John Mayberry
First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1968-1982)
John Mayberry was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1982 for 4 teams, including the Houston Astros, a span of 15 seasons. In 1,620 career games, he hit .253 with 1,379 hits, 255 home runs, and 879 RBI. John Mayberry was a 2-time All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 17,323.
- 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
- First Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- L / L
- Height / Weight
- 6'3" / 215 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1968-09-10
- Last Game
- 1982-09-28
- Awards
- 2× All-Star
Full name: John Claiborn Mayberry
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,620 | 5,447 | 733 | 1,379 | 211 | 19 | 255 | 879 | 20 | 881 | 810 | .253 | .360 | .439 | .799 | 17,323 |
Career AVG .253 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .360 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — +11.7% above league average.
Career SLG .439 vs. league average .376 across their career seasons — +16.9% above league average.
Career OPS .799 vs. league average .698 across their career seasons — +14.5% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | HOU | NL | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1969 | HOU | NL | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1970 | HOU | NL | 50 | 148 | 23 | 32 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 33 | .216 | .253 (-15%) | .325 (-2%) | .385 (-5%) | .711 (-4%) | -80.9 |
| 1971 | HOU | NL | 46 | 137 | 16 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 32 | .182 | .249 (-27%) | .316 (-18%) | .365 (-4%) | .682 (-11%) | -244.9 |
| 1972 | KCA | AL | 149 | 503 | 65 | 150 | 24 | 3 | 25 | 100 | 0 | 78 | 74 | .298 | .243 (+22%) | .310 (+27%) | .353 (+43%) | .664 (+36%) | 3575.2 |
| 1973 | KCA | AL | 152 | 510 | 87 | 142 | 20 | 2 | 26 | 100 | 3 | 122 | 79 | .278 | .256 (+8%) | .325 (+28%) | .378 (+26%) | .703 (+27%) | 3364.6 |
| 1974 | KCA | AL | 126 | 427 | 63 | 100 | 13 | 1 | 22 | 69 | 4 | 77 | 72 | .234 | .256 (-9%) | .324 (+10%) | .369 (+15%) | .693 (+13%) | 1282.9 |
| 1975 | KCA | AL | 156 | 554 | 95 | 161 | 38 | 1 | 34 | 106 | 5 | 119 | 73 | .291 | .257 (+13%) | .327 (+27%) | .374 (+46%) | .701 (+37%) | 4564.2 |
| 1976 | KCA | AL | 161 | 594 | 76 | 138 | 22 | 2 | 13 | 95 | 3 | 82 | 73 | .232 | .255 (-9%) | .320 (avg) | .360 (-5%) | .681 (-3%) | -156.4 |
| 1977 | KCA | AL | 153 | 543 | 73 | 125 | 22 | 1 | 23 | 82 | 1 | 83 | 86 | .230 | .264 (-13%) | .329 (+2%) | .401 (avg) | .730 (+1%) | 263.7 |
| 1978 | TOR | AL | 152 | 515 | 51 | 129 | 15 | 2 | 22 | 70 | 1 | 60 | 57 | .250 | .257 (-3%) | .323 (+2%) | .378 (+10%) | .702 (+6%) | 647.1 |
| 1979 | TOR | AL | 137 | 464 | 61 | 127 | 22 | 1 | 21 | 74 | 1 | 69 | 60 | .274 | .265 (+3%) | .329 (+13%) | .397 (+16%) | .727 (+15%) | 1559.0 |
| 1980 | TOR | AL | 149 | 501 | 62 | 124 | 19 | 2 | 30 | 82 | 0 | 77 | 80 | .248 | .264 (-6%) | .326 (+7%) | .387 (+22%) | .714 (+15%) | 1627.3 |
| 1981 | TOR | AL | 94 | 290 | 34 | 72 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 43 | 1 | 44 | 45 | .248 | .255 (-3%) | .320 (+13%) | .368 (+23%) | .688 (+18%) | 1078.7 |
| 1982 | TOR | AL | 17 | 33 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 5 | .273 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1982 | NYA | AL | 69 | 215 | 20 | 45 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 27 | 0 | 28 | 38 | .209 | .261 (-20%) | .324 (-3%) | .388 (-9%) | .712 (-6%) | 0.0 |
| Career · 16 seasons | 1,620 | 5,447 | 733 | 1,379 | 211 | 19 | 255 | 879 | 20 | 881 | 810 | .253 | — | — | — | — | 17,481 | ||
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 (1620 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 816 | 2687 | 385 | 692 | 116 | 450 | .258 |
| Away | 804 | 2760 | 348 | 687 | 139 | 429 | .249 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982-09-28 | NYY | CLE | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1982-09-21 | NYY | CLE | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982-09-14 | NYY | BAL | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 1982-09-12 | NYY | MIL | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982-09-09 | NYY | MIL | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1982-09-08 | NYY | BAL | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982-08-25 | NYY | MIN | W | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982-08-15 | NYY | CHW | L | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1982-08-14 | NYY | CHW | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982-08-13 | NYY | CHW | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 1478 | 1421 | 13169 | 827 | 88 | 1307 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | HOU | 1B | 2 | 2 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1970 | HOU | 1B | 45 | 38 | 371 | 35 | 2 | 29 |
| 1971 | HOU | 1B | 37 | 36 | 317 | 15 | 1 | 20 |
| 1972 | KCA | 1B | 146 | 138 | 1338 | 82 | 7 | 141 |
| 1973 | KCA | 1B | 149 | 145 | 1457 | 81 | 9 | 156 |
| 1974 | KCA | 1B | 106 | 100 | 963 | 61 | 10 | 101 |
| 1975 | KCA | 1B | 131 | 129 | 1199 | 100 | 16 | 105 |
| 1976 | KCA | 1B | 160 | 159 | 1484 | 105 | 7 | 132 |
| 1977 | KCA | 1B | 145 | 138 | 1296 | 81 | 7 | 118 |
| 1978 | TOR | 1B | 139 | 133 | 1143 | 52 | 8 | 120 |
| 1979 | TOR | 1B | 135 | 129 | 1192 | 74 | 6 | 129 |
| 1980 | TOR | 1B | 136 | 135 | 1243 | 79 | 8 | 138 |
| 1981 | TOR | 1B | 80 | 78 | 647 | 36 | 5 | 65 |
| 1982 | TOR | 1B | 4 | 3 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 1982 | NYA | 1B | 63 | 58 | 455 | 25 | 2 | 49 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 1478 |
| Designated Hitter | 96 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Player of the Month | July |
| 1975 | Player of the Week | Week of 1975-07-04 |
| 1975 | TSN All-Star | 1B |
| 1974 | Player of the Week | Week of 1974-06-14 |
| 1973 | TSN All-Star | 1B |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 28th | 1.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1975 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 2nd | 157.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1973 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 7th | 76.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1972 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 12th | 27.0 | 336 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
John Mayberry (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
John Mayberry: the record in brief
Between the debut on September 10, 1968 and the final game on September 28, 1982, John Mayberry built the record summarized on this page. Club by club, the record runs the Houston Astros (1968 through 1971), the Kansas City Royals (1972 through 1977), the Toronto Blue Jays (1978 through 1982), and the New York Yankees (1982). Mayberry, born on February 18, 1949, in Detroit, MI, USA, is listed as a first baseman and batted and threw left-handed. Size on record: 6'3" and 215 pounds. Mayberry's full given name, per the bio, is John Claiborn Mayberry.
Across 1,620 games at the plate, Mayberry's career line reads 1,379 hits in 5,447 at bats for a .253 average, adding 255 homers, 879 RBI, and 20 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .360 clip and slugging .439, Mayberry finished with a .799 OPS. Mayberry hit .253 while the league hit .256 over the same span, a figure close to average. 1975 was Mayberry's biggest home run year, with 34.
Frequently Asked Questions about John Mayberry
- What years did John Mayberry play?
- John Mayberry played in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1982.
- Was John Mayberry a pitcher?
- No. John Mayberry was a position player (First Baseman).
- How many home runs did John Mayberry hit?
- John Mayberry hit 255 career home runs with 1379 hits.
- What was John Mayberry's career batting average?
- John Mayberry batted .253 over his career, with 1,379 hits in 5,447 at bats.
- How many RBI did John Mayberry have?
- John Mayberry drove in 879 runs in his career.
- Is John Mayberry in the Hall of Fame?
- No. John Mayberry has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.