Gary Matthews
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1972-1987)
- Position
- Outfielder
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'2" / 185 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1972-09-06
- Last Game
- 1987-10-02
- Awards
- All-Star · Rookie of the Year · NLCS MVP
Full name: Gary Nathaniel Matthews
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,033 | 7,147 | 1,083 | 2,011 | 319 | 51 | 234 | 978 | 183 | 940 | 1,125 | .281 | .364 | .439 | .802 | 20,295 |
Career AVG .281 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — +8.7% above league average.
Career OBP .364 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — +12.1% above league average.
Career SLG .439 vs. league average .384 across their career seasons — +14.1% above league average.
Career OPS .802 vs. league average .709 across their career seasons — +13.2% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | SFN | NL | 20 | 62 | 11 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 13 | .290 | .243 (+19%) | .310 (+15%) | .353 (+50%) | .664 (+34%) | 307.2 |
| 1973 | SFN | NL | 148 | 540 | 74 | 162 | 22 | 10 | 12 | 58 | 17 | 58 | 83 | .300 | .256 (+17%) | .325 (+13%) | .378 (+17%) | .703 (+15%) | 1640.6 |
| 1974 | SFN | NL | 154 | 561 | 87 | 161 | 27 | 6 | 16 | 82 | 11 | 70 | 69 | .287 | .256 (+12%) | .324 (+13%) | .369 (+20%) | .693 (+17%) | 1958.2 |
| 1975 | SFN | NL | 116 | 425 | 67 | 119 | 22 | 3 | 12 | 58 | 13 | 65 | 53 | .280 | .257 (+9%) | .327 (+15%) | .374 (+15%) | .701 (+15%) | 1368.5 |
| 1976 | SFN | NL | 156 | 587 | 79 | 164 | 28 | 4 | 20 | 84 | 12 | 75 | 94 | .279 | .255 (+9%) | .320 (+12%) | .360 (+23%) | .681 (+18%) | 2090.3 |
| 1977 | ATL | NL | 148 | 555 | 89 | 157 | 25 | 5 | 17 | 64 | 22 | 67 | 90 | .283 | .264 (+7%) | .329 (+10%) | .401 (+9%) | .730 (+9%) | 1211.7 |
| 1978 | ATL | NL | 129 | 474 | 75 | 135 | 20 | 5 | 18 | 62 | 8 | 61 | 92 | .285 | .257 (+10%) | .323 (+13%) | .378 (+22%) | .702 (+18%) | 1707.0 |
| 1979 | ATL | NL | 156 | 631 | 97 | 192 | 34 | 5 | 27 | 90 | 18 | 60 | 75 | .304 | .265 (+15%) | .329 (+10%) | .397 (+26%) | .727 (+19%) | 2415.2 |
| 1980 | ATL | NL | 155 | 571 | 79 | 159 | 17 | 3 | 19 | 75 | 11 | 42 | 93 | .278 | .264 (+5%) | .326 (avg) | .387 (+8%) | .714 (+4%) | 413.7 |
| 1981 | PHI | NL | 101 | 359 | 62 | 108 | 21 | 3 | 9 | 67 | 15 | 59 | 42 | .301 | .255 (+18%) | .320 (+24%) | .368 (+22%) | .688 (+23%) | 1708.7 |
| 1982 | PHI | NL | 162 | 616 | 89 | 173 | 31 | 1 | 19 | 83 | 21 | 66 | 87 | .281 | .261 (+8%) | .324 (+8%) | .388 (+10%) | .712 (+9%) | 1189.2 |
| 1983 | PHI | NL | 132 | 446 | 66 | 115 | 18 | 2 | 10 | 50 | 13 | 69 | 81 | .258 | .260 (-1%) | .324 (+8%) | .389 (-4%) | .714 (+2%) | 326.0 |
| 1984 | CHN | NL | 147 | 491 | 101 | 143 | 21 | 2 | 14 | 82 | 17 | 103 | 97 | .291 | .259 (+12%) | .322 (+27%) | .384 (+11%) | .707 (+18%) | 2314.6 |
| 1985 | CHN | NL | 97 | 298 | 45 | 70 | 12 | 0 | 13 | 40 | 2 | 59 | 64 | .235 | .257 (-9%) | .323 (+12%) | .390 (+4%) | .714 (+8%) | 609.1 |
| 1986 | CHN | NL | 123 | 370 | 49 | 96 | 16 | 1 | 21 | 46 | 3 | 60 | 59 | .259 | .257 (+1%) | .325 (+11%) | .395 (+21%) | .720 (+16%) | 1287.7 |
| 1987 | CHN | NL | 44 | 42 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 11 | .262 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1987 | SEA | AL | 45 | 119 | 10 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 22 | .235 | .262 (-11%) | .331 (-4%) | .415 (-23%) | .746 (-15%) | 0.0 |
| Career · 17 seasons | 2,033 | 7,147 | 1,083 | 2,011 | 319 | 51 | 234 | 978 | 183 | 940 | 1,125 | .281 | — | — | — | — | 20,548 | ||
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
Playoff Batting by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (2033 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 1021 | 3510 | 595 | 1045 | 127 | 531 | .298 |
| Away | 1012 | 3637 | 488 | 966 | 107 | 447 | .266 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987-10-02 | SEA | TEX | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1987-10-01 | SEA | TEX | W | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1987-09-30 | SEA | KCR | L | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1987-09-29 | SEA | KCR | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1987-09-28 | SEA | KCR | W | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987-09-27 | SEA | TEX | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1987-09-26 | SEA | TEX | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987-09-25 | SEA | TEX | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987-09-22 | SEA | KCR | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987-09-18 | SEA | CHW | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OF | 1876 | 1852 | 3226 | 135 | 112 | 17 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | SFN | OF | 19 | 17 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973 | SFN | OF | 145 | 140 | 277 | 11 | 5 | 0 |
| 1974 | SFN | OF | 151 | 144 | 281 | 9 | 9 | 2 |
| 1975 | SFN | OF | 113 | 112 | 225 | 11 | 8 | 2 |
| 1976 | SFN | OF | 156 | 155 | 265 | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| 1977 | ATL | OF | 145 | 145 | 262 | 11 | 10 | 1 |
| 1978 | ATL | OF | 127 | 126 | 238 | 10 | 8 | 0 |
| 1979 | ATL | OF | 156 | 156 | 292 | 12 | 8 | 4 |
| 1980 | ATL | OF | 143 | 142 | 258 | 8 | 11 | 0 |
| 1981 | PHI | OF | 100 | 99 | 170 | 11 | 7 | 1 |
| 1982 | PHI | OF | 162 | 161 | 268 | 14 | 10 | 2 |
| 1983 | PHI | OF | 122 | 120 | 174 | 11 | 5 | 2 |
| 1984 | CHN | OF | 145 | 144 | 224 | 7 | 11 | 0 |
| 1985 | CHN | OF | 85 | 85 | 119 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| 1986 | CHN | OF | 105 | 104 | 137 | 5 | 9 | 1 |
| 1987 | CHN | OF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Left Field | 1446 |
| Right Field | 430 |
| Designated Hitter | 39 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | NLCS MVP | |
| 1982 | Player of the Week | Week of 1982-05-14 |
| 1981 | Player of the Month | September |
| 1979 | Player of the Week | Week of 1979-06-22 |
| 1976 | Player of the Week | Week of 1976-04-23 |
| 1974 | Player of the Week | Week of 1974-07-19 |
| 1973 | Rookie of the Year | |
| 1973 | TSN Rookie Player of the Year |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | CHN | NL | $850,000 |
| 1985 | CHN | NL | $600,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $1,450,000 | ||
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 5th | 70.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1982 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 23th | 2.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1981 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 13th | 31.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1979 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 26th | 4.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1973 | Rookie of the Year | NL | 1st | 11.0 | 24 | 11 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Gary Matthews (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Gary Matthews
Frequently Asked Questions about Gary Matthews
- What years did Gary Matthews play?
- Gary Matthews played in Major League Baseball from 1972 to 1987.
- Was Gary Matthews a pitcher?
- No. Gary Matthews was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Gary Matthews hit?
- Gary Matthews hit 234 career home runs with 2011 hits.