Willie Horton
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1963-1980)
- Position
- Outfielder
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 209 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1963-09-10
- Last Game
- 1980-10-05
- Awards
- 4× All-Star
Full name: William Wattison Horton
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,028 | 7,298 | 873 | 1,993 | 284 | 40 | 325 | 1,163 | 20 | 620 | 1,313 | .273 | .332 | .457 | .789 | 18,228 |
Career AVG .273 vs. league average .253 across their career seasons — +7.9% above league average.
Career OBP .332 vs. league average .319 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .457 vs. league average .374 across their career seasons — +22.1% above league average.
Career OPS .789 vs. league average .693 across their career seasons — +13.8% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 | DET | AL | 15 | 43 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 | .326 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1964 | DET | AL | 25 | 80 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 20 | .163 | .250 (-35%) | .312 (-13%) | .377 (-24%) | .690 (-19%) | -227.6 |
| 1965 | DET | AL | 143 | 512 | 69 | 140 | 20 | 2 | 29 | 104 | 5 | 48 | 101 | .273 | .245 (+11%) | .310 (+9%) | .371 (+32%) | .682 (+22%) | 2070.6 |
| 1966 | DET | AL | 146 | 526 | 72 | 138 | 22 | 6 | 27 | 100 | 1 | 44 | 103 | .262 | .248 (+6%) | .309 (+4%) | .376 (+28%) | .685 (+17%) | 1581.7 |
| 1967 | DET | AL | 122 | 401 | 47 | 110 | 20 | 3 | 19 | 67 | 0 | 36 | 80 | .274 | .242 (+13%) | .306 (+10%) | .357 (+35%) | .663 (+23%) | 1622.5 |
| 1968 | DET | AL | 143 | 512 | 68 | 146 | 20 | 2 | 36 | 85 | 0 | 49 | 110 | .285 | .236 (+20%) | .298 (+18%) | .340 (+60%) | .638 (+40%) | 3592.5 |
| 1969 | DET | AL | 141 | 508 | 66 | 133 | 17 | 1 | 28 | 91 | 3 | 52 | 93 | .262 | .248 (+5%) | .320 (+4%) | .369 (+26%) | .689 (+16%) | 1434.1 |
| 1970 | DET | AL | 96 | 371 | 53 | 113 | 18 | 2 | 17 | 69 | 0 | 28 | 43 | .305 | .253 (+20%) | .325 (+9%) | .385 (+30%) | .711 (+20%) | 1295.0 |
| 1971 | DET | AL | 119 | 450 | 64 | 130 | 25 | 1 | 22 | 72 | 1 | 37 | 75 | .289 | .249 (+16%) | .316 (+10%) | .365 (+36%) | .682 (+24%) | 1894.3 |
| 1972 | DET | AL | 108 | 333 | 44 | 77 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 36 | 0 | 27 | 47 | .231 | .243 (-5%) | .310 (-6%) | .353 (+9%) | .664 (+2%) | 63.3 |
| 1973 | DET | AL | 111 | 411 | 42 | 130 | 19 | 3 | 17 | 53 | 1 | 23 | 57 | .316 | .256 (+23%) | .325 (+11%) | .378 (+32%) | .703 (+23%) | 1659.8 |
| 1974 | DET | AL | 72 | 238 | 32 | 71 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 47 | 0 | 21 | 36 | .298 | .256 (+16%) | .324 (+11%) | .369 (+43%) | .693 (+28%) | 1144.2 |
| 1975 | DET | AL | 159 | 615 | 62 | 169 | 13 | 1 | 25 | 92 | 1 | 44 | 109 | .275 | .257 (+7%) | .327 (-2%) | .374 (+13%) | .701 (+6%) | 522.6 |
| 1976 | DET | AL | 114 | 401 | 40 | 105 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 56 | 0 | 49 | 63 | .262 | .255 (+3%) | .320 (+7%) | .360 (+13%) | .681 (+10%) | 815.1 |
| 1977 | DET | AL | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1977 | TEX | AL | 139 | 519 | 55 | 150 | 23 | 3 | 15 | 75 | 2 | 42 | 117 | .289 | .264 (+9%) | .329 (+3%) | .401 (+8%) | .730 (+5%) | 0.0 |
| 1978 | CLE | AL | 50 | 169 | 15 | 42 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 22 | 3 | 15 | 25 | .249 | .257 (-4%) | .323 (-3%) | .378 (avg) | .702 (-1%) | -27.4 |
| 1978 | OAK | AL | 32 | 102 | 11 | 32 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 9 | 15 | .314 | .257 (+22%) | .323 (+14%) | .378 (+27%) | .702 (+21%) | -27.4 |
| 1978 | TOR | AL | 33 | 122 | 12 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 4 | 29 | .205 | .257 (-21%) | .323 (-29%) | .378 (-13%) | .702 (-21%) | -27.4 |
| 1979 | SEA | AL | 162 | 646 | 77 | 180 | 19 | 5 | 29 | 106 | 1 | 42 | 112 | .279 | .265 (+5%) | .329 (-1%) | .397 (+15%) | .727 (+8%) | 934.6 |
| 1980 | SEA | AL | 97 | 335 | 32 | 74 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 36 | 0 | 39 | 70 | .221 | .264 (-17%) | .326 (-6%) | .387 (-15%) | .714 (-11%) | -538.7 |
| Career · 21 seasons | 2,028 | 7,298 | 873 | 1,993 | 284 | 40 | 325 | 1,163 | 20 | 620 | 1,313 | .273 | — | — | — | — | 17,782 | ||
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.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (2028 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 987 | 3391 | 421 | 949 | 153 | 555 | .280 |
| Away | 1041 | 3907 | 452 | 1044 | 172 | 608 | .267 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980-10-05 | SEA | TEX | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1980-10-04 | SEA | TEX | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1980-10-03 | SEA | TEX | L | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1980-10-02 | SEA | KCR | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980-10-01 | SEA | KCR | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1980-09-27 | SEA | TEX | L | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1980-09-26 | SEA | TEX | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980-09-25 | SEA | TEX | W | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980-09-24 | SEA | KCR | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1980-09-23 | SEA | KCR | W | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| OF | 1190 | 1167 | 1921 | 58 | 58 | 8 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | DET | OF | 9 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1964 | DET | OF | 23 | 21 | 33 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1965 | DET | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | DET | OF | 141 | 138 | 249 | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| 1966 | DET | OF | 137 | 133 | 233 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| 1967 | DET | OF | 110 | 108 | 165 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| 1968 | DET | OF | 139 | 137 | 212 | 6 | 6 | 2 |
| 1969 | DET | OF | 136 | 135 | 272 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| 1970 | DET | OF | 96 | 96 | 154 | 10 | 3 | 1 |
| 1971 | DET | OF | 118 | 117 | 176 | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| 1972 | DET | OF | 98 | 93 | 131 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973 | DET | OF | 107 | 106 | 160 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
| 1974 | DET | OF | 64 | 64 | 106 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 1977 | DET | OF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1977 | TEX | OF | 10 | 9 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1978 | OAK | OF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Third Base | 1 |
| Left Field | 1112 |
| Right Field | 126 |
| Designated Hitter | 753 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Outstanding DH Award | |
| 1979 | TSN Comeback Player of the Year | |
| 1976 | Player of the Month | April |
| 1976 | Player of the Week | Week of 1976-04-23 |
| 1975 | Outstanding DH Award | |
| 1975 | Player of the Week | Week of 1975-08-01 |
| 1975 | TSN All-Star | DH |
| 1968 | TSN All-Star | OF |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 24th | 3.0 | 392 | 0 |
| 1973 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 29th | 3.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1968 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 4th | 102.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1966 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 21th | 4.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1965 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 8th | 24.0 | 280 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Willie Horton (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Frequently Asked Questions about Willie Horton
- What years did Willie Horton play?
- Willie Horton played in Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1980.
- Was Willie Horton a pitcher?
- No. Willie Horton was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Willie Horton hit?
- Willie Horton hit 325 career home runs with 1993 hits.