Cecil Cooper
First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1971-1987)
Cecil Cooper was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1987 for the Boston Red Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers, a span of 17 seasons. In 1,896 career games, he hit .298 with 2,192 hits, 241 home runs, and 1,125 RBI. Cecil Cooper was a 5-time All-Star, a 2-time Gold Glove, a 3-time Silver Slugger, and a Roberto Clemente Award. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 16,386.
- 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
- First Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- L / L
- Height / Weight
- 6'2" / 165 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1971-09-08
- Last Game
- 1987-07-12
- Awards
- 5× All-Star · 2× Gold Glove · 3× Silver Slugger · Roberto Clemente Award
Full name: Cecil Celester Cooper
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,896 | 7,349 | 1,012 | 2,192 | 415 | 47 | 241 | 1,125 | 89 | 448 | 911 | .298 | .337 | .466 | .803 | 16,386 |
Career AVG .298 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — +15.5% above league average.
Career OBP .337 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .466 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — +21.6% above league average.
Career OPS .803 vs. league average .707 across their career seasons — +13.5% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | BOS | AL | 14 | 42 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | .310 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1972 | BOS | AL | 12 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .235 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1973 | BOS | AL | 30 | 101 | 12 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 12 | .238 | .256 (-8%) | .325 (-13%) | .378 (-8%) | .703 (-10%) | -176.4 |
| 1974 | BOS | AL | 121 | 414 | 55 | 114 | 24 | 1 | 8 | 43 | 2 | 32 | 74 | .275 | .256 (+7%) | .324 (+1%) | .369 (+7%) | .693 (+4%) | 282.2 |
| 1975 | BOS | AL | 106 | 305 | 49 | 95 | 17 | 6 | 14 | 44 | 1 | 19 | 33 | .311 | .257 (+21%) | .327 (+8%) | .374 (+46%) | .701 (+28%) | 1421.8 |
| 1976 | BOS | AL | 123 | 451 | 66 | 127 | 22 | 6 | 15 | 78 | 7 | 16 | 62 | .282 | .255 (+10%) | .320 (-5%) | .360 (+27%) | .681 (+12%) | 675.2 |
| 1977 | ML4 | AL | 160 | 643 | 86 | 193 | 31 | 7 | 20 | 78 | 13 | 28 | 110 | .300 | .264 (+14%) | .329 (-1%) | .401 (+16%) | .730 (+8%) | 813.0 |
| 1978 | ML4 | AL | 107 | 407 | 60 | 127 | 23 | 2 | 13 | 54 | 3 | 32 | 72 | .312 | .257 (+21%) | .323 (+11%) | .378 (+25%) | .702 (+19%) | 1339.2 |
| 1979 | ML4 | AL | 150 | 590 | 83 | 182 | 44 | 1 | 24 | 106 | 15 | 56 | 77 | .308 | .265 (+16%) | .329 (+10%) | .397 (+28%) | .727 (+20%) | 2295.6 |
| 1980 | ML4 | AL | 153 | 622 | 96 | 219 | 33 | 4 | 25 | 122 | 17 | 39 | 42 | .352 | .264 (+33%) | .326 (+19%) | .387 (+39%) | .714 (+30%) | 3570.9 |
| 1981 | ML4 | AL | 106 | 416 | 70 | 133 | 35 | 1 | 12 | 60 | 5 | 28 | 30 | .320 | .255 (+25%) | .320 (+13%) | .368 (+34%) | .688 (+25%) | 1740.4 |
| 1982 | ML4 | AL | 155 | 654 | 104 | 205 | 38 | 3 | 32 | 121 | 2 | 32 | 53 | .313 | .261 (+20%) | .324 (+6%) | .388 (+36%) | .712 (+22%) | 2600.4 |
| 1983 | ML4 | AL | 160 | 661 | 106 | 203 | 37 | 3 | 30 | 126 | 2 | 37 | 63 | .307 | .260 (+18%) | .324 (+5%) | .389 (+31%) | .714 (+19%) | 2263.6 |
| 1984 | ML4 | AL | 148 | 603 | 63 | 166 | 28 | 3 | 11 | 67 | 8 | 27 | 59 | .275 | .259 (+6%) | .322 (-5%) | .384 (avg) | .707 (-2%) | -281.2 |
| 1985 | ML4 | AL | 154 | 631 | 82 | 185 | 39 | 8 | 16 | 99 | 10 | 30 | 77 | .293 | .257 (+14%) | .323 (avg) | .390 (+17%) | .714 (+9%) | 829.0 |
| 1986 | ML4 | AL | 134 | 542 | 46 | 140 | 24 | 1 | 12 | 75 | 1 | 41 | 87 | .258 | .257 (avg) | .325 (-5%) | .395 (-6%) | .720 (-5%) | -496.0 |
| 1987 | ML4 | AL | 63 | 250 | 25 | 62 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 36 | 1 | 17 | 51 | .248 | .262 (-6%) | .331 (-12%) | .415 (-10%) | .746 (-11%) | -491.2 |
| Career · 17 seasons | 1,896 | 7,349 | 1,012 | 2,192 | 415 | 47 | 241 | 1,125 | 89 | 448 | 911 | .298 | — | — | — | — | 16,386 | ||
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 (1896 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 944 | 3562 | 499 | 1073 | 112 | 569 | .301 |
| Away | 952 | 3787 | 513 | 1119 | 129 | 556 | .295 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987-07-12 | MIL | OAK | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1987-07-11 | MIL | OAK | L | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1987-07-08 | MIL | SEA | L | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 1987-07-06 | MIL | SEA | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987-07-05 | MIL | LAA | L | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987-07-04 | MIL | LAA | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1987-07-01 | MIL | DET | W | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1987-06-30 | MIL | DET | L | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1987-06-29 | MIL | DET | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1987-06-28 | MIL | TOR | W | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 1475 | 1436 | 13361 | 1000 | 121 | 1348 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | BOS | 1B | 11 | 11 | 82 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 1972 | BOS | 1B | 3 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1973 | BOS | 1B | 29 | 29 | 227 | 17 | 4 | 25 |
| 1974 | BOS | 1B | 74 | 63 | 637 | 40 | 12 | 66 |
| 1975 | BOS | 1B | 35 | 19 | 197 | 20 | 1 | 20 |
| 1976 | BOS | 1B | 66 | 62 | 600 | 42 | 4 | 49 |
| 1977 | ML4 | 1B | 148 | 147 | 1386 | 118 | 12 | 134 |
| 1978 | ML4 | 1B | 84 | 84 | 842 | 66 | 11 | 71 |
| 1979 | ML4 | 1B | 135 | 134 | 1323 | 78 | 10 | 119 |
| 1980 | ML4 | 1B | 142 | 142 | 1336 | 106 | 5 | 160 |
| 1981 | ML4 | 1B | 101 | 98 | 987 | 72 | 9 | 111 |
| 1982 | ML4 | 1B | 154 | 154 | 1428 | 98 | 5 | 156 |
| 1983 | ML4 | 1B | 158 | 157 | 1452 | 87 | 11 | 144 |
| 1984 | ML4 | 1B | 122 | 122 | 1061 | 98 | 10 | 106 |
| 1985 | ML4 | 1B | 123 | 123 | 1087 | 94 | 17 | 101 |
| 1986 | ML4 | 1B | 90 | 89 | 697 | 61 | 9 | 78 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 1475 |
| Designated Hitter | 373 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Player of the Month | July |
| 1983 | Player of the Week | Week of 1983-07-01 |
| 1983 | Player of the Week | Week of 1983-09-30 |
| 1983 | Roberto Clemente Award | |
| 1982 | Player of the Week | Week of 1982-06-04 |
| 1982 | Silver Slugger | 1B |
| 1982 | TSN All-Star | 1B |
| 1981 | Player of the Month | August |
| 1981 | Silver Slugger | 1B |
| 1981 | TSN All-Star | 1B |
| 1980 | Gold Glove | 1B |
| 1980 | Player of the Month | August |
| 1980 | Player of the Week | Week of 1980-09-26 |
| 1980 | Silver Slugger | 1B |
| 1980 | TSN All-Star | 1B |
| 1979 | Gold Glove | 1B |
| 1979 | Player of the Month | April |
| 1979 | TSN All-Star | 1B |
| 1977 | Player of the Week | Week of 1977-09-30 |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | ML4 | AL | $493,224 |
| 1986 | ML4 | AL | $607,322 |
| 1985 | ML4 | AL | $1,176,190 |
| Total Career Earnings | $2,276,736 | ||
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 5th | 123.0 | 392 | 0 |
| 1982 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 5th | 152.0 | 392 | 0 |
| 1981 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 8th | 96.0 | 392 | 0 |
| 1980 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 5th | 160.0 | 392 | 0 |
| 1979 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 23th | 4.0 | 392 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Cecil Cooper (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Cecil Cooper
Cecil Cooper: the record in brief
Between the debut on September 8, 1971 and the final game on July 12, 1987, Cecil Cooper built the record summarized on this page. The team column moves through the Boston Red Sox (1971 to 1976) and the Milwaukee Brewers (1977 through 1987). Cooper played primarily as a first baseman and batted and threw left-handed. The bio adds a birth date on December 20, 1949, in Brenham, TX, USA and a listed size of 6'2" and 165 pounds. Cooper's full given name, per the bio, is Cecil Celester Cooper.
Cooper finished with 2,192 hits from 7,349 at bats in 1,896 games, which works out to .298, adding 241 homers, 1,125 runs batted in, and 89 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .337 and .466 give Cooper a career OPS of .803. The league as a whole hit .258 across Cooper's seasons, which puts the .298 career mark 15.5% above average. The OPS comparison is .803 to a league .707, 13.5% above average.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cecil Cooper
- What years did Cecil Cooper play?
- Cecil Cooper played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1987.
- Was Cecil Cooper a pitcher?
- No. Cecil Cooper was a position player (First Baseman).
- How many home runs did Cecil Cooper hit?
- Cecil Cooper hit 241 career home runs with 2192 hits.
- What was Cecil Cooper's career batting average?
- Cecil Cooper batted .298 over his career, with 2,192 hits in 7,349 at bats.
- How many RBI did Cecil Cooper have?
- Cecil Cooper drove in 1,125 runs in his career.
- Is Cecil Cooper in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Cecil Cooper has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.