Leon Durham

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1980-1989)

Leon Durham was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1989 for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Chicago Cubs, and the Cincinnati Reds, a span of 10 seasons. In 1,067 career games, he hit .277 with 992 hits, 147 home runs, and 530 RBI. Leon Durham was a 2-time All-Star and a Silver Slugger. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 11,728.

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 .277
HR 147
RBI 530
H 992
OPS .831
PIV 11,728
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'1" / 185 lb
Born
7/31/1957 in Cincinnati, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1980-05-27
Last Game
1989-09-17
Awards
2× All-Star · Silver Slugger
📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Batting Statistics

Leon Durham — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,067 3,587 522 992 192 40 147 530 106 444 679 .277 .356 .475 .831 11,728

Career AVG .277 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — +6.8% above league average.

Career OBP .356 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — +9.8% above league average.

Career SLG .475 vs. league average .388 across their career seasons — +22.5% above league average.

Career OPS .831 vs. league average .712 across their career seasons — +16.7% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Leon Durham 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
1980 SLN NL 96 303 42 82 15 4 8 42 8 18 55 .271 .264 (+2%) .326 (-5%) .387 (+10%) .714 (+3%) 39.5
1981 CHN NL 87 328 42 95 14 6 10 35 25 27 53 .290 .255 (+13%) .320 (+7%) .368 (+25%) .688 (+17%) 909.7
1982 CHN NL 148 539 84 168 33 7 22 90 28 66 77 .312 .261 (+19%) .324 (+20%) .388 (+34%) .712 (+28%) 3032.3
1983 CHN NL 100 337 58 87 18 8 12 55 12 66 83 .258 .260 (-1%) .324 (+17%) .389 (+20%) .714 (+19%) 1335.9
1984 CHN NL 137 473 86 132 30 4 23 96 16 69 86 .279 .259 (+7%) .322 (+14%) .384 (+31%) .707 (+23%) 2226.5
1985 CHN NL 153 542 58 153 32 2 21 75 7 64 99 .282 .257 (+10%) .323 (+11%) .390 (+19%) .714 (+15%) 1721.4
1986 CHN NL 141 484 66 127 18 7 20 65 8 67 98 .262 .257 (+2%) .325 (+7%) .395 (+15%) .720 (+11%) 1128.5
1987 CHN NL 131 439 70 120 22 1 27 63 2 51 92 .273 .262 (+4%) .331 (+5%) .415 (+23%) .746 (+15%) 1332.4
1988 CHN NL 24 73 10 16 6 1 3 6 0 9 20 .219 .254 (-14%) .317 (-4%) .377 (+20%) .695 (+9%) 87.3
1988 CIN NL 21 51 4 11 3 0 1 2 0 5 12 .216 .254 (-15%) .317 (-10%) .377 (-12%) .695 (-11%) 87.3
1989 SLN NL 29 18 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 4 .056 — — — — 0.0
Career · 11 seasons 1,067 3,587 522 992 192 40 147 530 106 444 679 .277 — — — — 11,901

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

Leon Durham — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
5 20 2 3 0 0 2 4 1 4 .150

Playoff Batting by Year

Leon Durham — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1984 NLCS CHN 5 20 2 3 0 0 2 4 1 4 .150

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1067 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Leon Durham — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home547186429555293321.296
Away520172322744054209.255

Last 10 Games — Batting

Leon Durham — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1989-09-17 STLPHIW 100000000
1989-09-17 STLPHIL 100000000
1989-09-15 STLPHIW 100000000
1989-09-13 STLPITL 100000010
1989-09-12 STLPITL 100000000
1989-09-07 STLNYNL 100000000
1989-09-03 STLHOUW 000000100
1989-09-02 STLHOUW 000000000
1989-08-09 STLPITW 000000000
1989-08-08 STLPITL 100000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Leon Durham — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 618 563 5308 377 37 448
OF 399 386 764 31 25 4

Season-by-Season Fielding

Leon Durham — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1980 SLN 1B 8 4 44 8 1 6
1980 SLN OF 78 69 136 14 2 2
1981 CHN 1B 3 1 16 0 0 1
1981 CHN OF 83 83 159 4 5 1
1982 CHN 1B 1 1 10 1 0 0
1982 CHN OF 143 142 301 11 12 1
1983 CHN 1B 6 5 35 2 0 2
1983 CHN OF 95 92 168 2 6 0
1984 CHN 1B 130 126 1162 96 7 96
1985 CHN 1B 151 144 1421 107 7 121
1986 CHN 1B 141 133 1231 80 7 101
1987 CHN 1B 123 114 1049 57 11 90
1988 CHN 1B 20 19 167 15 1 16
1988 CIN 1B 17 14 129 6 1 8
1989 SLN 1B 18 2 44 5 2 7

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Leon Durham Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 618
Left Field 86
Center Field 115
Right Field 220

Awards & Honors

Leon Durham — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1984 Player of the Month May
1982 Silver Slugger OF

Salary History

Leon Durham — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1989 SLN NL $175,000
1988 CHN NL $1,383,333
1987 CHN NL $1,183,333
1986 CHN NL $983,333
1985 CHN NL $800,000
Total Career Earnings $4,524,999

Award Voting History

Leon Durham — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1984 Most Valuable Player NL 12th 38.0 336 0
1980 Rookie of the Year NL 7th 1.0 120 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Leon Durham (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Corey Koskie
    .275 avg, 124 HR
  2. 97
    Ketel Marte
    .277 avg, 193 HR
  3. 95
    Jim Ray Hart
    .278 avg, 170 HR
  4. 92
    John Valentin
    .279 avg, 124 HR
  5. 89
    Hank Thompson
    .275 avg, 144 HR
  6. 88
    Anthony Rendon
    .280 avg, 158 HR

Leon Durham: the record in brief

Leon Durham's major league career runs from a debut on May 27, 1980 to a final game on September 17, 1989. By club, Durham's seasons break down as the St. Louis Cardinals (1980 through 1989), the Chicago Cubs (1981 through 1988), and the Cincinnati Reds (1988). Durham played primarily as a first baseman and threw and hit left-handed. Born on July 31, 1957, in Cincinnati, OH, USA, Durham was listed at 6 feet, 1 inch and 185 pounds.

The batting record for Durham: 1,067 games, 992 hits in 3,587 at bats, and a .277 average, plus 147 home runs, 530 runs batted in, and 106 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .356 and .475 give Durham a career OPS of .831. The league as a whole hit .259 across Durham's seasons, which puts the .277 career mark 6.8% above average. No season beat the 27 home runs Durham hit in 1987. The hits column peaks at 168, in 1982. 1984 brought the most runs batted in, 96.

Frequently Asked Questions about Leon Durham

What years did Leon Durham play?
Leon Durham played in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1989.
Was Leon Durham a pitcher?
No. Leon Durham was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Leon Durham hit?
Leon Durham hit 147 career home runs with 992 hits.
What was Leon Durham's career batting average?
Leon Durham batted .277 over his career, with 992 hits in 3,587 at bats.
How many RBI did Leon Durham have?
Leon Durham drove in 530 runs in his career.
Is Leon Durham in the Hall of Fame?
No. Leon Durham has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.