Joe Pepitone
First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1962-1973)
Joe Pepitone was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1973 for 4 teams, including the New York Yankees, a span of 12 seasons. In 1,397 career games, he hit .258 with 1,315 hits, 219 home runs, and 721 RBI. Joe Pepitone was a 3-time All-Star and a 3-time Gold Glove. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 5,320.
- 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
- 6'2" / 185 lb
- Died
- 3/13/2023 in Kansas City, MO, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1962-04-10
- Last Game
- 1973-05-25
- Awards
- 3× All-Star · 3× Gold Glove
Full name: Joseph Anthony Pepitone
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,397 | 5,097 | 606 | 1,315 | 158 | 35 | 219 | 721 | 41 | 302 | 526 | .258 | .301 | .432 | .733 | 5,320 |
Career AVG .258 vs. league average .249 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .301 vs. league average .315 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .432 vs. league average .370 across their career seasons — +16.6% above league average.
Career OPS .733 vs. league average .685 across their career seasons — +7.0% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | NYA | AL | 63 | 138 | 14 | 33 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 21 | .239 | .257 (-7%) | .326 (-22%) | .393 (+12%) | .719 (-3%) | -128.2 |
| 1963 | NYA | AL | 157 | 580 | 79 | 157 | 16 | 3 | 27 | 89 | 3 | 23 | 63 | .271 | .246 (+10%) | .308 (-2%) | .371 (+21%) | .680 (+11%) | 979.1 |
| 1964 | NYA | AL | 160 | 613 | 71 | 154 | 12 | 3 | 28 | 100 | 2 | 24 | 63 | .251 | .250 (avg) | .312 (-10%) | .377 (+11%) | .690 (+1%) | -71.1 |
| 1965 | NYA | AL | 143 | 531 | 51 | 131 | 18 | 3 | 18 | 62 | 4 | 43 | 59 | .247 | .245 (avg) | .310 (-2%) | .371 (+6%) | .682 (+2%) | 199.1 |
| 1966 | NYA | AL | 152 | 585 | 85 | 149 | 21 | 4 | 31 | 83 | 4 | 29 | 58 | .255 | .248 (+2%) | .309 (-6%) | .376 (+23%) | .685 (+10%) | 835.5 |
| 1967 | NYA | AL | 133 | 501 | 45 | 126 | 18 | 3 | 13 | 64 | 1 | 34 | 62 | .251 | .242 (+4%) | .306 (-2%) | .357 (+6%) | .663 (+2%) | 113.2 |
| 1968 | NYA | AL | 108 | 380 | 41 | 93 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 56 | 8 | 37 | 45 | .245 | .236 (+3%) | .298 (+4%) | .340 (+18%) | .638 (+12%) | 733.8 |
| 1969 | NYA | AL | 135 | 513 | 49 | 124 | 16 | 3 | 27 | 70 | 8 | 30 | 42 | .242 | .248 (-3%) | .320 (-11%) | .369 (+20%) | .689 (+5%) | 275.1 |
| 1970 | HOU | NL | 75 | 279 | 44 | 70 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 35 | 5 | 18 | 28 | .251 | .253 (-1%) | .325 (-9%) | .385 (+22%) | .711 (+8%) | 261.6 |
| 1970 | CHN | NL | 56 | 213 | 38 | 57 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 44 | 0 | 15 | 15 | .268 | .253 (+5%) | .325 (-4%) | .385 (+29%) | .711 (+14%) | 261.6 |
| 1971 | CHN | NL | 115 | 427 | 50 | 131 | 19 | 4 | 16 | 61 | 1 | 24 | 41 | .307 | .249 (+23%) | .316 (+10%) | .365 (+32%) | .682 (+22%) | 1547.9 |
| 1972 | CHN | NL | 66 | 214 | 23 | 56 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 21 | 1 | 13 | 22 | .262 | .243 (+7%) | .310 (avg) | .353 (+12%) | .664 (+6%) | 184.7 |
| 1973 | CHN | NL | 31 | 112 | 16 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 3 | 8 | 6 | .268 | .256 (+4%) | .325 (-2%) | .378 (-1%) | .703 (-1%) | -25.5 |
| 1973 | ATL | NL | 3 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .364 | — | — | — | — | -25.5 |
| Career · 14 seasons | 1,397 | 5,097 | 606 | 1,315 | 158 | 35 | 219 | 721 | 41 | 302 | 526 | .258 | — | — | — | — | 5,141 | ||
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 (1397 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 685 | 2456 | 303 | 649 | 116 | 380 | .264 |
| Away | 712 | 2641 | 303 | 666 | 103 | 342 | .252 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-05-25 | ATL | STL | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973-05-24 | ATL | SFG | W | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1973-05-22 | ATL | SFG | L | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973-05-18 | CHC | PHI | W | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1973-05-17 | CHC | STL | L | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1973-05-16 | CHC | STL | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973-05-12 | CHC | PHI | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973-05-11 | CHC | PHI | W | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1973-05-09 | CHC | SDP | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973-05-08 | CHC | SDP | W | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 953 | 892 | 8172 | 627 | 61 | 781 |
| OF | 496 | 403 | 864 | 23 | 20 | 4 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | NYA | 1B | 16 | 14 | 100 | 11 | 2 | 9 |
| 1962 | NYA | OF | 32 | 13 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1963 | NYA | 1B | 143 | 130 | 1140 | 103 | 6 | 111 |
| 1963 | NYA | OF | 16 | 15 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1964 | NYA | 1B | 155 | 153 | 1333 | 121 | 18 | 128 |
| 1964 | NYA | OF | 30 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | NYA | 1B | 115 | 113 | 1036 | 71 | 3 | 104 |
| 1965 | NYA | OF | 41 | 25 | 45 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 1966 | NYA | 1B | 119 | 117 | 1044 | 92 | 6 | 92 |
| 1966 | NYA | OF | 55 | 30 | 82 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 1967 | NYA | 1B | 6 | 6 | 44 | 6 | 1 | 5 |
| 1967 | NYA | OF | 123 | 122 | 277 | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| 1968 | NYA | 1B | 12 | 12 | 128 | 4 | 0 | 10 |
| 1968 | NYA | OF | 92 | 91 | 190 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| 1969 | NYA | 1B | 132 | 131 | 1254 | 74 | 7 | 118 |
| 1970 | HOU | 1B | 50 | 42 | 376 | 29 | 2 | 45 |
| 1970 | HOU | OF | 28 | 27 | 52 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1970 | CHN | 1B | 13 | 0 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1970 | CHN | OF | 56 | 56 | 121 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1971 | CHN | 1B | 95 | 89 | 872 | 64 | 9 | 75 |
| 1971 | CHN | OF | 23 | 22 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1972 | CHN | 1B | 66 | 54 | 552 | 31 | 2 | 51 |
| 1973 | CHN | 1B | 28 | 28 | 240 | 19 | 4 | 28 |
| 1973 | ATL | 1B | 3 | 3 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 948 |
| Left Field | 36 |
| Center Field | 390 |
| Right Field | 84 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Gold Glove | 1B |
| 1966 | Gold Glove | 1B |
| 1965 | Gold Glove | 1B |
| 1963 | TSN All-Star | 1B |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 27th | 2.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1963 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 17th | 10.0 | 280 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Joe Pepitone (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Joe Pepitone: the record in brief
The profile opens with Joe Pepitone's first major league game on April 10, 1962; the last one listed came on May 25, 1973. Club by club, the record runs the New York Yankees (1962 through 1969), the Houston Astros (1970), the Chicago Cubs (1970 through 1973), and the Atlanta Braves (1973). At 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, Pepitone is listed as a first baseman. The bio says Pepitone threw and hit left-handed. The recorded birth is October 9, 1940, in Brooklyn, NY, USA. The bio records the death on March 13, 2023, in Kansas City, MO, USA. Joe Pepitone was the playing name; the full given name is Joseph Anthony.
Across 1,397 games at the plate, Pepitone's career line reads 1,315 hits in 5,097 at bats for a .258 average, plus 219 home runs, 721 RBI, and 41 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .301 clip and slugging .432, Pepitone finished with a .733 OPS. The .258 career average is close to the .249 the league hit across the same seasons.
Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Pepitone
- What years did Joe Pepitone play?
- Joe Pepitone played in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1973.
- Was Joe Pepitone a pitcher?
- No. Joe Pepitone was a position player (First Baseman).
- How many home runs did Joe Pepitone hit?
- Joe Pepitone hit 219 career home runs with 1315 hits.
- What was Joe Pepitone's career batting average?
- Joe Pepitone batted .258 over his career, with 1,315 hits in 5,097 at bats.
- How many RBI did Joe Pepitone have?
- Joe Pepitone drove in 721 runs in his career.
- Is Joe Pepitone in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Joe Pepitone has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.