Harmon Killebrew

First Baseman · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1954-1975)

Harmon Killebrew was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1975 for the Washington Senators, the Minnesota Twins, and the Kansas City Royals, a span of 22 seasons. In 2,435 career games, he hit .256 with 2,086 hits, 573 home runs, and 1,584 RBI. Harmon Killebrew was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984 and was a 11-time All-Star and an MVP. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 48,240.

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

⭐ Hall of Fame 1984
AVG .256
HR 573
RBI 1,584
H 2,086
OPS .884
PIV 48,240
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 195 lb
Born
6/29/1936 in Payette, ID, USA
Died
5/17/2011 in Scottsdale, AZ, USA
MLB Debut
1954-06-23
Last Game
1975-09-26
Hall of Fame
Inducted 1984 (BBWAA)
Awards
11× All-Star · MVP

Full name: Harmon Clayton Killebrew

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Career Batting Statistics

Harmon Killebrew — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
2,435 8,147 1,283 2,086 290 24 573 1,584 19 1,559 1,699 .256 .376 .509 .884 48,240

Career AVG .256 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .376 vs. league average .320 across their career seasons — +17.5% above league average.

Career SLG .509 vs. league average .377 across their career seasons — +34.9% above league average.

Career OPS .884 vs. league average .697 across their career seasons — +26.9% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Harmon Killebrew 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
1954 WS1 AL 9 13 1 4 1 0 0 3 0 2 3 .308 — — — — 0.0
1955 WS1 AL 38 80 12 16 1 0 4 7 0 9 31 .200 .258 (-23%) .332 (-15%) .393 (-8%) .726 (-11%) -147.2
1956 WS1 AL 44 99 10 22 2 0 5 13 0 10 39 .222 .258 (-14%) .331 (-12%) .397 (-1%) .728 (-6%) -110.0
1957 WS1 AL 9 31 4 9 2 0 2 5 0 2 8 .290 — — — — 0.0
1958 WS1 AL 13 31 2 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 12 .194 — — — — 0.0
1959 WS1 AL 153 546 98 132 20 2 42 105 3 90 116 .242 .256 (-6%) .323 (+9%) .392 (+32%) .715 (+22%) 2533.1
1960 WS1 AL 124 442 84 122 19 1 31 80 1 71 106 .276 .255 (+8%) .323 (+16%) .387 (+38%) .711 (+28%) 2498.9
1961 MIN AL 150 541 94 156 20 7 46 122 1 107 109 .288 .258 (+12%) .328 (+24%) .399 (+52%) .727 (+39%) 4553.1
1962 MIN AL 155 552 85 134 21 1 48 126 1 106 142 .243 .257 (-6%) .326 (+12%) .393 (+39%) .719 (+27%) 3186.6
1963 MIN AL 142 515 88 133 18 0 45 96 0 72 105 .258 .246 (+5%) .308 (+13%) .371 (+49%) .680 (+33%) 3217.3
1964 MIN AL 158 577 95 156 11 1 49 111 0 93 135 .270 .250 (+8%) .312 (+21%) .377 (+45%) .690 (+34%) 4123.7
1965 MIN AL 113 401 78 108 16 1 25 75 0 72 69 .269 .245 (+10%) .310 (+24%) .371 (+35%) .682 (+30%) 2425.9
1966 MIN AL 162 569 89 160 27 1 39 110 0 103 98 .281 .248 (+13%) .309 (+26%) .376 (+43%) .685 (+35%) 4331.4
1967 MIN AL 163 547 105 147 24 1 44 113 1 131 111 .269 .242 (+11%) .306 (+33%) .357 (+56%) .663 (+45%) 5340.1
1968 MIN AL 100 295 40 62 7 2 17 40 0 70 70 .210 .236 (-11%) .298 (+21%) .340 (+24%) .638 (+22%) 1397.9
1969 MIN AL 162 555 106 153 20 2 49 140 8 145 84 .276 .248 (+11%) .320 (+34%) .369 (+58%) .689 (+47%) 5827.5
1970 MIN AL 157 527 96 143 20 1 41 113 0 128 84 .271 .253 (+7%) .325 (+26%) .385 (+42%) .711 (+35%) 4165.1
1971 MIN AL 147 500 61 127 19 1 28 119 3 114 96 .254 .249 (+2%) .316 (+22%) .365 (+27%) .682 (+25%) 2772.3
1972 MIN AL 139 433 53 100 13 2 26 74 0 94 91 .231 .243 (-5%) .310 (+18%) .353 (+27%) .664 (+23%) 2161.2
1973 MIN AL 69 248 29 60 9 1 5 32 0 41 59 .242 .256 (-6%) .325 (+8%) .378 (-8%) .703 (-1%) 101.9
1974 MIN AL 122 333 28 74 7 0 13 54 0 45 61 .222 .256 (-13%) .324 (-4%) .369 (-2%) .693 (-3%) -131.6
1975 KCA AL 106 312 25 62 13 0 14 44 1 54 70 .199 .257 (-23%) .327 (-3%) .374 (avg) .701 (-1%) -7.3
Career · 22 seasons 2,435 8,147 1,283 2,086 290 24 573 1,584 19 1,559 1,699 .256 — — — — 48,240

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

Harmon Killebrew — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
13 40 6 10 1 0 3 6 14 10 .250

Playoff Batting by Year

Harmon Killebrew — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1970 ALCS MIN 3 11 2 3 0 0 2 4 2 4 .273
1969 ALCS MIN 3 8 2 1 1 0 0 0 6 2 .125
1965 WS MIN 7 21 2 6 0 0 1 2 6 4 .286

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (2435 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Harmon Killebrew — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home120339356421018291827.259
Away123242126401068282756.254

Last 10 Games — Batting

Harmon Killebrew — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1975-09-26 KCRTEXW 100000000
1975-09-25 KCRMINL 300000011
1975-09-23 KCRTEXW 301000000
1975-09-20 KCROAKL 300000010
1975-09-18 KCRMINW 211001111
1975-09-15 KCRCHWW 201000010
1975-09-14 KCRLAAW 411001202
1975-09-10 KCROAKL 400000002
1975-09-08 KCROAKL 400000000
1975-09-07 KCRLAAW 100000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Harmon Killebrew — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 969 929 7521 555 69 678
2B 11 5 12 6 1 1
3B 791 718 607 1388 127 88
OF 470 468 709 14 18 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Harmon Killebrew — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1954 WS1 2B 3 3 5 2 0 0
1955 WS1 2B 3 0 1 0 0 0
1955 WS1 3B 23 17 23 49 5 3
1956 WS1 2B 4 2 6 4 1 1
1956 WS1 3B 20 18 18 40 3 3
1957 WS1 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1957 WS1 3B 7 7 2 16 1 2
1958 WS1 3B 9 8 8 13 0 1
1959 WS1 3B 150 149 129 325 30 18
1959 WS1 OF 4 4 6 0 0 0
1960 WS1 1B 71 71 584 32 8 69
1960 WS1 3B 65 45 45 103 9 7
1961 MIN 1B 119 115 972 67 14 91
1961 MIN 3B 45 33 28 75 9 10
1961 MIN OF 2 2 3 1 0 0
1962 MIN 1B 4 2 14 0 1 4
1962 MIN OF 151 150 227 5 8 0
1963 MIN OF 137 137 219 7 3 0
1964 MIN OF 157 157 232 1 7 0
1965 MIN 1B 72 70 636 35 8 64
1965 MIN 3B 44 40 37 78 4 3
1965 MIN OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1966 MIN 1B 42 40 330 15 4 30
1966 MIN 3B 107 103 83 190 14 11
1966 MIN OF 18 18 22 0 0 0
1967 MIN 1B 160 160 1283 86 11 100
1967 MIN 3B 3 3 2 3 1 0
1968 MIN 1B 77 77 594 56 4 50
1968 MIN 3B 11 10 7 15 3 1
1969 MIN 1B 80 66 574 34 2 55
1969 MIN 3B 105 96 75 185 20 12
1970 MIN 1B 28 26 204 9 3 14
1970 MIN 3B 138 129 108 203 17 14
1971 MIN 1B 90 82 658 56 2 52
1971 MIN 3B 64 60 42 93 11 3
1972 MIN 1B 130 128 995 99 9 82
1973 MIN 1B 57 57 431 45 1 42
1974 MIN 1B 33 31 218 21 2 21
1975 KCA 1B 6 4 28 0 0 4

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Harmon Killebrew Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 970
Second Base 11
Third Base 791
Left Field 471
Right Field 1
Designated Hitter 158

Awards & Honors

Harmon Killebrew — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1971 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
1970 TSN All-Star 3B
1970 TSN Player of the Year
1969 Most Valuable Player
1969 TSN All-Star 3B
1969 TSN Player of the Year
1967 TSN All-Star 1B
1964 TSN All-Star OF

Award Voting History

Harmon Killebrew — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1971 Most Valuable Player AL 21th 5.0 336 0
1970 Most Valuable Player AL 3rd 152.0 336 1
1969 Most Valuable Player AL 1st 294.0 336 16
1967 Most Valuable Player AL 2nd 161.0 280 0
1966 Most Valuable Player AL 4th 96.0 280 0
1965 Most Valuable Player AL 15th 15.0 280 0
1964 Most Valuable Player AL 10th 31.0 280 0
1963 Most Valuable Player AL 4th 85.0 280 0
1962 Most Valuable Player AL 3rd 99.0 280 1
1961 Most Valuable Player AL 11th 29.0 280 0
1959 Most Valuable Player AL 15th 21.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Harmon Killebrew (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Willie McCovey HOF
    .270 avg, 521 HR
  2. 87
    Eddie Mathews HOF
    .271 avg, 512 HR
  3. 83
    Mike Schmidt HOF
    .267 avg, 548 HR
  4. 74
    Fred McGriff HOF
    .284 avg, 493 HR
  5. 68
    Jason Giambi
    .277 avg, 440 HR
  6. 61
    Carlos Delgado
    .280 avg, 473 HR

Compare Harmon Killebrew

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Killebrew's closest peers by position and era.

vs Ted Williams
vs Stan Musial
vs Lou Gehrig
vs Hank Aaron
vs Bert Blyleven
vs Willie Mays

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

See Harmon Killebrew in Another Era

What would Killebrew's 1961 season look like in a different era's run environment? Try the cross-era translation with a live slider.

Translate Harmon Killebrew's peak season across eras →

Harmon Killebrew: the record in brief

According to the bio, Harmon Killebrew debuted on June 23, 1954 and played a final game on September 26, 1975. The season rows list, in order, the Washington Senators (1954 through 1960), the Minnesota Twins (1961 to 1974), and the Kansas City Royals (1975). The bio lists Killebrew as a first baseman who both batted and threw right-handed. The recorded size is 6 feet, 0 inches and 195 pounds. Killebrew was born on June 29, 1936, in Payette, ID, USA. The bio records the death on May 17, 2011, in Scottsdale, AZ, USA. Harmon Killebrew was the playing name; the full given name is Harmon Clayton.

In 2,435 games and 8,147 at bats, Killebrew batted .256 with 2,086 hits, plus 573 home runs and 1,584 RBI. Reaching base at a .376 clip and slugging .509, Killebrew finished with a .884 OPS. Against a .252 league average for those years, Killebrew's .256 average was near the norm. The OPS comparison is .884 to a league .697, 26.9% above average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Harmon Killebrew

What years did Harmon Killebrew play?
Harmon Killebrew played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1975.
Was Harmon Killebrew a pitcher?
No. Harmon Killebrew was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Harmon Killebrew hit?
Harmon Killebrew hit 573 career home runs with 2,086 hits.
Is Harmon Killebrew in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Harmon Killebrew was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.
What teams did Harmon Killebrew play for?
Harmon Killebrew played for 2 teams: the Minnesota Twins (1954–1974) and the Kansas City Royals (1975).
How many MVP awards did Harmon Killebrew win?
Harmon Killebrew won 1 MVP award, in 1969.
What awards did Harmon Killebrew win?
Harmon Killebrew won the MVP award (1969). He was selected to 11 All-Star Games.
What were Harmon Killebrew's career stats?
In 2,435 games, Harmon Killebrew had 2,086 hits, 573 home runs, 1,584 RBI, 1,283 runs, and 19 stolen bases, with a .256 batting average.
What position did Harmon Killebrew play?
Harmon Killebrew played primarily as a first baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Harmon Killebrew and how much did he weigh?
Harmon Killebrew was listed at 6 feet and 195 pounds.
How many home runs did Harmon Killebrew hit each season?
Harmon Killebrew's home runs by season: 0 in 1954, 4 in 1955, 5 in 1956, 2 in 1957, 0 in 1958, 42 in 1959, 31 in 1960, 46 in 1961, 48 in 1962, 45 in 1963, 49 in 1964, 25 in 1965, 39 in 1966, 44 in 1967, 17 in 1968, 49 in 1969, 41 in 1970, 28 in 1971, 26 in 1972, 5 in 1973, 13 in 1974, and 14 in 1975. His most in one season was 49, in 1964 and 1969.
What was Harmon Killebrew's career batting average?
Harmon Killebrew batted .256 over his career, with 2,086 hits in 8,147 at bats.
How many RBI did Harmon Killebrew have?
Harmon Killebrew drove in 1,584 runs in his career.
How many All-Star Games did Harmon Killebrew make?
Harmon Killebrew was selected to 11 All-Star Games.