What years did Dean Palmer play?

Dean Palmer played in Major League Baseball from 1989 to 2003.

Was Dean Palmer a pitcher?

No. Dean Palmer was a position player (Third Baseman).

How many home runs did Dean Palmer hit?

Dean Palmer hit 275 career home runs with 1,229 hits.

What teams did Dean Palmer play for?

Dean Palmer played for 3 teams: the Texas Rangers (1989, 1991–1997), the Kansas City Royals (1997–1998), and the Detroit Tigers (1999–2003).

Did Dean Palmer win an MVP award?

No. Dean Palmer did not win the MVP award.

What awards did Dean Palmer win?

Dean Palmer won 2 Silver Slugger awards (1998 and 1999). He was selected to 1 All-Star Game.

What were Dean Palmer's career stats?

In 1,357 games, Dean Palmer had 1,229 hits, 275 home runs, 849 RBI, 734 runs, and 48 stolen bases, with a .251 batting average.

What was Dean Palmer's salary?

Dean Palmer's last recorded salary was $8,500,000, in 2003. His highest recorded salary was $8,500,000, in 2003, and his lowest was $100,000, in 1990. The Salary History table lists each season from 1990 to 2003.

What position did Dean Palmer play?

Dean Palmer played primarily as a third baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Dean Palmer and how much did he weigh?

Dean Palmer was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 175 pounds.

How many home runs did Dean Palmer hit each season?

Dean Palmer's home runs by season: 0 in 1989, 15 in 1991, 26 in 1992, 33 in 1993, 19 in 1994, 9 in 1995, 38 in 1996, 23 in 1997, 34 in 1998, 38 in 1999, 29 in 2000, 11 in 2001, 0 in 2002, and 0 in 2003. His most in one season was 38, in 1996 and 1999.

What was Dean Palmer's career batting average?

Dean Palmer batted .251 over his career, with 1,229 hits in 4,902 at bats.

How many RBI did Dean Palmer have?

Dean Palmer drove in 849 runs in his career.

Dean Palmer

Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1989-2003)

Dean Palmer was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1989 to 2003 for the Texas Rangers, the Kansas City Royals, and the Detroit Tigers, a span of 15 seasons. In 1,357 career games, he hit .251 with 1,229 hits, 275 home runs, and 849 RBI. Dean Palmer was an All-Star and a 2-time Silver Slugger. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 5,786.

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 October 17, 2026

AVG .251

HR 275

RBI 849

H 1,229

OPS .796

PIV 5,786

Position: Third Baseman
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'1" / 175 lb
Born: 12/27/1968 in Tallahassee, FL, USA
MLB Debut: 1989-09-01
Last Game: 2003-05-09
Awards: All-Star · 2× Silver Slugger

Full name: Dean William Palmer

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Career Batting Statistics

Dean Palmer — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1,357	4,902	734	1,229	231	15	275	849	48	502	1,332	.251	.324	.472	.796	5,786

Career AVG .251 vs. league average .264 across their career seasons — 5.2% below league average.

Career OBP .324 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .472 vs. league average .414 across their career seasons — +14.1% above league average.

Career OPS .796 vs. league average .748 across their career seasons — +6.5% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Dean Palmer 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
1989	TEX	AL	16	19	0	2	2	0	0	1	0	0	12	.105	—	—	—	—	0.0
1991	TEX	AL	81	268	38	50	9	2	15	37	0	32	98	.187	.255 (-27%)	.323 (-13%)	.384 (+5%)	.708 (-3%)	-169.3
1992	TEX	AL	152	541	74	124	25	0	26	72	10	62	154	.229	.255 (-10%)	.322 (-4%)	.377 (+11%)	.699 (+4%)	444.6
1993	TEX	AL	148	519	88	127	31	2	33	96	11	53	154	.245	.265 (-8%)	.332 (-3%)	.403 (+25%)	.735 (+12%)	1140.0
1994	TEX	AL	93	342	50	84	14	2	19	59	3	26	89	.246	.269 (-9%)	.338 (-11%)	.424 (+10%)	.763 (avg)	-43.5
1995	TEX	AL	36	119	30	40	6	0	9	24	1	21	21	.336	.266 (+26%)	.337 (+33%)	.417 (+47%)	.755 (+41%)	943.6
1996	TEX	AL	154	582	98	163	26	2	38	107	2	59	145	.280	.269 (+4%)	.340 (+2%)	.426 (+24%)	.767 (+14%)	1670.0
1997	TEX	AL	94	355	47	87	21	0	14	55	1	26	84	.245	.266 (-8%)	.336 (-12%)	.419 (+1%)	.756 (-5%)	-373.3
1997	KCA	AL	49	187	23	52	10	1	9	31	1	15	50	.278	.266 (+4%)	.336 (-1%)	.419 (+16%)	.756 (+9%)	-373.3
1998	KCA	AL	152	572	84	159	27	2	34	119	8	48	134	.278	.266 (+4%)	.335 (-1%)	.420 (+21%)	.755 (+12%)	1195.9
1999	DET	AL	150	560	92	147	25	2	38	100	3	57	153	.263	.271 (-3%)	.344 (-2%)	.433 (+19%)	.778 (+10%)	1140.6
2000	DET	AL	145	524	73	134	22	2	29	102	4	66	146	.256	.270 (-5%)	.344 (-2%)	.437 (+8%)	.782 (+3%)	303.2
2001	DET	AL	57	216	34	48	11	0	11	40	4	27	59	.222	.263 (-16%)	.332 (-5%)	.426 (avg)	.758 (-2%)	-53.9
2002	DET	AL	4	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
2003	DET	AL	26	86	3	12	2	0	0	6	0	9	28	.140	.264 (-47%)	.332 (-29%)	.422 (-61%)	.754 (-47%)	-665.5
Career · 15 seasons			1,357	4,902	734	1,229	231	15	275	849	48	502	1,332	.251	—	—	—	—	5,159

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

Dean Palmer — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
4	19	3	4	1	0	1	2	0	5	.211

Playoff Batting by Year

Dean Palmer — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1996	ALDS2	TEX	4	19	3	4	1	0	1	2	0	5	.211

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1357 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Dean Palmer — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	681	2383	371	586	139	421	.246
Away	676	2519	363	643	136	428	.255

Last 10 Games — Batting

Dean Palmer — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO
2003-05-09	DET	TBR	L	4	0	1	0	0	2
2003-05-07	DET	BAL	W	4	1	1	1	1	0
2003-05-06	DET	BAL	W	1	0	0	0	0	0
2003-05-03	DET	TBR	L	3	0	1	0	0	1
2003-05-02	DET	TBR	L	1	0	0	0	0	1
2003-05-01	DET	BAL	L	3	0	0	0	1	0
2003-05-01	DET	BAL	L	3	1	1	0	1	1
2003-04-29	DET	BAL	L	4	0	0	0	0	1
2003-04-27	DET	SEA	L	3	0	0	1	0	1
2003-04-26	DET	SEA	W	5	0	0	0	0	2

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Dean Palmer — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	21	16	131	6	2	13
3B	1162	1134	734	1916	185	156
OF	30	24	43	1	3	1
SS	2	0	2	1	0	0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Dean Palmer — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1989	TEX	3B	6	2	1	3	2	0
1989	TEX	OF	1	0	1	0	0	0
1989	TEX	SS	1	0	1	1	0	0
1991	TEX	3B	50	45	27	74	6	5
1991	TEX	OF	29	24	42	1	3	1
1992	TEX	3B	150	143	124	254	22	24
1993	TEX	3B	148	144	85	258	29	21
1993	TEX	SS	1	0	1	0	0	0
1994	TEX	3B	91	90	50	179	22	8
1995	TEX	3B	36	35	19	72	5	9
1996	TEX	3B	154	153	105	221	16	17
1997	TEX	3B	93	92	72	162	10	10
1997	KCA	3B	48	48	27	82	9	8
1998	KCA	3B	129	127	69	187	22	16
1999	DET	3B	141	140	89	240	19	24
2000	DET	1B	20	15	122	5	2	13
2000	DET	3B	115	114	66	180	23	14
2003	DET	1B	1	1	9	1	0	0
2003	DET	3B	1	1	0	4	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Dean Palmer Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
First Base	21
Third Base	1161
Shortstop	2
Left Field	29
Designated Hitter	141

Awards & Honors

Dean Palmer — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1999	Silver Slugger	3B
1999	TSN All-Star	3B
1998	Silver Slugger	3B
1996	Player of the Week	Week of 1996-04-20

Salary History

Dean Palmer's recorded salaries total $51,542,500 over 13 seasons, 1990 to 2003. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Palmer's career ran from 1989 to 2003. No salary is recorded for 1989 and 1991.

Dean Palmer — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
2003	DET	AL	$8,500,000
2002	DET	AL	$8,000,000
2001	DET	AL	$7,500,000
2000	DET	AL	$7,000,000
1999	DET	AL	$5,000,000
1998	KCA	AL	$5,825,000
1997	TEX	AL	$4,800,000
1996	TEX	AL	$2,000,000
1995	TEX	AL	$1,925,000
1994	TEX	AL	$475,000
1993	TEX	AL	$275,000
1992	TEX	AL	$142,500
1990	TEX	AL	$100,000
Total recorded salary (partial)			$51,542,500

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Dean Palmer (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Dean Palmer: the record in brief

Dean Palmer's major league career runs from a debut on September 1, 1989 to a final game on May 9, 2003. Club by club, the record runs the Texas Rangers (1989 through 1997), the Kansas City Royals (1997 to 1998), and the Detroit Tigers (1999 through 2003). Palmer, born on December 27, 1968, in Tallahassee, FL, USA, is listed as a third baseman and batted and threw right-handed. Palmer's listed size is 6 feet, 1 inch and 175 pounds. Dean Palmer was the playing name; the full given name is Dean William.

Palmer's career batting table shows 1,357 games, 4,902 at bats and 1,229 hits, a .251 average, adding 275 homers, 849 runs batted in, and 48 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .324 clip and slugging .472, Palmer finished with a .796 OPS. Palmer's .251 average ran 5.2% below the .264 that the league posted over the same seasons. In OPS terms, Palmer's .796 stands 6.5% above the league's .748.

Frequently Asked Questions about Dean Palmer

What years did Dean Palmer play?: Dean Palmer played in Major League Baseball from 1989 to 2003.
Was Dean Palmer a pitcher?: No. Dean Palmer was a position player (Third Baseman).
How many home runs did Dean Palmer hit?: Dean Palmer hit 275 career home runs with 1,229 hits.
What teams did Dean Palmer play for?: Dean Palmer played for 3 teams: the Texas Rangers (1989, 1991–1997), the Kansas City Royals (1997–1998), and the Detroit Tigers (1999–2003).
Did Dean Palmer win an MVP award?: No. Dean Palmer did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Dean Palmer win?: Dean Palmer won 2 Silver Slugger awards (1998 and 1999). He was selected to 1 All-Star Game.
What were Dean Palmer's career stats?: In 1,357 games, Dean Palmer had 1,229 hits, 275 home runs, 849 RBI, 734 runs, and 48 stolen bases, with a .251 batting average.
How much did Dean Palmer earn in his career?: Dean Palmer's recorded salaries total $51,542,500 over 13 seasons, 1990 to 2003. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Palmer's career ran from 1989 to 2003. No salary is recorded for 1989 and 1991.
What was Dean Palmer's salary?: Dean Palmer's last recorded salary was $8,500,000, in 2003. His highest recorded salary was $8,500,000, in 2003, and his lowest was $100,000, in 1990. The Salary History table lists each season from 1990 to 2003.
What position did Dean Palmer play?: Dean Palmer played primarily as a third baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Dean Palmer and how much did he weigh?: Dean Palmer was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 175 pounds.
How many home runs did Dean Palmer hit each season?: Dean Palmer's home runs by season: 0 in 1989, 15 in 1991, 26 in 1992, 33 in 1993, 19 in 1994, 9 in 1995, 38 in 1996, 23 in 1997, 34 in 1998, 38 in 1999, 29 in 2000, 11 in 2001, 0 in 2002, and 0 in 2003. His most in one season was 38, in 1996 and 1999.
What was Dean Palmer's career batting average?: Dean Palmer batted .251 over his career, with 1,229 hits in 4,902 at bats.
How many RBI did Dean Palmer have?: Dean Palmer drove in 849 runs in his career.