Bucky Dent

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1973-1984)

Bucky Dent was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1984 for 4 teams, including the Chicago White Sox, a span of 12 seasons. In 1,392 career games, he hit .247 with 1,114 hits, 40 home runs, and 423 RBI. Bucky Dent was a 3-time All-Star, a World Series MVP, and a Babe Ruth Award.

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 .247
HR 40
RBI 423
H 1,114
OPS .618
PIV -9,044
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'9" / 170 lb
Born
11/25/1951 in Savannah, GA, USA
MLB Debut
1973-06-01
Last Game
1984-09-11
Awards
3× All-Star · World Series MVP · Babe Ruth Award

Full name: Russell Earl Dent

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Career Batting Statistics

Bucky Dent — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,392 4,512 451 1,114 169 23 40 423 17 328 349 .247 .297 .321 .618 -9,044

Career AVG .247 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .297 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 8.6% below league average.

Career SLG .321 vs. league average .382 across their career seasons — 16.0% below league average.

Career OPS .618 vs. league average .707 across their career seasons — 12.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bucky Dent 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
1973 CHA AL 40 117 17 29 2 0 0 10 2 10 18 .248 .256 (-4%) .325 (-5%) .378 (-30%) .703 (-19%) -322.5
1974 CHA AL 154 496 55 136 15 3 5 45 3 28 48 .274 .256 (+7%) .324 (-3%) .369 (-6%) .693 (-4%) -365.8
1975 CHA AL 157 602 52 159 29 4 3 58 2 36 48 .264 .257 (+3%) .327 (-8%) .374 (-9%) .701 (-8%) -932.8
1976 CHA AL 158 562 44 138 18 4 2 52 3 43 45 .246 .255 (-4%) .320 (-6%) .360 (-16%) .681 (-11%) -948.2
1977 NYA AL 158 477 54 118 18 4 8 49 1 39 28 .247 .264 (-6%) .329 (-9%) .401 (-12%) .730 (-11%) -886.1
1978 NYA AL 123 379 40 92 11 1 5 40 3 23 24 .243 .257 (-6%) .323 (-12%) .378 (-16%) .702 (-14%) -866.1
1979 NYA AL 141 431 47 99 14 2 2 32 0 37 30 .230 .265 (-13%) .329 (-13%) .397 (-28%) .727 (-21%) -1483.7
1980 NYA AL 141 489 57 128 26 2 5 52 0 48 37 .262 .264 (-1%) .326 (avg) .387 (-9%) .714 (-5%) -317.5
1981 NYA AL 73 227 20 54 11 0 7 27 0 19 17 .238 .255 (-7%) .320 (-6%) .368 (+3%) .688 (-1%) -70.1
1982 NYA AL 59 160 11 27 1 1 0 9 0 8 11 .169 .261 (-35%) .324 (-36%) .388 (-52%) .712 (-45%) -1123.9
1982 TEX AL 46 146 16 32 9 0 1 14 0 13 10 .219 .261 (-16%) .324 (-14%) .388 (-22%) .712 (-18%) -1123.9
1983 TEX AL 131 417 36 99 15 2 2 34 3 23 31 .237 .260 (-9%) .324 (-15%) .389 (-24%) .714 (-19%) -1290.5
1984 KCA AL 11 9 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 .333 — — — — 0.0
Career · 13 seasons 1,392 4,512 451 1,114 169 23 40 423 17 328 349 .247 — — — — -9,731

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

Bucky Dent — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
24 83 4 23 2 0 0 15 4 4 .277

Playoff Batting by Year

Bucky Dent — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1980 ALCS NYA 3 11 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .182
1978 ALCS NYA 4 15 0 3 0 0 0 4 0 0 .200
1978 WS NYA 6 24 3 10 1 0 0 7 1 2 .417
1977 ALCS NYA 5 14 1 3 1 0 0 2 1 0 .214
1977 WS NYA 6 19 0 5 0 0 0 2 2 1 .263

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1391 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bucky Dent — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home690219419853311190.243
Away701231425258028230.251

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bucky Dent — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1984-09-11 KCRMINL 000000000
1984-09-09 KCRSEAW 301000100
1984-09-05 KCRMINW 211000001
1984-09-03 KCRMINL 000000000
1984-09-02 KCRCHWW 000000000
1984-09-01 KCRCHWL 000000000
1984-08-30 KCRTEXL 000000000
1984-08-26 KCRCHWW 100000000
1984-08-25 KCRCHWL 000000000
1984-08-22 KCRBOSW 311000011

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bucky Dent — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 3 0 4 2 0 1
3B 3 1 2 1 0 0
SS 1382 1343 2116 4332 156 839

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bucky Dent — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1973 CHA 2B 3 0 4 2 0 1
1973 CHA 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1973 CHA SS 36 35 51 132 7 22
1974 CHA SS 154 153 251 499 22 108
1975 CHA SS 157 157 279 543 16 105
1976 CHA SS 158 154 279 468 18 96
1977 NYA SS 158 153 250 434 18 90
1978 NYA SS 123 120 178 341 10 57
1979 NYA SS 141 136 219 512 17 107
1980 NYA SS 141 141 224 489 13 77
1981 NYA SS 73 73 104 217 10 49
1982 NYA SS 58 50 74 177 10 27
1982 TEX SS 45 44 55 146 4 30
1983 TEX SS 129 125 150 369 11 71
1984 KCA 3B 2 1 2 1 0 0
1984 KCA SS 9 2 2 5 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bucky Dent Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 3
Third Base 3
Shortstop 1382
Designated Hitter 1

Awards & Honors

Bucky Dent — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1978 Babe Ruth Award SS
1978 World Series MVP
1975 Player of the Week Week of 1975-05-16

College History

Bucky Dent — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Miami-Dade College - North Campus Miami FL 1970

Award Voting History

Bucky Dent — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1974 Rookie of the Year AL 2nd 3.0 24 3

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Bucky Dent (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Bob Aspromonte
    .252 avg, 60 HR
  2. 95
    Pete Suder
    .249 avg, 49 HR
  3. 94
    Jose Pagan
    .250 avg, 52 HR
  4. 90
    Jerry Adair
    .254 avg, 57 HR
  5. 89
    Cesar Izturis
    .254 avg, 17 HR
  6. 89
    Buddy Kerr
    .249 avg, 31 HR

Bucky Dent: the record in brief

June 1, 1973 and September 11, 1984 bracket Bucky Dent's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Dent played for the Chicago White Sox (1973 to 1976), the New York Yankees (1977 to 1982), the Texas Rangers (1982 to 1983), and the Kansas City Royals (1984). At 5 feet, 9 inches and 170 pounds, Dent is listed as a shortstop. The bio says Dent batted and threw right-handed. Dent was born on November 25, 1951, in Savannah, GA, USA. On the record, Bucky Dent was born Russell Earl Dent.

Dent finished with 1,114 hits from 4,512 at bats in 1,392 games, which works out to .247, plus 40 home runs and 423 RBI. On-base and slugging figures of .297 and .321 give Dent a career OPS of .618. Dent hit .247 while the league hit .260 over the same span, a figure close to average. In OPS terms, Dent's .618 stands 12.6% below the league's .707. The hits column peaks at 159, in 1975. Dent drove in a season-high 58 runs in 1975.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bucky Dent

What years did Bucky Dent play?
Bucky Dent played in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1984.
Was Bucky Dent a pitcher?
No. Bucky Dent was a position player (Shortstop).
How many home runs did Bucky Dent hit?
Bucky Dent hit 40 career home runs with 1114 hits.
What was Bucky Dent's career batting average?
Bucky Dent batted .247 over his career, with 1,114 hits in 4,512 at bats.
How many RBI did Bucky Dent have?
Bucky Dent drove in 423 runs in his career.
Is Bucky Dent in the Hall of Fame?
No. Bucky Dent has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.