Joe Cunningham

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1954-1966)

AVG .291
HR 64
RBI 436
H 980
OPS .820
PIV 13,143
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'0" / 180 lb
Born
8/27/1931 in Paterson, NJ, USA
Died
3/25/2021 in Chesterfield, MO, USA
MLB Debut
1954-06-30
Last Game
1966-04-17
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Joseph Robert Cunningham

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,141 3,362 525 980 177 26 64 436 16 599 369 .291 .403 .417 .820 13,143

Career AVG .291 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — +14.8% above league average.

Career OBP .403 vs. league average .321 across their career seasons — +25.8% above league average.

Career SLG .417 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — +7.9% above league average.

Career OPS .820 vs. league average .707 across their career seasons — +16.0% above 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
1954 SLN NL 85 310 40 88 11 3 11 50 1 43 40 .284 .261 (+9%) .333 (+12%) .390 (+14%) .723 (+13%) 871.2
1956 SLN NL 4 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1957 SLN NL 122 261 50 83 15 0 9 52 3 56 29 .318 .257 (+23%) .323 (+36%) .391 (+22%) .715 (+28%) 1770.4
1958 SLN NL 131 337 61 105 20 3 12 57 4 82 23 .312 .257 (+21%) .324 (+38%) .394 (+26%) .719 (+31%) 2600.3
1959 SLN NL 144 458 65 158 28 6 7 60 2 88 47 .345 .256 (+34%) .323 (+40%) .392 (+22%) .715 (+30%) 3323.1
1960 SLN NL 139 492 68 138 28 3 6 39 1 59 59 .280 .255 (+10%) .323 (+12%) .387 (avg) .711 (+5%) 687.4
1961 SLN NL 113 322 60 92 11 2 7 40 1 53 32 .286 .258 (+11%) .328 (+23%) .399 (avg) .727 (+10%) 953.9
1962 CHA AL 149 526 91 155 32 7 8 70 3 101 59 .295 .257 (+14%) .326 (+26%) .393 (+9%) .719 (+16%) 2189.8
1963 CHA AL 67 210 32 60 12 1 1 31 1 33 23 .286 .246 (+16%) .308 (+26%) .371 (-1%) .680 (+11%) 551.5
1964 CHA AL 40 108 13 27 7 0 0 10 0 14 15 .250 .250 (avg) .312 (+13%) .377 (-17%) .690 (-3%) 10.1
1964 WS2 AL 49 126 15 27 4 0 0 7 0 23 13 .214 .250 (-14%) .312 (+10%) .377 (-35%) .690 (-14%) 10.1
1965 WS2 AL 95 201 29 46 9 1 3 20 0 46 27 .229 .245 (-7%) .310 (+21%) .371 (-12%) .682 (+3%) 349.7
1966 WS2 AL 3 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .125 — — — — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 1,141 3,362 525 980 177 26 64 436 16 599 369 .291 — — — — 13,318

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 (1141 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home579165528851336229.310
Away562170723746728207.274

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1966-04-17 TEXDETW 200000000
1966-04-16 TEXDETL 200000001
1966-04-11 TEXCLEL 401000000
1965-10-02 TEXDETL 401000001
1965-09-29 TEXKC1W 000000000
1965-09-19 TEXMINL 100000001
1965-09-15 TEXNYYL 000000010
1965-09-11 TEXLAAL 101000000
1965-09-08 TEXNYYL 010000010
1965-09-06 TEXCLEL 000000010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 607 475 4564 299 34 424
OF 440 407 692 17 26 5

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1954 SLN 1B 85 84 814 68 10 96
1956 SLN 1B 1 0 2 0 0 0
1957 SLN 1B 57 22 279 17 0 17
1957 SLN OF 46 42 81 1 3 0
1958 SLN 1B 67 31 328 23 1 19
1958 SLN OF 66 60 90 3 2 2
1959 SLN 1B 35 10 158 9 1 22
1959 SLN OF 121 117 201 5 6 1
1960 SLN 1B 15 14 114 10 0 7
1960 SLN OF 116 108 184 6 10 1
1961 SLN 1B 10 6 69 1 0 8
1961 SLN OF 86 77 131 2 5 1
1962 CHA 1B 143 142 1282 90 8 118
1962 CHA OF 5 3 5 0 0 0
1963 CHA 1B 58 57 535 24 6 39
1964 CHA 1B 33 30 264 16 1 25
1964 WS2 1B 41 33 316 13 1 28
1965 WS2 1B 59 43 393 24 6 44
1966 WS2 1B 3 3 10 4 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
First Base 608
Left Field 46
Right Field 404

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1962 Most Valuable Player AL 18th 9.0 280 0
1959 Most Valuable Player NL 13th 12.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Joe Cunningham (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    John Kruk
    .300 avg, 100 HR
  2. 96
    Ferris Fain
    .290 avg, 48 HR
  3. 94
    Solly Hemus
    .273 avg, 51 HR
  4. 92
    Bill Mueller
    .291 avg, 85 HR
  5. 90
    Yandy Diaz
    .292 avg, 120 HR
  6. 90
    Dave Magadan
    .288 avg, 42 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Cunningham

What years did Joe Cunningham play?
Joe Cunningham played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1966.
Was Joe Cunningham a pitcher?
No. Joe Cunningham was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Joe Cunningham hit?
Joe Cunningham hit 64 career home runs with 980 hits.