Johnny Edwards

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1961-1974)

Johnny Edwards was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1974 for the Cincinnati Reds, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Houston Astros, a span of 14 seasons. In 1,470 career games, he hit .242 with 1,106 hits, 81 home runs, and 524 RBI. Johnny Edwards was a 3-time All-Star and a 2-time Gold Glove.

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 .242
HR 81
RBI 524
H 1,106
OPS .664
PIV -2,031
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'4" / 220 lb
Born
6/10/1938 in Columbus, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1961-06-27
Last Game
1974-10-02
Awards
3× All-Star · 2× Gold Glove

Full name: John Alban Edwards

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Career Batting Statistics

Johnny Edwards — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,470 4,577 430 1,106 202 32 81 524 15 465 635 .242 .311 .353 .664 -2,031

Career AVG .242 vs. league average .250 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .311 vs. league average .316 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .353 vs. league average .372 across their career seasons — 5.1% below league average.

Career OPS .664 vs. league average .688 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Johnny Edwards 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
1961 CIN NL 52 145 14 27 5 0 2 14 1 18 28 .186 .258 (-28%) .328 (-15%) .399 (-34%) .727 (-26%) -575.5
1962 CIN NL 133 452 47 115 28 5 8 50 1 45 70 .254 .257 (-1%) .326 (-1%) .393 (avg) .719 (-1%) -90.2
1963 CIN NL 148 495 46 128 19 4 11 67 1 45 93 .259 .246 (+5%) .308 (+4%) .371 (+2%) .680 (+3%) 317.7
1964 CIN NL 126 423 47 119 23 1 7 55 1 34 65 .281 .250 (+12%) .312 (+6%) .377 (+3%) .690 (+4%) 322.5
1965 CIN NL 114 371 47 99 22 2 17 51 0 50 45 .267 .245 (+9%) .310 (+13%) .371 (+28%) .682 (+21%) 1473.1
1966 CIN NL 98 282 24 54 8 0 6 39 1 31 42 .191 .248 (-23%) .309 (-13%) .376 (-25%) .685 (-19%) -808.6
1967 CIN NL 80 209 10 43 6 0 2 20 1 16 28 .206 .242 (-15%) .306 (-15%) .357 (-26%) .663 (-21%) -638.9
1968 SLN NL 85 230 14 55 9 1 3 29 1 16 20 .239 .236 (+1%) .298 (-4%) .340 (-4%) .638 (-4%) -167.5
1969 HOU NL 151 496 52 115 20 6 6 50 2 53 69 .232 .248 (-7%) .320 (-4%) .369 (-10%) .689 (-7%) -569.5
1970 HOU NL 140 458 46 101 16 4 7 49 1 51 63 .221 .253 (-13%) .325 (-8%) .385 (-17%) .711 (-13%) -929.2
1971 HOU NL 106 317 18 74 13 4 1 23 1 26 38 .233 .249 (-6%) .316 (-8%) .365 (-15%) .682 (-12%) -597.9
1972 HOU NL 108 332 33 89 16 2 5 40 2 50 39 .268 .243 (+10%) .310 (+15%) .353 (+6%) .664 (+10%) 700.8
1973 HOU NL 79 250 24 61 10 2 5 27 1 19 23 .244 .256 (-5%) .325 (-7%) .378 (-5%) .703 (-6%) -257.5
1974 HOU NL 50 117 8 26 7 1 1 10 1 11 12 .222 .256 (-13%) .324 (-10%) .369 (-12%) .693 (-11%) -210.0
Career · 14 seasons 1,470 4,577 430 1,106 202 32 81 524 15 465 635 .242 — — — — -2,031

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

Johnny Edwards — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
4 12 1 4 2 0 0 2 0 1 .333

Playoff Batting by Year

Johnny Edwards — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1968 WS SLN 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1961 WS CIN 3 11 1 4 2 0 0 2 0 0 .364

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1470 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Johnny Edwards — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home740224520854140268.241
Away730233222256541256.242

Last 10 Games — Batting

Johnny Edwards — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1974-10-02 HOULADL 000000010
1974-10-01 HOULADL 110000100
1974-09-30 HOULADW 101100000
1974-09-22 HOUATLW 000000000
1974-09-20 HOUATLL 100000001
1974-09-15 HOUSFGL 100000000
1974-09-12 HOUSDPL 100000000
1974-09-11 HOUSDPL 100000000
1974-09-10 HOUSFGL 101000000
1974-09-09 HOUSFGL 101000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Johnny Edwards — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
C 1392 1268 8925 703 82 105

Season-by-Season Fielding

Johnny Edwards — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1961 CIN C 52 39 257 15 5 2
1962 CIN C 130 124 807 92 12 11
1963 CIN C 148 141 1008 87 6 16
1964 CIN C 120 116 890 73 8 17
1965 CIN C 110 98 761 61 8 9
1966 CIN C 98 84 617 40 5 3
1967 CIN C 73 57 454 30 5 4
1968 SLN C 54 52 350 25 3 2
1969 HOU C 151 140 1135 79 7 9
1970 HOU C 139 134 854 74 5 11
1971 HOU C 104 91 555 48 3 7
1972 HOU C 105 96 645 41 8 8
1973 HOU C 76 69 435 22 5 3
1974 HOU C 32 27 157 16 2 3

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Johnny Edwards Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 1394

Awards & Honors

Johnny Edwards — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1964 Gold Glove C
1963 Gold Glove C
1963 TSN All-Star C

College History

Johnny Edwards — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
The Ohio State University Columbus OH 1958

Award Voting History

Johnny Edwards — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1969 Most Valuable Player NL 36th 1.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Johnny Edwards (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Alan Ashby
    .245 avg, 90 HR
  2. 95
    Del Rice
    .237 avg, 79 HR
  3. 87
    Rick Dempsey
    .233 avg, 96 HR
  4. 87
    Jim Hegan
    .228 avg, 92 HR
  5. 85
    Rick Cerone
    .245 avg, 59 HR
  6. 82
    Jerry Grote
    .252 avg, 39 HR

Johnny Edwards: the record in brief

Johnny Edwards played a first major league game on June 27, 1961 and a last one on October 2, 1974. Edwards played for the Cincinnati Reds (1961 through 1967), the St. Louis Cardinals (1968), and the Houston Astros (1969 through 1974). Born on June 10, 1938, in Columbus, OH, USA, Edwards is listed as a catcher and hit left-handed while throwing right-handed. The bio gives 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds. Edwards's full given name, per the bio, is John Alban Edwards.

Edwards finished with 1,106 hits from 4,577 at bats in 1,470 games, which works out to .242; the totals also include 81 homers and 524 runs batted in. On-base and slugging figures of .311 and .353 give Edwards a career OPS of .664. Edwards hit .242 while the league hit .250 over the same span, a figure close to average. No season beat the 17 home runs Edwards hit in 1965. No season topped the 128 hits of 1963. The RBI column peaks at 67 in 1963.

Frequently Asked Questions about Johnny Edwards

What years did Johnny Edwards play?
Johnny Edwards played in Major League Baseball from 1961 to 1974.
Was Johnny Edwards a pitcher?
No. Johnny Edwards was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Johnny Edwards hit?
Johnny Edwards hit 81 career home runs with 1106 hits.
What was Johnny Edwards's career batting average?
Johnny Edwards batted .242 over his career, with 1,106 hits in 4,577 at bats.
How many RBI did Johnny Edwards have?
Johnny Edwards drove in 524 runs in his career.
Is Johnny Edwards in the Hall of Fame?
No. Johnny Edwards has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.