Harvey Kuenn
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1952-1966)
Harvey Kuenn was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1952 to 1966 for 5 teams, including the Detroit Tigers, a span of 15 seasons. In 1,833 career games, he hit .303 with 2,092 hits, 87 home runs, and 671 RBI. Harvey Kuenn was a 8-time All-Star and a Rookie of the Year. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 9,745.
- 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
- 6'2" / 187 lb
- Died
- 2/28/1988 in Peoria, AZ, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1952-09-06
- Last Game
- 1966-10-02
- Awards
- 8× All-Star · Rookie of the Year
Full name: Harvey Edward Kuenn
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,833 | 6,913 | 951 | 2,092 | 356 | 56 | 87 | 671 | 68 | 594 | 404 | .303 | .357 | .408 | .765 | 9,745 |
Career AVG .303 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — +18.8% above league average.
Career OBP .357 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — +10.5% above league average.
Career SLG .408 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — +5.6% above league average.
Career OPS .765 vs. league average .709 across their career seasons — +7.9% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | DET | AL | 19 | 80 | 2 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | .325 | .252 (+29%) | .326 (+7%) | .369 (+8%) | .696 (+8%) | 74.8 |
| 1953 | DET | AL | 155 | 679 | 94 | 209 | 33 | 7 | 2 | 48 | 6 | 50 | 31 | .308 | .264 (+16%) | .335 (+6%) | .397 (-3%) | .733 (+1%) | 165.0 |
| 1954 | DET | AL | 155 | 656 | 81 | 201 | 28 | 6 | 5 | 48 | 9 | 29 | 13 | .306 | .261 (+17%) | .333 (avg) | .390 (avg) | .723 (avg) | -73.9 |
| 1955 | DET | AL | 145 | 620 | 101 | 190 | 38 | 5 | 8 | 62 | 8 | 40 | 27 | .306 | .258 (+19%) | .332 (+4%) | .393 (+7%) | .726 (+6%) | 623.9 |
| 1956 | DET | AL | 146 | 591 | 96 | 196 | 32 | 7 | 12 | 88 | 9 | 55 | 34 | .332 | .258 (+28%) | .331 (+17%) | .397 (+18%) | .728 (+18%) | 2128.5 |
| 1957 | DET | AL | 151 | 624 | 74 | 173 | 30 | 6 | 9 | 44 | 5 | 47 | 28 | .277 | .257 (+8%) | .323 (+1%) | .391 (-1%) | .715 (avg) | -36.2 |
| 1958 | DET | AL | 139 | 561 | 73 | 179 | 39 | 3 | 8 | 54 | 5 | 51 | 34 | .319 | .257 (+24%) | .324 (+15%) | .394 (+12%) | .719 (+13%) | 1537.8 |
| 1959 | DET | AL | 139 | 561 | 99 | 198 | 42 | 7 | 9 | 71 | 7 | 48 | 37 | .353 | .256 (+38%) | .323 (+24%) | .392 (+28%) | .715 (+26%) | 2916.1 |
| 1960 | CLE | AL | 126 | 474 | 65 | 146 | 24 | 0 | 9 | 54 | 3 | 55 | 25 | .308 | .255 (+21%) | .323 (+17%) | .387 (+7%) | .711 (+12%) | 1248.8 |
| 1961 | SFN | NL | 131 | 471 | 60 | 125 | 22 | 4 | 5 | 46 | 5 | 47 | 34 | .265 | .258 (+3%) | .328 (avg) | .399 (-10%) | .727 (-5%) | -396.2 |
| 1962 | SFN | NL | 130 | 487 | 73 | 148 | 23 | 5 | 10 | 68 | 3 | 49 | 37 | .304 | .257 (+18%) | .326 (+12%) | .393 (+10%) | .719 (+11%) | 1075.5 |
| 1963 | SFN | NL | 120 | 417 | 61 | 121 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 31 | 2 | 44 | 38 | .290 | .246 (+18%) | .308 (+16%) | .371 (+1%) | .680 (+7%) | 716.5 |
| 1964 | SFN | NL | 111 | 351 | 42 | 92 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 22 | 0 | 35 | 32 | .262 | .250 (+5%) | .312 (+5%) | .377 (-7%) | .690 (-1%) | -11.5 |
| 1965 | SFN | NL | 23 | 59 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 3 | .237 | .245 (-3%) | .310 (+13%) | .371 (-36%) | .682 (-14%) | -69.6 |
| 1965 | CHN | NL | 54 | 120 | 11 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 22 | 13 | .217 | .245 (-12%) | .310 (+8%) | .371 (-30%) | .682 (-13%) | -69.6 |
| 1966 | CHN | NL | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1966 | PHI | NL | 86 | 159 | 15 | 47 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 10 | 16 | .296 | .248 (+19%) | .309 (+8%) | .376 (-6%) | .685 (avg) | 0.0 |
| Career · 17 seasons | 1,833 | 6,913 | 951 | 2,092 | 356 | 56 | 87 | 671 | 68 | 594 | 404 | .303 | — | — | — | — | 9,830 | ||
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 (1830 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 931 | 3479 | 492 | 1068 | 45 | 357 | .307 |
| Away | 899 | 3422 | 457 | 1022 | 42 | 313 | .299 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966-10-02 | PHI | LAD | L | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966-10-02 | PHI | LAD | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966-09-30 | PHI | LAD | W | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966-09-28 | PHI | PIT | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966-09-28 | PHI | PIT | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966-09-26 | PHI | PIT | W | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 1966-09-25 | PHI | STL | W | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1966-09-24 | PHI | STL | W | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1966-09-23 | PHI | STL | W | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966-09-21 | PHI | LAD | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 33 | 16 | 170 | 15 | 4 | 16 |
| 3B | 140 | 130 | 119 | 171 | 26 | 13 |
| OF | 826 | 759 | 1396 | 43 | 32 | 8 |
| SS | 748 | 569 | 1343 | 2116 | 129 | 431 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | DET | SS | 19 | 0 | 44 | 57 | 4 | 12 |
| 1953 | DET | SS | 155 | 0 | 308 | 441 | 21 | 78 |
| 1954 | DET | SS | 155 | 155 | 294 | 496 | 28 | 85 |
| 1955 | DET | SS | 141 | 140 | 253 | 378 | 29 | 83 |
| 1956 | DET | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956 | DET | SS | 141 | 140 | 219 | 388 | 20 | 86 |
| 1957 | DET | 1B | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1957 | DET | 3B | 17 | 16 | 24 | 33 | 3 | 4 |
| 1957 | DET | SS | 136 | 134 | 225 | 354 | 27 | 86 |
| 1958 | DET | OF | 138 | 138 | 358 | 9 | 6 | 1 |
| 1959 | DET | OF | 137 | 137 | 247 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| 1960 | CLE | 3B | 5 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 1960 | CLE | OF | 119 | 116 | 222 | 7 | 8 | 3 |
| 1961 | SFN | 3B | 32 | 29 | 33 | 32 | 8 | 4 |
| 1961 | SFN | OF | 93 | 91 | 157 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| 1961 | SFN | SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1962 | SFN | 3B | 30 | 29 | 20 | 44 | 3 | 4 |
| 1962 | SFN | OF | 105 | 88 | 160 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 1963 | SFN | 3B | 53 | 52 | 41 | 56 | 11 | 1 |
| 1963 | SFN | OF | 64 | 47 | 74 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 1964 | SFN | 1B | 11 | 2 | 38 | 7 | 1 | 4 |
| 1964 | SFN | 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1964 | SFN | OF | 88 | 78 | 97 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 1965 | SFN | 1B | 7 | 2 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | SFN | OF | 14 | 13 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | CHN | 1B | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1965 | CHN | OF | 35 | 27 | 36 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 1966 | CHN | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966 | PHI | 1B | 13 | 12 | 99 | 3 | 1 | 11 |
| 1966 | PHI | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966 | PHI | OF | 31 | 24 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 34 |
| Third Base | 141 |
| Shortstop | 747 |
| Left Field | 353 |
| Center Field | 164 |
| Right Field | 343 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | TSN All-Star | SS |
| 1953 | Rookie of the Year | |
| 1953 | TSN Rookie of the Year |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Wisconsin at Madison | Madison | WI | 1951, 1952 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 18th | 5.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1960 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 24th | 3.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1959 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 8th | 64.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1958 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 13th | 24.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1957 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 22th | 2.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1956 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 4th | 80.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1955 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 18th | 8.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1954 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 8th | 37.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1953 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 15th | 23.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1953 | Rookie of the Year | AL | 1st | 23.0 | 24 | 23 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Harvey Kuenn (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Harvey Kuenn
Harvey Kuenn: the record in brief
Between the debut on September 6, 1952 and the final game on October 2, 1966, Harvey Kuenn built the record summarized on this page. Kuenn played for the Detroit Tigers (1952 to 1959), the Cleveland Indians (1960), the San Francisco Giants (1961 through 1965), the Chicago Cubs (1965 to 1966), and the Philadelphia Phillies (1966). Born on December 4, 1930, in West Allis, WI, USA, Kuenn is listed as an outfielder and both batted and threw right-handed. Kuenn's listed size is 187 pounds on a 6-foot-2 frame. Kuenn's death is recorded on February 28, 1988, in Peoria, AZ, USA. Harvey Kuenn was the playing name; the full given name is Harvey Edward.
The batting record for Kuenn: 1,833 games, 2,092 hits in 6,913 at bats, and a .303 average, along with 87 home runs, 671 runs batted in, and 68 stolen bases. Kuenn got on base at a .357 rate and slugged .408 (.765 OPS).
Frequently Asked Questions about Harvey Kuenn
- What years did Harvey Kuenn play?
- Harvey Kuenn played in Major League Baseball from 1952 to 1966.
- Was Harvey Kuenn a pitcher?
- No. Harvey Kuenn was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Harvey Kuenn hit?
- Harvey Kuenn hit 87 career home runs with 2,092 hits.
- What teams did Harvey Kuenn play for?
- Harvey Kuenn played for 5 teams: the Detroit Tigers (1952–1959), the Cleveland Indians (1960), the San Francisco Giants (1961–1965), the Chicago Cubs (1965–1966), and the Philadelphia Phillies (1966).
- Did Harvey Kuenn win an MVP award?
- No. Harvey Kuenn did not win the MVP award.
- What awards did Harvey Kuenn win?
- Harvey Kuenn won the Rookie of the Year award (1953). He was selected to 8 All-Star Games.
- What were Harvey Kuenn's career stats?
- In 1,833 games, Harvey Kuenn had 2,092 hits, 87 home runs, 671 RBI, 951 runs, and 68 stolen bases, with a .303 batting average.
- What position did Harvey Kuenn play?
- Harvey Kuenn played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Harvey Kuenn and how much did he weigh?
- Harvey Kuenn was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 187 pounds.
- How many home runs did Harvey Kuenn hit each season?
- Harvey Kuenn's home runs by season: 0 in 1952, 2 in 1953, 5 in 1954, 8 in 1955, 12 in 1956, 9 in 1957, 8 in 1958, 9 in 1959, 9 in 1960, 5 in 1961, 10 in 1962, 6 in 1963, 4 in 1964, 0 in 1965, and 0 in 1966. His most in one season was 12, in 1956.
- What was Harvey Kuenn's career batting average?
- Harvey Kuenn batted .303 over his career, with 2,092 hits in 6,913 at bats.
- How many RBI did Harvey Kuenn have?
- Harvey Kuenn drove in 671 runs in his career.
- Is Harvey Kuenn in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Harvey Kuenn has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- How many All-Star Games did Harvey Kuenn make?
- Harvey Kuenn was selected to 8 All-Star Games.