What years did Matt Lawton play?

Matt Lawton played in Major League Baseball from 1995 to 2006.

Was Matt Lawton a pitcher?

No. Matt Lawton was a position player (Outfielder).

How many home runs did Matt Lawton hit?

Matt Lawton hit 138 career home runs with 1,273 hits.

What teams did Matt Lawton play for?

Matt Lawton played for 7 teams: the Minnesota Twins (1995–2001), the New York Mets (2001), the Cleveland Indians (2002–2004), the Pittsburgh Pirates (2005), the Chicago Cubs (2005), the New York Yankees (2005), and the Seattle Mariners (2006).

Did Matt Lawton win an MVP award?

No. Matt Lawton did not win the MVP award.

What awards did Matt Lawton win?

Matt Lawton was selected to 2 All-Star Games.

What were Matt Lawton's career stats?

In 1,334 games, Matt Lawton had 1,273 hits, 138 home runs, 631 RBI, 756 runs, and 165 stolen bases, with a .267 batting average.

What was Matt Lawton's salary?

Matt Lawton's last recorded salary was $400,000, in 2006. His highest recorded salary was $7,750,000, in 2005, and his lowest was $109,000, in 1995. The Salary History table lists each season from 1995 to 2006.

What position did Matt Lawton play?

Matt Lawton played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Matt Lawton and how much did he weigh?

Matt Lawton was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 180 pounds.

How many home runs did Matt Lawton hit each season?

Matt Lawton's home runs by season: 1 in 1995, 6 in 1996, 14 in 1997, 21 in 1998, 7 in 1999, 13 in 2000, 13 in 2001, 15 in 2002, 15 in 2003, 20 in 2004, 13 in 2005, and 0 in 2006. His most in one season was 21, in 1998.

What was Matt Lawton's career batting average?

Matt Lawton batted .267 over his career, with 1,273 hits in 4,763 at bats.

How many RBI did Matt Lawton have?

Matt Lawton drove in 631 runs in his career.

Matt Lawton

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1995-2006)

Matt Lawton was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1995 to 2006 for 7 teams, including the Minnesota Twins, a span of 12 seasons. In 1,334 career games, he hit .267 with 1,273 hits, 138 home runs, and 631 RBI. Matt Lawton was a 2-time All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 5,676.

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 October 15, 2026

AVG .267

HR 138

RBI 631

H 1,273

OPS .785

PIV 5,676

Position: Outfielder
Bats / Throws: L / R
Height / Weight: 5'10" / 180 lb
Born: 11/30/1971 in Gulfport, MS, USA
MLB Debut: 1995-09-05
Last Game: 2006-05-16
Awards: 2× All-Star

Full name: Matthew Lawton

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Career Batting Statistics

Matt Lawton — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1,334	4,763	756	1,273	267	17	138	631	165	681	613	.267	.368	.417	.785	5,676

Career AVG .267 vs. league average .267 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .368 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — +9.3% above league average.

Career SLG .417 vs. league average .425 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .785 vs. league average .761 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Matt Lawton 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
1995	MIN	AL	21	60	11	19	4	1	1	12	1	7	11	.317	.266 (+19%)	.337 (+23%)	.417 (+12%)	.755 (+17%)	204.4
1996	MIN	AL	79	252	34	65	7	1	6	42	4	28	28	.258	.269 (-4%)	.340 (avg)	.426 (-14%)	.767 (-8%)	-293.1
1997	MIN	AL	142	460	74	114	29	3	14	60	7	76	81	.248	.266 (-7%)	.336 (+9%)	.419 (-1%)	.756 (+3%)	551.6
1998	MIN	AL	152	557	91	155	36	6	21	77	16	86	64	.278	.266 (+5%)	.335 (+15%)	.420 (+14%)	.755 (+14%)	1962.3
1999	MIN	AL	118	406	58	105	18	0	7	54	26	57	42	.259	.271 (-5%)	.344 (+2%)	.433 (-18%)	.778 (-9%)	-525.0
2000	MIN	AL	156	561	84	171	44	2	13	88	23	91	63	.305	.270 (+13%)	.344 (+17%)	.437 (+5%)	.782 (+11%)	1613.9
2001	MIN	AL	103	376	71	110	25	0	10	51	19	63	46	.293	.263 (+11%)	.332 (+19%)	.426 (+3%)	.758 (+10%)	997.2
2001	NYN	NL	48	183	24	45	11	1	3	13	10	22	34	.246	.263 (-7%)	.332 (+6%)	.426 (-14%)	.758 (-5%)	997.2
2002	CLE	AL	114	416	71	98	19	2	15	57	8	59	34	.236	.261 (-10%)	.331 (+3%)	.416 (-4%)	.747 (-1%)	76.2
2003	CLE	AL	99	374	57	93	19	0	15	53	10	47	47	.249	.264 (-6%)	.332 (+3%)	.422 (-1%)	.754 (+1%)	178.8
2004	CLE	AL	150	591	109	164	25	0	20	70	23	74	84	.277	.266 (+4%)	.335 (+9%)	.427 (-2%)	.762 (+3%)	660.9
2005	PIT	NL	101	374	53	102	28	1	10	44	16	58	61	.273	.264 (+3%)	.330 (+15%)	.418 (+3%)	.749 (+9%)	811.3
2005	CHN	NL	19	78	8	19	2	0	1	5	1	4	8	.244	.264 (-8%)	.330 (-12%)	.418 (-27%)	.749 (-20%)	811.3
2005	NYA	AL	21	48	6	6	0	0	2	4	1	7	8	.125	—	—	—	—	811.3
2006	SEA	AL	11	27	5	7	0	0	0	1	0	2	2	.259	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 15 seasons			1,334	4,763	756	1,273	267	17	138	631	165	681	613	.267	—	—	—	—	8,858

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 (1334 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Matt Lawton — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	665	2280	400	636	68	327	.279
Away	669	2483	356	637	70	304	.257

Last 10 Games — Batting

Matt Lawton — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO
2006-05-16	SEA	OAK	L	4	0	0	0	0	0
2006-05-12	SEA	LAA	L	1	0	0	0	0	1
2006-05-05	SEA	CLE	L	3	0	1	0	1	0
2006-05-04	SEA	CHW	L	4	0	1	0	0	0
2006-05-03	SEA	CHW	L	2	0	0	0	0	0
2006-05-01	SEA	MIN	W	4	2	3	0	0	0
2006-04-25	SEA	CHW	L	2	1	2	1	0	0
2006-04-23	SEA	DET	L	4	0	0	0	0	1
2006-04-21	SEA	DET	L	0	1	0	0	0	0
2006-04-19	SEA	TEX	W	0	1	0	0	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Matt Lawton — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
OF	1244	1191	2595	59	42	19

Season-by-Season Fielding

Matt Lawton — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1995	MIN	OF	19	14	34	1	1	0
1996	MIN	OF	75	65	196	4	3	1
1997	MIN	OF	138	126	278	9	7	3
1998	MIN	OF	151	147	398	12	4	5
1999	MIN	OF	109	103	213	3	4	0
2000	MIN	OF	143	141	278	4	5	1
2001	MIN	OF	94	90	193	2	4	2
2001	NYN	OF	48	46	96	1	0	0
2002	CLE	OF	108	107	229	6	6	2
2003	CLE	OF	74	73	133	4	1	0
2004	CLE	OF	142	142	266	9	4	3
2005	PIT	OF	98	98	206	4	1	2
2005	CHN	OF	19	19	33	0	1	0
2005	NYA	OF	19	14	31	0	1	0
2006	SEA	OF	7	6	11	0	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Matt Lawton Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Left Field	385
Center Field	115
Right Field	794
Designated Hitter	53

Awards & Honors

Matt Lawton — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
2001	Player of the Week	Week of 2001-07-06

Salary History

Matt Lawton's recorded salaries total $35,589,000 over 12 seasons, 1995 to 2006. Lawton's career, 1995 to 2006, falls within 1985 to 2016, the years the salary data covers.

Matt Lawton — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
2006	SEA	AL	$400,000
2005	PIT	NL	$7,750,000
2004	CLE	AL	$7,250,000
2003	CLE	AL	$6,750,000
2002	CLE	AL	$5,250,000
2001	MIN	AL	$3,900,000
2000	MIN	AL	$2,000,000
1999	MIN	AL	$1,700,000
1998	MIN	AL	$215,000
1997	MIN	AL	$150,000
1996	MIN	AL	$115,000
1995	MIN	AL	$109,000
Total recorded salary			$35,589,000

College History

Matt Lawton — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College	Perkinston	MS	1990, 1991

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Matt Lawton (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Matt Lawton: the record in brief

Between the debut on September 5, 1995 and the final game on May 16, 2006, Matt Lawton built the record summarized on this page. Club by club, the record runs the Minnesota Twins (1995 through 2001), the New York Mets (2001), the Cleveland Indians (2002 to 2004), the Pittsburgh Pirates (2005), the Chicago Cubs (2005), the New York Yankees (2005), and the Seattle Mariners (2006). Lawton played primarily as an outfielder and threw right-handed and batted left-handed. Born on November 30, 1971, in Gulfport, MS, USA, Lawton was listed at 5'10" and 180 pounds. The bio lists the given name Matthew.

Lawton's career batting table shows 1,334 games, 4,763 at bats and 1,273 hits, a .267 average, along with 138 homers, 631 runs batted in, and 165 stolen bases. Lawton got on base at a .368 rate and slugged .417 (.785 OPS). The .267 career average is close to the .267 the league hit across the same seasons. The home run peak was 21 in 1998 with the Minnesota Twins.

Frequently Asked Questions about Matt Lawton

What years did Matt Lawton play?: Matt Lawton played in Major League Baseball from 1995 to 2006.
Was Matt Lawton a pitcher?: No. Matt Lawton was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Matt Lawton hit?: Matt Lawton hit 138 career home runs with 1,273 hits.
What teams did Matt Lawton play for?: Matt Lawton played for 7 teams: the Minnesota Twins (1995–2001), the New York Mets (2001), the Cleveland Indians (2002–2004), the Pittsburgh Pirates (2005), the Chicago Cubs (2005), the New York Yankees (2005), and the Seattle Mariners (2006).
Did Matt Lawton win an MVP award?: No. Matt Lawton did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Matt Lawton win?: Matt Lawton was selected to 2 All-Star Games.
What were Matt Lawton's career stats?: In 1,334 games, Matt Lawton had 1,273 hits, 138 home runs, 631 RBI, 756 runs, and 165 stolen bases, with a .267 batting average.
How much did Matt Lawton earn in his career?: Matt Lawton's recorded salaries total $35,589,000 over 12 seasons, 1995 to 2006. Lawton's career, 1995 to 2006, falls within 1985 to 2016, the years the salary data covers.
What was Matt Lawton's salary?: Matt Lawton's last recorded salary was $400,000, in 2006. His highest recorded salary was $7,750,000, in 2005, and his lowest was $109,000, in 1995. The Salary History table lists each season from 1995 to 2006.
What position did Matt Lawton play?: Matt Lawton played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Matt Lawton and how much did he weigh?: Matt Lawton was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 180 pounds.
How many home runs did Matt Lawton hit each season?: Matt Lawton's home runs by season: 1 in 1995, 6 in 1996, 14 in 1997, 21 in 1998, 7 in 1999, 13 in 2000, 13 in 2001, 15 in 2002, 15 in 2003, 20 in 2004, 13 in 2005, and 0 in 2006. His most in one season was 21, in 1998.
What was Matt Lawton's career batting average?: Matt Lawton batted .267 over his career, with 1,273 hits in 4,763 at bats.
How many RBI did Matt Lawton have?: Matt Lawton drove in 631 runs in his career.