Mario Mendoza
Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1974-1982)
Mario Mendoza was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1982 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Seattle Mariners, and the Texas Rangers, a span of 9 seasons. In 686 career games, he hit .215 with 287 hits, 4 home runs, and 101 RBI.
- 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
- Shortstop
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 170 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1974-04-26
- Last Game
- 1982-05-22
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 686 | 1,337 | 106 | 287 | 33 | 9 | 4 | 101 | 12 | 52 | 219 | .215 | .245 | .262 | .507 | -5,935 |
Career AVG .215 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 17.5% below league average.
Career OBP .245 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 24.6% below league average.
Career SLG .262 vs. league average .382 across their career seasons — 31.4% below league average.
Career OPS .507 vs. league average .707 across their career seasons — 28.3% below 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | PIT | NL | 91 | 163 | 10 | 36 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 35 | .221 | .256 (-14%) | .324 (-20%) | .369 (-32%) | .693 (-26%) | -680.9 |
| 1975 | PIT | NL | 56 | 50 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 17 | .180 | .257 (-30%) | .327 (-31%) | .374 (-47%) | .701 (-39%) | -302.4 |
| 1976 | PIT | NL | 50 | 92 | 6 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 15 | .185 | .255 (-28%) | .320 (-32%) | .360 (-34%) | .681 (-33%) | -482.3 |
| 1977 | PIT | NL | 70 | 81 | 5 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 10 | .198 | .264 (-25%) | .329 (-31%) | .401 (-42%) | .730 (-37%) | -479.9 |
| 1978 | PIT | NL | 57 | 55 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 9 | .218 | .257 (-15%) | .323 (-12%) | .378 (-23%) | .702 (-18%) | -142.9 |
| 1979 | SEA | AL | 148 | 373 | 26 | 74 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 29 | 3 | 9 | 62 | .198 | .265 (-25%) | .329 (-34%) | .397 (-37%) | .727 (-36%) | -2231.1 |
| 1980 | SEA | AL | 114 | 277 | 27 | 68 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 3 | 16 | 42 | .245 | .264 (-7%) | .326 (-12%) | .387 (-20%) | .714 (-17%) | -727.0 |
| 1981 | TEX | AL | 88 | 229 | 18 | 53 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 2 | 7 | 25 | .231 | .255 (-9%) | .320 (-21%) | .368 (-28%) | .688 (-24%) | -888.4 |
| 1982 | TEX | AL | 12 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .118 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 9 seasons | 686 | 1,337 | 106 | 287 | 33 | 9 | 4 | 101 | 12 | 52 | 219 | .215 | — | — | — | — | -5,935 | ||
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.
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | PIT | NL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 13.50 | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 1 season | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 13.50 | — | 0 | ||
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 (687 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 353 | 672 | 60 | 139 | 4 | 57 | .207 |
| Away | 333 | 665 | 46 | 148 | 0 | 44 | .223 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Away | 1 | 2.0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 13.50 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982-05-22 | TEX | KCR | W | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982-05-19 | TEX | CHW | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1982-05-18 | TEX | CHW | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1982-05-17 | TEX | CHW | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982-05-15 | TEX | TOR | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1982-05-10 | TEX | DET | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982-05-06 | TEX | BOS | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982-05-01 | TEX | BOS | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1982-04-28 | TEX | TOR | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982-04-27 | TEX | TOR | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 1 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977-06-28 | PIT | STL | — | 2.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2B | 22 | 4 | 17 | 31 | 1 | 3 |
| 3B | 40 | 0 | 9 | 24 | 4 | 1 |
| P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| SS | 606 | 420 | 645 | 1452 | 85 | 275 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | PIT | SS | 87 | 48 | 77 | 187 | 10 | 21 |
| 1975 | PIT | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975 | PIT | SS | 53 | 17 | 29 | 70 | 5 | 10 |
| 1976 | PIT | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976 | PIT | 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976 | PIT | SS | 45 | 24 | 42 | 103 | 5 | 19 |
| 1977 | PIT | 3B | 19 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 1977 | PIT | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1977 | PIT | SS | 45 | 17 | 36 | 80 | 9 | 13 |
| 1978 | PIT | 2B | 21 | 4 | 17 | 31 | 1 | 3 |
| 1978 | PIT | 3B | 18 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 3 | 1 |
| 1978 | PIT | SS | 14 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| 1979 | SEA | SS | 148 | 132 | 177 | 422 | 20 | 91 |
| 1980 | SEA | SS | 114 | 91 | 149 | 290 | 19 | 68 |
| 1981 | TEX | SS | 88 | 83 | 114 | 270 | 12 | 47 |
| 1982 | TEX | SS | 12 | 6 | 14 | 16 | 4 | 6 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 1 |
| Second Base | 22 |
| Third Base | 41 |
| Shortstop | 607 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Mario Mendoza (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Mario Mendoza: the record in brief
The profile opens with Mario Mendoza's first major league game on April 26, 1974; the last one listed came on May 22, 1982. The team column moves through the Pittsburgh Pirates (1974 to 1978), the Seattle Mariners (1979 through 1980), and the Texas Rangers (1981 through 1982). Mendoza, born on December 26, 1950, in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, is listed as a shortstop and both batted and threw right-handed. Size on record: 170 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame.
Mendoza collected 287 hits in 1,337 at bats across 686 games, good for a .215 batting average; the totals also include 4 homers and 101 RBI. Mendoza got on base at a .245 rate and slugged .262 (.507 OPS). Mendoza's .215 average ran 17.5% below the .260 that the league posted over the same seasons. In OPS terms, Mendoza's .507 stands 28.3% below the league's .707. Mendoza collected a career-high 74 hits in 1979. 1979 brought the most runs batted in, 29.
Frequently Asked Questions about Mario Mendoza
- What years did Mario Mendoza play?
- Mario Mendoza played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1982.
- Was Mario Mendoza a pitcher?
- No. Mario Mendoza was a position player (Shortstop), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
- How many home runs did Mario Mendoza hit?
- Mario Mendoza hit 4 career home runs with 287 hits.
- What teams did Mario Mendoza play for?
- Mario Mendoza played for 3 teams: the Pittsburgh Pirates (1974–1978), the Seattle Mariners (1979–1980), and the Texas Rangers (1981–1982).
- What were Mario Mendoza's career stats?
- In 686 games, Mario Mendoza had 287 hits, 4 home runs, 101 RBI, 106 runs, and 12 stolen bases, with a .215 batting average.
- What position did Mario Mendoza play?
- Mario Mendoza played primarily as a shortstop, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Mario Mendoza and how much did he weigh?
- Mario Mendoza was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 170 pounds.
- How many home runs did Mario Mendoza hit each season?
- Mario Mendoza's home runs by season: 0 in 1974, 0 in 1975, 0 in 1976, 0 in 1977, 1 in 1978, 1 in 1979, 2 in 1980, 0 in 1981, and 0 in 1982. His most in one season was 2, in 1980.
- What was Mario Mendoza's career batting average?
- Mario Mendoza batted .215 over his career, with 287 hits in 1,337 at bats.
- How many RBI did Mario Mendoza have?
- Mario Mendoza drove in 101 runs in his career.
- What was Mario Mendoza's career ERA?
- Mario Mendoza finished with a 13.50 career ERA, going 0-0 with 0 strikeouts.
- Is Mario Mendoza in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Mario Mendoza has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.