Cliff Johnson

Designated Hitter · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1972-1986)

Cliff Johnson was a designated hitter who played in Major League Baseball from 1972 to 1986 for 7 teams, including the Houston Astros, a span of 15 seasons. In 1,369 career games, he hit .258 with 1,016 hits, 196 home runs, and 699 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 11,681.

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 .258
HR 196
RBI 699
H 1,016
OPS .815
PIV 11,681
Position
Designated Hitter
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'4" / 215 lb
Born
7/22/1947 in San Antonio, TX, USA
MLB Debut
1972-09-13
Last Game
1986-09-30

Full name: Clifford Johnson

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Career Batting Statistics

Cliff Johnson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,369 3,945 539 1,016 188 10 196 699 9 568 719 .258 .355 .459 .815 11,681

Career AVG .258 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .355 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — +9.6% above league average.

Career SLG .459 vs. league average .382 across their career seasons — +20.2% above league average.

Career OPS .815 vs. league average .706 across their career seasons — +15.4% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Cliff Johnson 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
1972 HOU NL 5 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .250 — — — — 0.0
1973 HOU NL 7 20 6 6 2 0 2 6 0 1 7 .300 — — — — 0.0
1974 HOU NL 83 171 26 39 4 1 10 29 0 33 45 .228 .256 (-11%) .324 (+10%) .369 (+19%) .693 (+15%) 524.5
1975 HOU NL 122 340 52 94 16 1 20 65 1 46 64 .276 .257 (+7%) .327 (+13%) .374 (+35%) .701 (+25%) 1668.4
1976 HOU NL 108 318 36 72 21 2 10 49 0 62 59 .226 .255 (-11%) .320 (+12%) .360 (+11%) .681 (+11%) 868.8
1977 HOU NL 51 144 22 43 8 0 10 23 0 23 30 .299 .264 (+13%) .329 (+24%) .401 (+40%) .730 (+33%) 922.4
1977 NYA AL 56 142 24 42 8 0 12 31 0 20 23 .296 .264 (+12%) .329 (+23%) .401 (+51%) .730 (+38%) 922.4
1978 NYA AL 76 174 20 32 9 1 6 19 0 30 32 .184 .257 (-29%) .323 (-5%) .378 (-7%) .702 (-6%) -128.5
1979 NYA AL 28 64 11 17 6 0 2 6 0 10 7 .266 .265 (avg) .329 (+9%) .397 (+14%) .727 (+12%) 133.9
1979 CLE AL 72 240 37 65 10 0 18 61 2 24 39 .271 .265 (+2%) .329 (+4%) .397 (+35%) .727 (+21%) 133.9
1980 CLE AL 54 174 25 40 3 1 6 28 0 25 30 .230 .264 (-13%) .326 (-2%) .387 (-7%) .714 (-4%) -106.4
1980 CHN NL 68 196 28 46 8 0 10 34 0 29 35 .235 .264 (-11%) .326 (+3%) .387 (+11%) .714 (+7%) -106.4
1981 OAK AL 84 273 40 71 8 0 17 59 5 28 60 .260 .255 (+2%) .320 (+3%) .368 (+29%) .688 (+17%) 763.2
1982 OAK AL 73 214 19 51 10 0 7 31 1 26 41 .238 .261 (-9%) .324 (avg) .388 (-1%) .712 (-1%) 1.8
1983 TOR AL 142 407 59 108 23 1 22 76 0 67 69 .265 .260 (+2%) .324 (+15%) .389 (+26%) .714 (+21%) 1833.0
1984 TOR AL 127 359 51 109 23 1 16 61 0 50 62 .304 .259 (+17%) .322 (+21%) .384 (+32%) .707 (+27%) 1972.0
1985 TEX AL 82 296 31 76 17 1 12 56 0 31 44 .257 .257 (avg) .323 (+2%) .390 (+13%) .714 (+8%) 424.3
1985 TOR AL 24 73 4 20 0 0 1 10 0 9 15 .274 .257 (+7%) .323 (+8%) .390 (-19%) .714 (-7%) 424.3
1986 TOR AL 107 336 48 84 12 1 15 55 0 52 57 .250 .257 (-3%) .325 (+9%) .395 (+8%) .720 (+8%) 667.8
Career · 19 seasons 1,369 3,945 539 1,016 188 10 196 699 9 568 719 .258 — — — — 10,919

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

Cliff Johnson — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
21 51 3 15 5 0 1 4 4 10 .294

Playoff Batting by Year

Cliff Johnson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1985 ALCS TOR 7 19 1 7 2 0 0 2 1 4 .368
1981 ALCS OAK 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 .000
1981 AWDIV OAK 2 7 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 .286
1978 ALCS NYA 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1978 WS NYA 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1977 ALCS NYA 5 15 2 6 2 0 1 2 1 2 .400
1977 WS NYA 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1369 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Cliff Johnson — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home6821937280488103367.252
Away687200825952893332.263

Last 10 Games — Batting

Cliff Johnson — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1986-09-30 TORNYYL 000000000
1986-09-29 TORNYYL 300000011
1986-09-27 TORBOSL 100000000
1986-09-14 TORMILL 300000010
1986-09-12 TORMILL 100000001
1986-09-11 TORNYYL 410000002
1986-09-11 TORNYYL 300000000
1986-09-09 TORNYYL 300000000
1986-09-07 TORCHWL 110000030
1986-09-06 TORCHWW 400000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Cliff Johnson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 189 158 1549 79 12 134
C 179 149 770 76 21 11
OF 58 56 92 5 5 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Cliff Johnson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1972 HOU C 1 0 6 0 0 0
1973 HOU 1B 5 5 47 2 0 7
1974 HOU 1B 21 16 147 9 1 13
1974 HOU C 28 22 123 9 3 4
1975 HOU 1B 47 43 407 21 4 33
1975 HOU C 41 37 195 16 8 4
1975 HOU OF 1 1 2 1 0 0
1976 HOU 1B 16 8 117 1 0 8
1976 HOU C 66 64 312 34 8 2
1976 HOU OF 20 20 39 0 1 0
1977 HOU 1B 10 6 64 7 0 8
1977 HOU OF 34 32 49 4 3 0
1977 NYA 1B 11 11 89 8 1 11
1977 NYA C 15 10 56 6 0 0
1978 NYA 1B 1 1 4 0 0 0
1978 NYA C 22 13 67 10 2 1
1979 NYA C 4 3 10 1 0 0
1979 CLE C 1 0 0 0 0 0
1980 CHN 1B 46 44 468 16 4 34
1980 CHN C 1 0 1 0 0 0
1980 CHN OF 3 3 2 0 1 0
1981 OAK 1B 9 5 42 1 0 2
1982 OAK 1B 11 7 66 8 1 7
1983 TOR 1B 6 6 47 4 0 5
1984 TOR 1B 2 2 26 0 0 0
1985 TOR 1B 3 3 17 1 1 4
1986 TOR 1B 1 1 8 1 0 2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Cliff Johnson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 179
First Base 188
Left Field 57
Right Field 4
Designated Hitter 748

Awards & Honors

Cliff Johnson — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1983 Player of the Week Week of 1983-06-24

Salary History

Cliff Johnson's recorded salaries total $1,408,333 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1986. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Johnson's career ran from 1972 to 1986. His seasons before 1985 are not included.

Cliff Johnson — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1986 TOR AL $725,000
1985 TEX AL $683,333
Total recorded salary (partial) $1,408,333

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Cliff Johnson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Andre Thornton
    .254 avg, 253 HR
  2. 89
    Kendrys Morales
    .265 avg, 213 HR
  3. 84
    Geronimo Berroa
    .276 avg, 101 HR
  4. 79
    Travis Hafner
    .273 avg, 213 HR
  5. 78
    Jack Cust
    .242 avg, 105 HR
  6. 77
    Billy Butler
    .290 avg, 147 HR

Cliff Johnson: the record in brief

The profile opens with Cliff Johnson's first major league game on September 13, 1972; the last one listed came on September 30, 1986. By club, Johnson's seasons break down as the Houston Astros (1972 to 1977), the New York Yankees (1977 to 1979), the Cleveland Indians (1979 through 1980), the Chicago Cubs (1980), the Oakland Athletics (1981 to 1982), the Toronto Blue Jays (1983 to 1986), and the Texas Rangers (1985). The bio lists Johnson as a designated hitter who threw and hit right-handed. Johnson is listed at 6'4" and 215 pounds. The birth record reads July 22, 1947, in San Antonio, TX, USA. Johnson's full given name, per the bio, is Clifford Johnson.

Johnson's career batting table shows 1,369 games, 3,945 at bats and 1,016 hits, a .258 average; the totals also include 196 home runs and 699 runs batted in. On-base and slugging figures of .355 and .459 give Johnson a career OPS of .815. Johnson hit .258 while the league hit .259 over the same span, a figure close to average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Cliff Johnson

What years did Cliff Johnson play?
Cliff Johnson played in Major League Baseball from 1972 to 1986.
Was Cliff Johnson a pitcher?
No. Cliff Johnson was a position player (Designated Hitter).
How many home runs did Cliff Johnson hit?
Cliff Johnson hit 196 career home runs with 1,016 hits.
What teams did Cliff Johnson play for?
Cliff Johnson played for 7 teams: the Houston Astros (1972–1977), the New York Yankees (1977–1979), the Cleveland Indians (1979–1980), the Chicago Cubs (1980), the Oakland Athletics (1981–1982), the Toronto Blue Jays (1983–1986), and the Texas Rangers (1985).
What were Cliff Johnson's career stats?
In 1,369 games, Cliff Johnson had 1,016 hits, 196 home runs, 699 RBI, 539 runs, and 9 stolen bases, with a .258 batting average.
How much did Cliff Johnson earn in his career?
Cliff Johnson's recorded salaries total $1,408,333 over 2 seasons, 1985 to 1986. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Johnson's career ran from 1972 to 1986. His seasons before 1985 are not included.
What was Cliff Johnson's salary?
Cliff Johnson's last recorded salary was $725,000, in 1986. His highest recorded salary was $725,000, in 1986, and his lowest was $683,333, in 1985. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1986.
What position did Cliff Johnson play?
Cliff Johnson played primarily as a designated hitter, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Cliff Johnson and how much did he weigh?
Cliff Johnson was listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 215 pounds.
How many home runs did Cliff Johnson hit each season?
Cliff Johnson's home runs by season: 0 in 1972, 2 in 1973, 10 in 1974, 20 in 1975, 10 in 1976, 22 in 1977, 6 in 1978, 20 in 1979, 16 in 1980, 17 in 1981, 7 in 1982, 22 in 1983, 16 in 1984, 13 in 1985, and 15 in 1986. His most in one season was 22, in 1977 and 1983.
What was Cliff Johnson's career batting average?
Cliff Johnson batted .258 over his career, with 1,016 hits in 3,945 at bats.
How many RBI did Cliff Johnson have?
Cliff Johnson drove in 699 runs in his career.
Is Cliff Johnson in the Hall of Fame?
No. Cliff Johnson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.