Benny Kauff

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1912-1920)

Benny Kauff was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1920 for 4 teams, including the New York Yankees, a span of 9 seasons. In 859 career games, he hit .311 with 961 hits, 49 home runs, and 454 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 16,798.

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 .311
HR 49
RBI 454
H 961
OPS .838
PIV 16,798
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
5'8" / 157 lb
Born
1/5/1890 in Pomeroy, OH, USA
Died
11/17/1961 in Columbus, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1912-04-20
Last Game
1920-07-02

Full name: Bennie Michael Kauff

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Career Batting Statistics

Benny Kauff — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
859 3,094 521 961 169 57 49 454 234 367 313 .311 .389 .450 .838 16,798

Career AVG .311 vs. league average .257 across their career seasons — +20.7% above league average.

Career OBP .389 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — +20.7% above league average.

Career SLG .450 vs. league average .340 across their career seasons — +32.3% above league average.

Career OPS .838 vs. league average .662 across their career seasons — +26.7% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Benny Kauff — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1912 NYA AL 5 11 4 3 0 0 0 2 1 3 0 .273 — — — — 0.0
1914 IND FL 154 571 120 211 44 13 8 95 75 72 55 .370 .255 (+45%) .322 (+39%) .339 (+57%) .661 (+48%) 5445.2
1915 BRF FL 136 483 92 165 23 11 12 83 55 85 50 .342 .250 (+36%) .318 (+40%) .332 (+53%) .651 (+47%) 4633.0
1916 NY1 NL 154 552 71 146 22 15 9 74 40 68 65 .264 .248 (+6%) .314 (+11%) .326 (+25%) .640 (+18%) 1852.1
1917 NY1 NL 153 559 89 172 22 4 5 68 30 59 54 .308 .248 (+24%) .312 (+21%) .323 (+20%) .635 (+21%) 2316.9
1918 NY1 NL 67 270 41 85 19 4 2 39 9 16 30 .315 .255 (+23%) .318 (+11%) .326 (+34%) .645 (+23%) 909.0
1919 NY1 NL 135 491 73 136 27 7 10 67 21 39 45 .277 .262 (+6%) .322 (+3%) .347 (+21%) .670 (+13%) 1087.1
1920 NY1 NL 55 157 31 43 12 3 3 26 3 25 14 .274 .271 (+1%) .331 (+15%) .363 (+23%) .694 (+19%) 554.6
Career · 8 seasons 859 3,094 521 961 169 57 49 454 234 367 313 .311 — — — — 16,798

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

Benny Kauff — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
6 25 2 4 1 0 2 5 0 2 .160

Playoff Batting by Year

Benny Kauff — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1917 WS NY1 6 25 2 4 1 0 2 5 0 2 .160

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (859 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Benny Kauff — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home419144326347129231.326
Away440165225849020223.297

Last 10 Games — Batting

Benny Kauff — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1920-07-02 NY1BSNW 321001121
1920-07-02 NY1BSNL 422001111
1920-06-30 NY1BROL 400000000
1920-06-30 NY1BROL 101000100
1920-06-28 NY1PHIW 200000000
1920-06-26 NY1PHIL 301000101
1920-06-26 NY1PHIW 400000002
1920-06-24 NY1CHCW 100000000
1920-06-23 NY1CHCW 100000111
1920-06-22 NY1CHCL 401000010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Benny Kauff — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 853 0 1881 136 85 29

Season-by-Season Fielding

Benny Kauff — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1912 NYA OF 4 0 4 0 0 0
1914 IND OF 154 0 310 31 17 5
1915 BRF OF 136 0 317 32 15 7
1916 NY1 OF 154 0 329 22 14 6
1917 NY1 OF 153 0 357 12 9 4
1918 NY1 OF 67 0 147 11 8 4
1919 NY1 OF 134 0 306 18 17 3
1920 NY1 OF 51 0 111 10 5 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Benny Kauff — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Left Field 34
Center Field 753
Right Field 68

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Benny Kauff (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Bug Holliday
    .312 avg, 65 HR
  2. 86
    Johnny Mostil
    .301 avg, 23 HR
  3. 80
    Branch Russell
    .309 avg, 57 HR
  4. 79
    Pete Reiser
    .295 avg, 58 HR
  5. 78
    George Harper
    .303 avg, 91 HR
  6. 77
    Clint Thomas
    .303 avg, 65 HR

Benny Kauff: the record in brief

Between the debut on April 20, 1912 and the final game on July 2, 1920, Benny Kauff built the record summarized on this page. The season rows list, in order, the New York Highlanders (1912), the Indianapolis Hoosiers (1914), the Brooklyn Tip-Tops (1915), and the New York Giants (1916 through 1920). At 5 feet, 8 inches and 157 pounds, Kauff is listed as an outfielder. Kauff both batted and threw left-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is January 5, 1890, in Pomeroy, OH, USA. Kauff died on November 17, 1961, in Columbus, OH, USA. Benny Kauff was the playing name; the full given name is Bennie Michael.

Kauff finished with 961 hits from 3,094 at bats in 859 games, which works out to .311, adding 49 homers, 454 RBI, and 234 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .389 clip and slugging .450, Kauff finished with a .838 OPS. Set against a .257 league average for the same years, Kauff's .311 average sits 20.7% above it.

Frequently Asked Questions about Benny Kauff

What years did Benny Kauff play?
Benny Kauff played in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1920.
Was Benny Kauff a pitcher?
No. Benny Kauff was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Benny Kauff hit?
Benny Kauff hit 49 career home runs with 961 hits.
What was Benny Kauff's career batting average?
Benny Kauff batted .311 over his career, with 961 hits in 3,094 at bats.
How many RBI did Benny Kauff have?
Benny Kauff drove in 454 runs in his career.
Is Benny Kauff in the Hall of Fame?
No. Benny Kauff has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.