28 9

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bob Cerv — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1951 NYA OF 9 0 14 0 2 0
1952 NYA OF 27 0 52 1 0 0
1954 NYA OF 24 21 25 1 3 0
1955 NYA OF 20 13 25 1 0 0
1956 NYA OF 44 30 59 4 1 2
1957 KC1 OF 89 77 157 6 6 1
1958 KC1 OF 136 135 311 13 5 3
1959 KC1 OF 119 119 231 8 5 2
1960 KC1 OF 21 21 39 4 1 1
1960 NYA 1B 3 3 22 2 1 3
1960 NYA OF 51 44 101 6 2 0
1961 LAA OF 15 14 17 0 1 0
1961 NYA 1B 3 3 24 3 0 2
1961 NYA OF 30 24 55 2 1 0
1962 NYA OF 3 3 4 0 0 0
1962 HOU OF 6 5 4 1 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bob Cerv Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 6
Left Field 497
Center Field 71
Right Field 37

College History

Bob Cerv — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
University of Nebraska at Lincoln Lincoln NE 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950

Award Voting History

Bob Cerv — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1958 Most Valuable Player AL 4th 164.0 336 3

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Bob Cerv (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Seiya Suzuki
    .269 avg, 113 HR
  2. 94
    Wes Covington
    .279 avg, 131 HR
  3. 90
    Yasiel Puig
    .277 avg, 132 HR
  4. 88
    Jerry Lynch
    .277 avg, 115 HR
  5. 87
    Julio Rodriguez
    .269 avg, 134 HR
  6. 87
    Craig Wilson
    .262 avg, 99 HR

Bob Cerv: the record in brief

Bob Cerv played a first major league game on August 1, 1951 and a last one on July 29, 1962. Cerv played for the New York Yankees (1951 through 1962), the Kansas City Athletics (1957 to 1960), the Los Angeles Angels (1961), and the Houston Colt .45's (1962). Listed as an outfielder, Cerv batted and threw right-handed. Height and weight on file: 6-foot-0 and 200 pounds. Cerv was born on May 5, 1925, in Weston, NE, USA. Cerv's death is recorded on April 6, 2017, in Blair, NE, USA. Cerv's full given name, per the bio, is Robert Henry Cerv.

In 829 games and 2,261 at bats, Cerv batted .276 with 624 hits, along with 105 home runs and 374 RBI. Cerv's career OPS of .821 combines a .340 on-base mark with .481 slugging. Cerv's .276 average ran 6.9% above the .258 that the league posted over the same seasons. The home run peak was 38 in 1958 with the Kansas City Athletics. Cerv collected a career-high 157 hits in 1958.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Cerv

What years did Bob Cerv play?
Bob Cerv played in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1962.
Was Bob Cerv a pitcher?
No. Bob Cerv was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Bob Cerv hit?
Bob Cerv hit 105 career home runs with 624 hits.
What was Bob Cerv's career batting average?
Bob Cerv batted .276 over his career, with 624 hits in 2,261 at bats.
How many RBI did Bob Cerv have?
Bob Cerv drove in 374 runs in his career.
Is Bob Cerv in the Hall of Fame?
No. Bob Cerv has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.