Ken Harrelson

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1963-1971)

AVG .239
HR 131
RBI 421
H 703
OPS .740
PIV 5,762
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 190 lb
Born
9/4/1941 in Woodruff, SC, USA
MLB Debut
1963-06-09
Last Game
1971-06-20
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Kenneth Smith Harrelson

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
900 2,941 374 703 94 14 131 421 53 382 577 .239 .325 .414 .740 5,762

Career AVG .239 vs. league average .247 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .325 vs. league average .313 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .414 vs. league average .369 across their career seasons — +12.3% above league average.

Career OPS .740 vs. league average .682 across their career seasons — +8.5% 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
1963 KC1 AL 79 226 16 52 10 1 6 23 1 23 58 .230 .246 (-7%) .308 (-3%) .371 (-2%) .680 (-3%) -101.3
1964 KC1 AL 49 139 15 27 5 0 7 12 0 13 34 .194 .250 (-22%) .312 (-16%) .377 (+1%) .690 (-7%) -158.5
1965 KC1 AL 150 483 61 115 17 3 23 66 9 66 112 .238 .245 (-3%) .310 (+6%) .371 (+15%) .682 (+11%) 1090.5
1966 KC1 AL 63 210 24 47 5 0 5 22 9 27 59 .224 .248 (-10%) .309 (+1%) .376 (-15%) .685 (-8%) -179.0
1966 WS2 AL 71 250 25 62 8 1 7 28 4 26 53 .248 .248 (avg) .309 (+4%) .376 (-1%) .685 (+1%) -179.0
1967 WS2 AL 26 79 10 16 0 0 3 10 1 7 15 .203 .242 (-16%) .306 (-15%) .357 (-11%) .663 (-13%) -163.7
1967 KC1 AL 61 174 23 53 11 0 6 30 8 17 17 .305 .242 (+26%) .306 (+18%) .357 (+32%) .663 (+25%) -163.7
1967 BOS AL 23 80 9 16 4 1 3 14 1 5 12 .200 .242 (-17%) .306 (-19%) .357 (+8%) .663 (-4%) -163.7
1968 BOS AL 150 535 79 147 17 4 35 109 2 69 90 .275 .236 (+16%) .298 (+19%) .340 (+52%) .638 (+37%) 3581.6
1969 BOS AL 10 46 6 10 1 0 3 8 0 4 6 .217 — — — — -0.9
1969 CLE AL 149 519 83 115 13 4 27 84 17 95 96 .222 .248 (-11%) .320 (+7%) .369 (+13%) .689 (+10%) -0.9
1970 CLE AL 17 39 3 11 1 0 1 1 0 6 4 .282 — — — — 0.0
1971 CLE AL 52 161 20 32 2 0 5 14 1 24 21 .199 .249 (-20%) .316 (-5%) .365 (-17%) .682 (-11%) -229.3
Career · 13 seasons 900 2,941 374 703 94 14 131 421 53 382 577 .239 — — — — 3,332

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
4 13 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 3 .077

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1967 WS BOS 4 13 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 3 .077

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (900 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home460146419637665231.257
Away440147717832766190.221

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1971-06-20 CLEDETW 300000010
1971-06-17 CLEDETL 101000010
1971-06-16 CLEMINL 400000000
1971-06-15 CLEMINL 100000000
1971-06-13 CLEMILW 110000000
1971-06-12 CLEMILL 111001100
1971-06-09 CLECHWW 300000000
1971-06-08 CLECHWW 311000000
1971-06-06 CLEMINL 100000001
1971-06-05 CLEMINW 200000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 469 433 3780 280 41 338
OF 365 351 623 20 9 3

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1963 KC1 1B 34 31 283 16 6 24
1963 KC1 OF 28 26 43 1 1 0
1964 KC1 1B 15 9 105 13 0 14
1964 KC1 OF 24 21 40 2 1 0
1965 KC1 1B 125 123 1044 70 9 93
1965 KC1 OF 4 3 5 1 1 0
1966 KC1 1B 58 58 485 48 8 42
1966 KC1 OF 3 2 3 0 0 0
1966 WS2 1B 70 68 641 38 6 53
1967 WS2 1B 23 21 215 16 1 17
1967 KC1 1B 45 41 333 25 3 21
1967 BOS 1B 1 0 3 0 0 0
1967 BOS OF 23 22 25 1 2 0
1968 BOS 1B 19 17 135 9 3 9
1968 BOS OF 132 127 241 8 0 1
1969 BOS 1B 10 10 105 11 1 15
1969 CLE 1B 16 3 40 4 0 6
1969 CLE OF 144 143 257 7 4 2
1970 CLE 1B 13 13 80 7 0 15
1971 CLE 1B 40 39 311 23 4 29
1971 CLE OF 7 7 9 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
First Base 467
Left Field 70
Right Field 295

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1968 TSN All-Star OF
1968 TSN Comeback Player of the Year
1968 TSN Player of the Year

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1968 Most Valuable Player AL 3rd 103.0 280 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ken Harrelson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Jack Howell
    .239 avg, 108 HR
  2. 97
    Logan Morrison
    .238 avg, 140 HR
  3. 89
    Bob Robertson
    .242 avg, 115 HR
  4. 88
    Wayne Gross
    .233 avg, 121 HR
  5. 88
    Brad Miller
    .236 avg, 123 HR
  6. 88
    Jake Lamb
    .235 avg, 96 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Ken Harrelson

What years did Ken Harrelson play?
Ken Harrelson played in Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1971.
Was Ken Harrelson a pitcher?
No. Ken Harrelson was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Ken Harrelson hit?
Ken Harrelson hit 131 career home runs with 703 hits.