Ben Oglivie

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1971-1986)

AVG .273
HR 235
RBI 901
H 1,615
OPS .786
PIV 12,243
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'2" / 160 lb
Born
2/11/1949 in Colon, Colón, Panama
MLB Debut
1971-09-04
Last Game
1986-10-05
Awards
3× All-Star · Silver Slugger

Full name: Benjamin Ambrosio Oglivie

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,754 5,913 784 1,615 277 33 235 901 87 560 852 .273 .336 .450 .786 12,243

Career AVG .273 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — +5.9% above league average.

Career OBP .336 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .450 vs. league average .381 across their career seasons — +18.2% above league average.

Career OPS .786 vs. league average .705 across their career seasons — +11.6% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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
1971 BOS AL 14 38 2 10 3 0 0 4 0 0 5 .263 — — — — 0.0
1972 BOS AL 94 253 27 61 10 2 8 30 1 18 61 .241 .243 (-1%) .310 (-6%) .353 (+11%) .664 (+3%) 64.5
1973 BOS AL 58 147 16 32 9 1 2 9 1 9 32 .218 .256 (-15%) .325 (-17%) .378 (-12%) .703 (-14%) -374.1
1974 DET AL 92 252 28 68 11 3 4 29 12 34 38 .270 .256 (+5%) .324 (+9%) .369 (+4%) .693 (+6%) 330.2
1975 DET AL 100 332 45 95 14 1 9 36 11 16 62 .286 .257 (+11%) .327 (-2%) .374 (+11%) .701 (+5%) 182.2
1976 DET AL 115 305 36 87 12 3 15 47 9 11 44 .285 .255 (+12%) .320 (-2%) .360 (+36%) .681 (+18%) 821.8
1977 DET AL 132 450 63 118 24 2 21 61 9 40 80 .262 .264 (-1%) .329 (-1%) .401 (+16%) .730 (+8%) 646.5
1978 ML4 AL 128 469 71 142 29 4 18 72 11 52 69 .303 .257 (+17%) .323 (+14%) .378 (+31%) .702 (+23%) 2095.2
1979 ML4 AL 139 514 88 145 30 4 29 81 12 48 56 .282 .265 (+6%) .329 (+4%) .397 (+32%) .727 (+19%) 1865.2
1980 ML4 AL 156 592 94 180 26 2 41 118 11 54 71 .304 .264 (+15%) .326 (+11%) .387 (+45%) .714 (+29%) 3390.0
1981 ML4 AL 107 400 53 97 15 2 14 72 2 37 49 .242 .255 (-5%) .320 (-3%) .368 (+7%) .688 (+2%) 118.0
1982 ML4 AL 159 602 92 147 22 1 34 102 3 70 81 .244 .261 (-7%) .324 (+1%) .388 (+17%) .712 (+9%) 1193.2
1983 ML4 AL 125 411 49 115 19 3 13 66 4 60 64 .280 .260 (+7%) .324 (+14%) .389 (+12%) .714 (+13%) 1155.0
1984 ML4 AL 131 461 49 121 16 2 12 60 0 44 56 .262 .259 (+1%) .322 (+1%) .384 (avg) .707 (avg) 87.3
1985 ML4 AL 101 341 40 99 17 2 10 61 0 37 51 .290 .257 (+13%) .323 (+9%) .390 (+13%) .714 (+11%) 680.2
1986 ML4 AL 103 346 31 98 20 1 5 53 1 30 33 .283 .257 (+10%) .325 (+3%) .395 (-1%) .720 (avg) -11.8
Career · 16 seasons 1,754 5,913 784 1,615 277 33 235 901 87 560 852 .273 — — — — 12,243

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
16 60 5 11 1 1 2 3 2 14 .183

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1982 ALCS ML4 4 15 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 3 .133
1982 WS ML4 7 27 4 6 0 1 1 1 2 4 .222
1981 AEDIV ML4 5 18 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 7 .167

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1754 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home8542796382785107427.281
Away9003117402830128474.266

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1986-10-05 MILTORW 300000102
1986-10-03 MILTORW 401000101
1986-10-02 MILDETL 411001100
1986-09-30 MILDETW 411100101
1986-09-26 MILBALW 301000000
1986-09-16 MILBOSL 000000000
1986-09-15 MILTORL 100000001
1986-09-13 MILTORL 300000100
1986-09-11 MILDETL 401000000
1986-09-07 MILCLEW 401000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 44 36 369 19 4 37
OF 1439 1364 3030 102 70 17

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1971 BOS OF 11 7 22 1 1 1
1972 BOS OF 65 58 98 5 2 2
1973 BOS OF 32 28 56 2 1 0
1974 DET 1B 10 9 75 8 0 13
1974 DET OF 63 51 87 3 5 0
1975 DET 1B 5 4 40 4 0 4
1975 DET OF 86 85 192 4 5 1
1976 DET 1B 9 9 98 1 1 13
1976 DET OF 64 58 136 7 2 0
1977 DET OF 118 113 236 10 6 3
1978 ML4 1B 11 9 88 3 2 4
1978 ML4 OF 89 84 187 5 4 0
1979 ML4 1B 9 5 68 3 1 3
1979 ML4 OF 120 113 252 7 4 0
1980 ML4 OF 152 150 384 18 9 3
1981 ML4 OF 101 100 211 3 4 1
1982 ML4 OF 159 156 359 15 7 3
1983 ML4 OF 113 108 259 8 4 1
1984 ML4 OF 125 117 256 6 8 1
1985 ML4 OF 91 87 190 4 7 0
1986 ML4 OF 50 49 105 4 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
First Base 44
Left Field 1100
Center Field 16
Right Field 358
Designated Hitter 131

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1983 Player of the Week Week of 1983-04-29
1980 Player of the Month May
1980 Silver Slugger OF
1980 TSN All-Star OF
1979 Player of the Week Week of 1979-09-21
1976 Player of the Week Week of 1976-06-04

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1986 ML4 AL $766,593
1985 ML4 AL $560,000
Total Career Earnings $1,326,593

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1980 Most Valuable Player AL 13th 27.0 392 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ben Oglivie (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Kevin McReynolds
    .265 avg, 211 HR
  2. 91
    Michael Cuddyer
    .277 avg, 197 HR
  3. 90
    Bobby Thomson
    .270 avg, 264 HR
  4. 88
    Rondell White
    .284 avg, 198 HR
  5. 88
    Brian Jordan
    .282 avg, 184 HR
  6. 88
    Frank Thomas
    .266 avg, 286 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Ben Oglivie

What years did Ben Oglivie play?
Ben Oglivie played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1986.
Was Ben Oglivie a pitcher?
No. Ben Oglivie was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Ben Oglivie hit?
Ben Oglivie hit 235 career home runs with 1615 hits.