Ian Desmond

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2009-2019)

Ian Desmond was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 2009 to 2019 for the Washington Nationals, the Texas Rangers, and the Colorado Rockies, a span of 11 seasons. In 1,478 career games, he hit .263 with 1,432 hits, 181 home runs, and 711 RBI. Ian Desmond was a 2-time All-Star and a 3-time Silver Slugger. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 2,121.

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 .263
HR 181
RBI 711
H 1,432
OPS .742
PIV 2,121
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 217 lb
Born
9/20/1985 in Sarasota, FL, USA
MLB Debut
2009-09-10
Last Game
2019-09-29
Awards
2× All-Star · 3× Silver Slugger

Full name: Ian Morgan Desmond

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Career Batting Statistics

Ian Desmond — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,478 5,442 724 1,432 277 37 181 711 181 387 1,402 .263 .315 .427 .742 2,121

Career AVG .263 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .315 vs. league average .321 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .427 vs. league average .409 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .742 vs. league average .730 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ian Desmond 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
2009 WAS NL 21 82 9 23 7 2 4 12 1 5 14 .280 .262 (+7%) .332 (-4%) .417 (+34%) .750 (+17%) 183.7
2010 WAS NL 154 525 59 141 27 4 10 65 17 28 109 .269 .257 (+4%) .325 (-5%) .402 (-3%) .728 (-4%) -430.4
2011 WAS NL 154 584 65 148 27 5 8 49 25 35 139 .253 .255 (-1%) .320 (-7%) .399 (-10%) .719 (-9%) -883.7
2012 WAS NL 130 513 72 150 33 2 25 73 21 30 113 .292 .254 (+15%) .318 (+5%) .405 (+26%) .724 (+17%) 1559.0
2013 WAS NL 158 600 77 168 38 3 20 80 21 43 145 .280 .253 (+10%) .317 (+4%) .396 (+14%) .714 (+10%) 1084.9
2014 WAS NL 154 593 73 151 26 3 24 91 24 46 183 .255 .251 (+1%) .313 (avg) .386 (+11%) .700 (+6%) 667.1
2015 WAS NL 156 583 69 136 27 2 19 62 13 45 187 .233 .254 (-8%) .316 (-9%) .404 (-5%) .721 (-7%) -655.6
2016 TEX AL 156 625 107 178 29 3 22 86 21 44 160 .285 .255 (+12%) .321 (+4%) .417 (+7%) .738 (+6%) 738.3
2017 COL NL 95 339 47 93 11 1 7 40 15 24 87 .274 .254 (+8%) .324 (+1%) .425 (-12%) .750 (-7%) -345.3
2018 COL NL 160 555 82 131 21 8 22 88 20 53 146 .236 .247 (-5%) .318 (-3%) .409 (+3%) .727 (avg) -40.4
2019 COL NL 140 443 64 113 31 4 20 65 3 34 119 .255 .252 (+1%) .322 (-4%) .434 (+10%) .757 (+4%) 243.9
Career · 11 seasons 1,478 5,442 724 1,432 277 37 181 711 181 387 1,402 .263 — — — — 2,121

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.

Career Pitching Statistics

Ian Desmond — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.0

Career ERA 0.00 vs. league average 4.51 across their career seasons — 100.0% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ian Desmond — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
2019 COL NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 0 0 0 0.00 — 0.0
Career · 1 season 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 1 0 0 0 0.00 — 0

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

Ian Desmond — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
17 70 5 16 2 0 0 2 1 18 .229

Playoff Batting by Year

Ian Desmond — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2018 NLDS1 COL 3 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .083
2018 NLWC COL 1 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .200
2017 NLWC COL 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .500
2016 ALDS1 TEX 3 14 0 3 1 0 0 2 0 3 .214
2014 NLDS1 WAS 4 18 2 3 0 0 0 0 1 6 .167
2012 NLDS1 WAS 5 19 2 7 1 0 0 0 0 3 .368

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1478 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Ian Desmond — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home741267538373997383.276
Away736276534169384328.251

Pitching — Home / Away

Ian Desmond — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Away11.010000.00

Last 10 Games — Batting

Ian Desmond — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
2019-09-29 COLMILW 000000000
2019-09-28 COLMILW 412011100
2019-09-26 COLSFGL 100000001
2019-09-25 COLSFGL 100000001
2019-09-24 COLSFGW 312001201
2019-09-22 COLLADL 301000000
2019-09-21 COLLADW 100000000
2019-09-20 COLLADL 300000001
2019-09-18 COLNYNL 400000001
2019-09-16 COLNYNW 412001100

Last 1 Games — Pitching

Ian Desmond — Last 1 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
2019-09-02 COLLAD — 1.0100000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ian Desmond — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 165 153 1311 89 7 125
2B 5 5 12 12 2 2
OF 363 340 650 16 20 3
P 1 0 0 0 0 0
SS 917 891 1319 2451 147 523

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ian Desmond — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
2009 WAS 2B 5 5 12 12 2 2
2009 WAS OF 1 1 3 0 0 0
2009 WAS SS 17 14 37 43 4 14
2010 WAS OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
2010 WAS SS 149 136 221 382 34 87
2011 WAS SS 152 146 226 437 23 85
2012 WAS SS 128 126 171 306 15 65
2013 WAS SS 158 158 234 446 20 96
2014 WAS SS 154 154 203 416 24 82
2015 WAS SS 155 155 226 417 27 94
2016 TEX OF 156 155 330 8 12 2
2017 COL 1B 27 22 200 5 1 12
2017 COL OF 67 65 106 2 3 0
2017 COL SS 1 1 1 3 0 0
2018 COL 1B 138 131 1111 84 6 113
2018 COL OF 20 15 29 1 0 0
2018 COL SS 3 1 0 1 0 0
2019 COL OF 118 104 182 5 5 1
2019 COL P 1 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ian Desmond Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 1
First Base 165
Second Base 5
Shortstop 917
Left Field 157
Center Field 207
Right Field 2
Designated Hitter 4

Awards & Honors

Ian Desmond — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
2014 Silver Slugger SS
2013 Silver Slugger SS
2012 Silver Slugger SS

Salary History

Ian Desmond's recorded salaries total $30,654,000 over 7 seasons, 2010 to 2016. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Desmond's career ran from 2009 to 2019. His seasons after 2016 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 2009.

Ian Desmond — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
2016 TEX AL $8,000,000
2015 WAS NL $11,000,000
2014 WAS NL $6,500,000
2013 WAS NL $3,800,000
2012 WAS NL $512,500
2011 WAS NL $441,500
2010 WAS NL $400,000
Total recorded salary (partial) $30,654,000

Award Voting History

Ian Desmond — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
2012 Most Valuable Player NL 16th 15.0 448 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ian Desmond (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Dansby Swanson
    .247 avg, 183 HR
  2. 92
    Javier Baez
    .251 avg, 196 HR
  3. 91
    Damion Easley
    .253 avg, 163 HR
  4. 91
    Marcus Semien
    .251 avg, 268 HR
  5. 91
    Aaron Hill
    .266 avg, 162 HR
  6. 89
    Jose Hernandez
    .252 avg, 168 HR

Ian Desmond: the record in brief

The profile opens with Ian Desmond's first major league game on September 10, 2009; the last one listed came on September 29, 2019. The season rows list, in order, the Washington Nationals (2009 to 2015), the Texas Rangers (2016), and the Colorado Rockies (2017 to 2019). The bio lists Desmond as a shortstop who batted and threw right-handed. Desmond is listed at 217 pounds on a 6-foot-3 frame. Desmond was born on September 20, 1985, in Sarasota, FL, USA. Ian Desmond was the playing name; the full given name is Ian Morgan.

In 1,478 games and 5,442 at bats, Desmond batted .263 with 1,432 hits; the totals also include 181 home runs, 711 runs batted in, and 181 stolen bases. Desmond's career OPS of .742 combines a .315 on-base mark with .427 slugging. The .263 career average is close to the .254 the league hit across the same seasons. No season beat the 25 home runs Desmond hit in 2012. The hits column peaks at 178, in 2016.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ian Desmond

What years did Ian Desmond play?
Ian Desmond played in Major League Baseball from 2009 to 2019.
Was Ian Desmond a pitcher?
No. Ian Desmond was a position player (Shortstop), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
How many home runs did Ian Desmond hit?
Ian Desmond hit 181 career home runs with 1,432 hits.
What teams did Ian Desmond play for?
Ian Desmond played for 3 teams: the Washington Nationals (2009–2015), the Texas Rangers (2016), and the Colorado Rockies (2017–2019).
Did Ian Desmond win an MVP award?
No. Ian Desmond did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Ian Desmond win?
Ian Desmond won 3 Silver Slugger awards (2012, 2013, and 2014). He was selected to 2 All-Star Games.
What were Ian Desmond's career stats?
In 1,478 games, Ian Desmond had 1,432 hits, 181 home runs, 711 RBI, 724 runs, and 181 stolen bases, with a .263 batting average.
How much did Ian Desmond earn in his career?
Ian Desmond's recorded salaries total $30,654,000 over 7 seasons, 2010 to 2016. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Desmond's career ran from 2009 to 2019. His seasons after 2016 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 2009.
What was Ian Desmond's salary?
Ian Desmond's last recorded salary was $8,000,000, in 2016. His highest recorded salary was $11,000,000, in 2015, and his lowest was $400,000, in 2010. The Salary History table lists each season from 2010 to 2016.
What position did Ian Desmond play?
Ian Desmond played primarily as a shortstop, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Ian Desmond and how much did he weigh?
Ian Desmond was listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 217 pounds.
How many home runs did Ian Desmond hit each season?
Ian Desmond's home runs by season: 4 in 2009, 10 in 2010, 8 in 2011, 25 in 2012, 20 in 2013, 24 in 2014, 19 in 2015, 22 in 2016, 7 in 2017, 22 in 2018, and 20 in 2019. His most in one season was 25, in 2012.
What was Ian Desmond's career batting average?
Ian Desmond batted .263 over his career, with 1,432 hits in 5,442 at bats.
How many RBI did Ian Desmond have?
Ian Desmond drove in 711 runs in his career.