Lou Johnson

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1960-1969)

Lou Johnson was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1969 for 6 teams, including the Chicago Cubs, a span of 10 seasons. In 677 career games, he hit .258 with 529 hits, 48 home runs, and 232 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 1,352.

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 48
RBI 232
H 529
OPS .701
PIV 1,352
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 170 lb
Born
9/22/1934 in Lexington, KY, USA
Died
10/1/2020 in Los Angeles, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1960-04-17
Last Game
1969-09-06

Full name: Louis Brown Johnson

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Batting Statistics

Lou Johnson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
677 2,049 244 529 97 14 48 232 50 110 320 .258 .311 .389 .701 1,352

Career AVG .258 vs. league average .249 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .311 vs. league average .315 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .389 vs. league average .374 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .701 vs. league average .689 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Lou Johnson (b. 1934) 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
1960 CHN NL 34 68 6 14 2 1 0 1 3 5 19 .206 .255 (-19%) .323 (-17%) .387 (-32%) .711 (-25%) -261.6
1961 LAA AL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1962 ML1 NL 61 117 22 33 4 5 2 13 6 11 27 .282 .257 (+9%) .326 (+7%) .393 (+15%) .719 (+11%) 215.0
1965 LAN NL 131 468 57 121 24 1 12 58 15 24 81 .259 .245 (+5%) .310 (+1%) .371 (+5%) .682 (+3%) 295.0
1966 LAN NL 152 526 71 143 20 2 17 73 8 21 75 .272 .248 (+9%) .309 (+2%) .376 (+10%) .685 (+7%) 629.6
1967 LAN NL 104 330 39 89 14 1 11 41 4 24 52 .270 .242 (+11%) .306 (+8%) .357 (+17%) .663 (+13%) 726.8
1968 CHN NL 62 205 14 50 14 3 1 14 3 6 23 .244 .236 (+3%) .298 (-3%) .340 (+5%) .638 (+1%) -11.6
1968 CLE AL 65 202 25 52 11 1 5 23 6 9 24 .257 .236 (+9%) .298 (avg) .340 (+16%) .638 (+9%) -11.6
1969 CAL AL 67 133 10 27 8 0 0 9 5 10 19 .203 .248 (-18%) .320 (-15%) .369 (-29%) .689 (-22%) -454.2
Career · 9 seasons 677 2,049 244 529 97 14 48 232 50 110 320 .258 — — — — 1,128

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

Lou Johnson — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
11 42 4 12 3 0 2 4 2 4 .286

Playoff Batting by Year

Lou Johnson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1966 WS LAN 4 15 1 4 1 0 0 0 1 1 .267
1965 WS LAN 7 27 3 8 2 0 2 4 1 3 .296

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (678 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Lou Johnson — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home32594211726125116.277
Away353110712726823116.242

Last 10 Games — Batting

Lou Johnson — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1969-09-06 LAACHWW 000000000
1969-07-20 LAAOAKL 000000100
1969-07-19 LAAOAKL 200000000
1969-07-14 LAAKCRW 301000000
1969-07-13 LAAOAKL 400000000
1969-07-13 LAAOAKW 511000002
1969-07-12 LAAOAKL 311100000
1969-07-11 LAAOAKL 402100000
1969-07-09 LAAMILL 100000000
1969-07-08 LAAMILL 100000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Lou Johnson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 606 515 945 30 19 6

Season-by-Season Fielding

Lou Johnson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1960 CHN OF 25 16 43 4 0 0
1961 LAA OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1962 ML1 OF 55 22 61 1 0 1
1965 LAN OF 128 121 199 3 3 2
1966 LAN OF 148 137 249 8 4 2
1967 LAN OF 91 85 153 7 4 0
1968 CHN OF 57 55 97 0 3 0
1968 CLE OF 57 49 87 5 1 1
1969 CAL OF 44 30 56 2 4 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Lou Johnson (b. 1934) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Left Field 419
Center Field 40
Right Field 194

Award Voting History

Lou Johnson — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1965 Most Valuable Player NL 24th 6.0 280 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    George Thomas
    .255 avg, 46 HR
  2. 97
    Jerry Turner
    .257 avg, 45 HR
  3. 90
    Jacob Brumfield
    .257 avg, 32 HR
  4. 85
    Matt Vierling
    .250 avg, 40 HR
  5. 84
    Joe Marty
    .261 avg, 44 HR
  6. 83
    Luis Matos
    .255 avg, 30 HR

Lou Johnson: the record in brief

April 17, 1960 and September 6, 1969 bracket Lou Johnson's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The team column moves through the Chicago Cubs (1960 to 1968), the Los Angeles Angels (1961), the Milwaukee Braves (1962), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1965 to 1967), the Cleveland Indians (1968), and the California Angels (1969). Johnson, born on September 22, 1934, in Lexington, KY, USA, is listed as an outfielder and both batted and threw right-handed. Johnson's listed size is 170 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame. The bio records the death on October 1, 2020, in Los Angeles, CA, USA. The bio lists the given name Louis Brown.

In 677 games and 2,049 at bats, Johnson batted .258 with 529 hits, along with 48 home runs, 232 RBI, and 50 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .311 and the slugging percentage .389, for an OPS of .701. The .258 career average is close to the .249 the league hit across the same seasons. The home run peak was 17 in 1966 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Frequently Asked Questions about Lou Johnson

What years did Lou Johnson play?
Lou Johnson played in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1969.
Was Lou Johnson a pitcher?
No. Lou Johnson was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Lou Johnson hit?
Lou Johnson hit 48 career home runs with 529 hits.
What was Lou Johnson's career batting average?
Lou Johnson batted .258 over his career, with 529 hits in 2,049 at bats.
How many RBI did Lou Johnson have?
Lou Johnson drove in 232 runs in his career.
Is Lou Johnson in the Hall of Fame?
No. Lou Johnson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.