Jackie Jensen
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1950-1961)
Jackie Jensen was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1961 for the New York Yankees, the Washington Senators, and the Boston Red Sox, a span of 12 seasons. In 1,438 career games, he hit .279 with 1,463 hits, 199 home runs, and 929 RBI. Jackie Jensen was a 3-time All-Star, an MVP, and a Gold Glove. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 17,119.
- 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
- Position
- Outfielder
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 190 lb
- Died
- 7/14/1982 in Charlottesville, VA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1950-04-18
- Last Game
- 1961-10-01
- Awards
- 3× All-Star · MVP · Gold Glove
Full name: Jack Eugene Jensen
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,438 | 5,236 | 810 | 1,463 | 259 | 45 | 199 | 929 | 143 | 750 | 546 | .279 | .369 | .460 | .829 | 17,119 |
Career AVG .279 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — +7.8% above league average.
Career OBP .369 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — +11.4% above league average.
Career SLG .460 vs. league average .392 across their career seasons — +17.3% above league average.
Career OPS .829 vs. league average .723 across their career seasons — +14.6% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | NYA | AL | 45 | 70 | 13 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 8 | .171 | .265 (-36%) | .346 (-29%) | .401 (-25%) | .747 (-27%) | -336.1 |
| 1951 | NYA | AL | 56 | 168 | 30 | 50 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 25 | 8 | 18 | 18 | .298 | .260 (+14%) | .336 (+10%) | .385 (+30%) | .721 (+20%) | 588.9 |
| 1952 | NYA | AL | 7 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | .105 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1952 | WS1 | AL | 144 | 570 | 80 | 163 | 29 | 5 | 10 | 80 | 17 | 63 | 40 | .286 | .252 (+13%) | .326 (+10%) | .369 (+10%) | .696 (+10%) | 0.0 |
| 1953 | WS1 | AL | 147 | 552 | 87 | 147 | 32 | 8 | 10 | 84 | 18 | 73 | 51 | .266 | .264 (+1%) | .335 (+6%) | .397 (+3%) | .733 (+4%) | 574.3 |
| 1954 | BOS | AL | 152 | 580 | 92 | 160 | 25 | 7 | 25 | 117 | 22 | 79 | 52 | .276 | .261 (+6%) | .333 (+8%) | .390 (+21%) | .723 (+15%) | 1748.6 |
| 1955 | BOS | AL | 152 | 574 | 95 | 158 | 27 | 6 | 26 | 116 | 16 | 89 | 63 | .275 | .258 (+6%) | .332 (+11%) | .393 (+22%) | .726 (+17%) | 2029.1 |
| 1956 | BOS | AL | 151 | 578 | 80 | 182 | 23 | 11 | 20 | 97 | 11 | 89 | 43 | .315 | .258 (+22%) | .331 (+22%) | .397 (+25%) | .728 (+24%) | 3049.4 |
| 1957 | BOS | AL | 145 | 544 | 82 | 153 | 29 | 2 | 23 | 103 | 8 | 75 | 66 | .281 | .257 (+9%) | .323 (+13%) | .391 (+20%) | .715 (+17%) | 1981.2 |
| 1958 | BOS | AL | 154 | 548 | 83 | 157 | 31 | 0 | 35 | 122 | 9 | 99 | 65 | .286 | .257 (+11%) | .324 (+22%) | .394 (+36%) | .719 (+29%) | 3615.5 |
| 1959 | BOS | AL | 148 | 535 | 101 | 148 | 31 | 0 | 28 | 112 | 20 | 88 | 67 | .277 | .256 (+8%) | .323 (+15%) | .392 (+25%) | .715 (+21%) | 2335.7 |
| 1961 | BOS | AL | 137 | 498 | 64 | 131 | 21 | 2 | 13 | 66 | 9 | 66 | 69 | .263 | .258 (+2%) | .328 (+7%) | .399 (-2%) | .727 (+2%) | 340.9 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 1,438 | 5,236 | 810 | 1,463 | 259 | 45 | 199 | 929 | 143 | 750 | 546 | .279 | — | — | — | — | 15,927 | ||
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 (1438 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 709 | 2517 | 426 | 724 | 91 | 479 | .288 |
| Away | 729 | 2719 | 384 | 739 | 108 | 450 | .272 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961-10-01 | BOS | NYY | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-09-26 | BOS | CHW | W | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-09-26 | BOS | CHW | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-09-24 | BOS | NYY | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-09-23 | BOS | NYY | L | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1961-09-19 | BOS | CHW | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-09-16 | BOS | BAL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-09-13 | BOS | TEX | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-09-12 | BOS | TEX | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-09-11 | BOS | TEX | W | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OF | 1391 | 1021 | 2739 | 124 | 68 | 20 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | NYA | OF | 23 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1951 | NYA | OF | 48 | 0 | 106 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| 1952 | NYA | OF | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1952 | WS1 | OF | 143 | 0 | 283 | 17 | 7 | 1 |
| 1953 | WS1 | OF | 146 | 0 | 274 | 9 | 5 | 0 |
| 1954 | BOS | OF | 151 | 149 | 331 | 12 | 5 | 0 |
| 1955 | BOS | OF | 150 | 149 | 281 | 11 | 7 | 3 |
| 1956 | BOS | OF | 151 | 150 | 291 | 13 | 12 | 2 |
| 1957 | BOS | OF | 144 | 143 | 251 | 16 | 11 | 4 |
| 1958 | BOS | OF | 153 | 153 | 293 | 14 | 6 | 3 |
| 1959 | BOS | OF | 146 | 146 | 311 | 12 | 6 | 4 |
| 1961 | BOS | OF | 131 | 131 | 274 | 14 | 4 | 2 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Left Field | 54 |
| Center Field | 158 |
| Right Field | 1205 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Gold Glove | RF |
| 1958 | Most Valuable Player | |
| 1958 | TSN Player of the Year |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley | CA | 1947, 1948, 1949 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 10th | 40.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1958 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 1st | 233.0 | 336 | 9 |
| 1956 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 20th | 15.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1955 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 10th | 39.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1954 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 14th | 17.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1952 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 17th | 12.0 | 336 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Jackie Jensen (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Jackie Jensen
Jackie Jensen: the record in brief
Between the debut on April 18, 1950 and the final game on October 1, 1961, Jackie Jensen built the record summarized on this page. By club, Jensen's seasons break down as the New York Yankees (1950 to 1952), the Washington Senators (1952 through 1953), and the Boston Red Sox (1954 to 1961). Born on March 9, 1927, in San Francisco, CA, USA, Jensen is listed as an outfielder and batted and threw right-handed. The bio gives 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds. Jensen died on July 14, 1982, in Charlottesville, VA, USA. The given name on file is Jack Eugene Jensen.
The batting record for Jensen: 1,438 games, 1,463 hits in 5,236 at bats, and a .279 average; the totals also include 199 homers, 929 runs batted in, and 143 stolen bases. Jensen got on base at a .369 rate and slugged .460 (.829 OPS). Over the seasons Jensen played, league hitters batted .259; the .279 career figure is 7.8% above that.
Frequently Asked Questions about Jackie Jensen
- What years did Jackie Jensen play?
- Jackie Jensen played in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1961.
- Was Jackie Jensen a pitcher?
- No. Jackie Jensen was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Jackie Jensen hit?
- Jackie Jensen hit 199 career home runs with 1,463 hits.
- What teams did Jackie Jensen play for?
- Jackie Jensen played for 3 teams: the New York Yankees (1950–1952), the Washington Senators (1952–1953), and the Boston Red Sox (1954–1959, 1961).
- How many MVP awards did Jackie Jensen win?
- Jackie Jensen won 1 MVP award, in 1958.
- What awards did Jackie Jensen win?
- Jackie Jensen won the MVP award (1958) and the Gold Glove (1959). He was selected to 3 All-Star Games.
- What were Jackie Jensen's career stats?
- In 1,438 games, Jackie Jensen had 1,463 hits, 199 home runs, 929 RBI, 810 runs, and 143 stolen bases, with a .279 batting average.
- What position did Jackie Jensen play?
- Jackie Jensen played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Jackie Jensen and how much did he weigh?
- Jackie Jensen was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 190 pounds.
- How many home runs did Jackie Jensen hit each season?
- Jackie Jensen's home runs by season: 1 in 1950, 8 in 1951, 10 in 1952, 10 in 1953, 25 in 1954, 26 in 1955, 20 in 1956, 23 in 1957, 35 in 1958, 28 in 1959, and 13 in 1961. His most in one season was 35, in 1958.
- What was Jackie Jensen's career batting average?
- Jackie Jensen batted .279 over his career, with 1,463 hits in 5,236 at bats.
- How many RBI did Jackie Jensen have?
- Jackie Jensen drove in 929 runs in his career.
- Is Jackie Jensen in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Jackie Jensen has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- How many All-Star Games did Jackie Jensen make?
- Jackie Jensen was selected to 3 All-Star Games.