John Milner

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1971-1982)

John Milner was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1982 for the New York Mets, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Montreal Expos, a span of 12 seasons. In 1,215 career games, he hit .249 with 855 hits, 131 home runs, and 498 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 6,440.

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

AVG .249
HR 131
RBI 498
H 855
OPS .757
PIV 6,440
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'0" / 185 lb
Born
12/28/1949 in Atlanta, GA, USA
Died
1/4/2000 in East Point, GA, USA
MLB Debut
1971-09-15
Last Game
1982-10-03

Full name: John David Milner

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Career Batting Statistics

John Milner — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,215 3,436 455 855 140 16 131 498 31 504 473 .249 .344 .413 .757 6,440

Career AVG .249 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .344 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — +6.4% above league average.

Career SLG .413 vs. league average .378 across their career seasons — +9.4% above league average.

Career OPS .757 vs. league average .701 across their career seasons — +8.0% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Milner 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
1971 NYN NL 9 18 1 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 .167 — — — — 0.0
1972 NYN NL 117 362 52 86 12 2 17 38 2 51 74 .238 .243 (-3%) .310 (+9%) .353 (+19%) .664 (+15%) 1072.5
1973 NYN NL 129 451 69 108 12 3 23 72 1 62 84 .239 .256 (-7%) .325 (+1%) .378 (+14%) .703 (+8%) 716.7
1974 NYN NL 137 507 70 128 19 0 20 63 10 66 77 .252 .256 (-2%) .324 (+4%) .369 (+11%) .693 (+7%) 797.2
1975 NYN NL 91 220 24 42 11 0 7 29 1 33 22 .191 .257 (-26%) .327 (-8%) .374 (-10%) .701 (-9%) -268.2
1976 NYN NL 127 443 56 120 25 4 15 78 0 65 53 .271 .255 (+6%) .320 (+13%) .360 (+24%) .681 (+19%) 1638.1
1977 NYN NL 131 388 43 99 20 3 12 57 6 61 55 .255 .264 (-3%) .329 (+7%) .401 (+3%) .730 (+5%) 507.8
1978 PIT NL 108 295 39 80 17 0 6 38 5 34 25 .271 .257 (+5%) .323 (+6%) .378 (+3%) .702 (+4%) 264.2
1979 PIT NL 128 326 52 90 9 4 16 60 3 53 37 .276 .265 (+4%) .329 (+13%) .397 (+20%) .727 (+17%) 1161.2
1980 PIT NL 114 238 31 58 6 0 8 34 2 52 29 .244 .264 (-8%) .326 (+16%) .387 (-5%) .714 (+5%) 460.1
1981 PIT NL 34 59 6 14 1 0 2 9 0 5 3 .237 .255 (-7%) .320 (-9%) .368 (-3%) .688 (-6%) -59.3
1981 MON NL 31 76 6 18 5 0 3 9 0 12 6 .237 .255 (-7%) .320 (+7%) .368 (+14%) .688 (+11%) -59.3
1982 MON NL 26 28 1 3 0 0 0 2 0 4 2 .107 — — — — 0.0
1982 PIT NL 33 25 5 6 2 0 2 8 1 6 3 .240 — — — — 0.0
Career · 14 seasons 1,215 3,436 455 855 140 16 131 498 31 504 473 .249 — — — — 6,231

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

John Milner — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
21 65 6 15 1 0 0 5 14 5 .231

Playoff Batting by Year

John Milner — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1981 NEDIV MON 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .500
1981 NLCS MON 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1979 NLCS PIT 3 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000
1979 WS PIT 3 9 2 3 1 0 0 1 2 0 .333
1973 NLCS NYN 5 17 2 3 0 0 0 1 5 3 .176
1973 WS NYN 7 27 2 8 0 0 0 2 5 1 .296

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1215 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

John Milner — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home580153821238458211.250
Away635189824347173287.248

Last 10 Games — Batting

John Milner — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1982-10-03 PITWSNL 100000000
1982-10-01 PITWSNL 100000001
1982-09-28 PITNYNL 000000110
1982-09-27 PITNYNL 100000000
1982-09-24 PITWSNL 110000100
1982-09-23 PITSTLW 111001100
1982-09-22 PITSTLL 100000000
1982-09-21 PITCHCL 000000010
1982-09-20 PITCHCL 000000010
1982-09-11 PITPHIW 100000001

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

John Milner — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 547 462 4074 287 38 378
OF 440 416 737 26 19 4

Season-by-Season Fielding

John Milner — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1971 NYN OF 3 3 8 1 0 0
1972 NYN 1B 10 10 73 6 0 9
1972 NYN OF 91 84 160 7 6 0
1973 NYN 1B 95 93 771 47 9 66
1973 NYN OF 29 29 33 4 2 0
1974 NYN 1B 133 131 1147 77 7 103
1975 NYN 1B 29 23 204 25 2 21
1975 NYN OF 31 29 63 2 1 0
1976 NYN 1B 12 4 44 2 0 4
1976 NYN OF 112 111 195 7 3 2
1977 NYN 1B 87 81 672 48 4 64
1977 NYN OF 22 19 28 2 1 1
1978 PIT 1B 28 16 169 13 3 15
1978 PIT OF 69 66 118 1 0 0
1979 PIT 1B 48 25 255 18 3 27
1979 PIT OF 64 60 112 2 5 1
1980 PIT 1B 70 52 502 32 5 48
1980 PIT OF 11 8 8 0 1 0
1981 PIT 1B 8 4 48 1 1 2
1981 PIT OF 8 7 12 0 0 0
1981 MON 1B 21 21 165 16 4 14
1982 MON 1B 5 2 23 2 0 4
1982 PIT 1B 1 0 1 0 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

John Milner Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 547
Left Field 433
Center Field 2
Right Field 6

Awards & Honors

John Milner — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1979 Player of the Week Week of 1979-04-13
1978 Player of the Week Week of 1978-06-23

Award Voting History

John Milner — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1972 Rookie of the Year NL 3rd 1.0 24 1

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

John Milner (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Greg Brock
    .248 avg, 110 HR
  2. 95
    Bill Melton
    .253 avg, 160 HR
  3. 93
    Pete Ward
    .254 avg, 98 HR
  4. 92
    Travis Lee
    .256 avg, 115 HR
  5. 85
    Tim Teufel
    .254 avg, 86 HR
  6. 83
    Scott Spiezio
    .255 avg, 119 HR

John Milner: the record in brief

John Milner played a first major league game on September 15, 1971 and a last one on October 3, 1982. By club, Milner's seasons break down as the New York Mets (1971 through 1977), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1978 through 1982), and the Montreal Expos (1981 to 1982). Milner, born on December 28, 1949, in Atlanta, GA, USA, is listed as a first baseman and batted and threw left-handed. The bio gives 6 feet, 0 inches and 185 pounds. The bio records the death on January 4, 2000, in East Point, GA, USA. John Milner was the playing name; the full given name is John David.

Milner's career batting table shows 1,215 games, 3,436 at bats and 855 hits, a .249 average; the totals also include 131 homers, 498 runs batted in, and 31 stolen bases. Milner's career OPS of .757 combines a .344 on-base mark with .413 slugging. The .249 career average is close to the .258 the league hit across the same seasons.

Frequently Asked Questions about John Milner

What years did John Milner play?
John Milner played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1982.
Was John Milner a pitcher?
No. John Milner was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did John Milner hit?
John Milner hit 131 career home runs with 855 hits.
What was John Milner's career batting average?
John Milner batted .249 over his career, with 855 hits in 3,436 at bats.
How many RBI did John Milner have?
John Milner drove in 498 runs in his career.
Is John Milner in the Hall of Fame?
No. John Milner has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.