Lou Piniella

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1964-1984)

AVG .291
HR 102
RBI 766
H 1,705
OPS .741
PIV 5,982
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 182 lb
Born
8/28/1943 in Tampa, FL, USA
MLB Debut
1964-09-04
Last Game
1984-06-16
Awards
All-Star · Rookie of the Year

Full name: Louis Victor Piniella

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,747 5,867 651 1,705 305 41 102 766 32 368 541 .291 .333 .409 .741 5,982

Career AVG .291 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — +13.5% above league average.

Career OBP .333 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .409 vs. league average .377 across their career seasons — +8.4% above league average.

Career OPS .741 vs. league average .699 across their career seasons — +6.1% 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
1964 BAL AL 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1968 CLE AL 6 5 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1969 KCA AL 135 493 43 139 21 6 11 68 2 33 56 .282 .248 (+14%) .320 (+2%) .369 (+13%) .689 (+8%) 511.8
1970 KCA AL 144 542 54 163 24 5 11 88 3 35 42 .301 .253 (+18%) .325 (+5%) .385 (+10%) .711 (+8%) 727.1
1971 KCA AL 126 448 43 125 21 5 3 51 5 21 43 .279 .249 (+12%) .316 (-2%) .365 (+1%) .682 (avg) -144.4
1972 KCA AL 151 574 65 179 33 4 11 72 7 34 59 .312 .243 (+28%) .310 (+15%) .353 (+25%) .664 (+20%) 2061.3
1973 KCA AL 144 513 53 128 28 1 9 69 5 30 65 .250 .256 (-3%) .325 (-11%) .378 (-5%) .703 (-7%) -710.1
1974 NYA AL 140 518 71 158 26 0 9 70 1 32 58 .305 .256 (+19%) .324 (+5%) .369 (+10%) .693 (+8%) 654.6
1975 NYA AL 74 199 7 39 4 1 0 22 0 16 22 .196 .257 (-24%) .327 (-20%) .374 (-40%) .701 (-30%) -936.8
1976 NYA AL 100 327 36 92 16 6 3 38 0 18 34 .281 .255 (+10%) .320 (+1%) .360 (+9%) .681 (+5%) 214.8
1977 NYA AL 103 339 47 112 19 3 12 45 2 20 31 .330 .264 (+25%) .329 (+11%) .401 (+27%) .730 (+20%) 1197.1
1978 NYA AL 130 472 67 148 34 5 6 69 3 34 36 .314 .257 (+22%) .323 (+12%) .378 (+18%) .702 (+15%) 1295.6
1979 NYA AL 130 461 49 137 22 2 11 69 3 17 31 .297 .265 (+12%) .329 (-3%) .397 (+7%) .727 (+2%) 53.6
1980 NYA AL 116 321 39 92 18 0 2 27 0 29 20 .287 .264 (+8%) .326 (+5%) .387 (-7%) .714 (-1%) -31.9
1981 NYA AL 60 159 16 44 9 0 5 18 0 13 9 .277 .255 (+8%) .320 (+4%) .368 (+16%) .688 (+10%) 264.3
1982 NYA AL 102 261 33 80 17 1 6 37 0 18 18 .307 .261 (+17%) .324 (+9%) .388 (+15%) .712 (+12%) 579.7
1983 NYA AL 53 148 19 43 9 1 2 16 1 11 12 .291 .260 (+11%) .324 (+6%) .389 (+4%) .714 (+5%) 130.8
1984 NYA AL 29 86 8 26 4 1 1 6 0 7 5 .302 .259 (+16%) .322 (+10%) .384 (+6%) .707 (+8%) 114.0
Career · 18 seasons 1,747 5,867 651 1,705 305 41 102 766 32 368 541 .291 — — — — 5,982

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
44 141 15 43 7 0 3 19 2 10 .305

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1981 AEDIV NYA 4 10 1 2 1 0 1 3 0 0 .200
1981 ALCS NYA 3 5 2 3 0 0 1 3 0 0 .600
1981 WS NYA 6 16 2 7 1 0 0 3 0 1 .438
1980 ALCS NYA 2 5 1 1 0 0 1 1 2 1 .200
1978 ALCS NYA 4 17 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .235
1978 WS NYA 6 25 3 7 0 0 0 4 0 0 .280
1977 ALCS NYA 5 21 1 7 3 0 0 2 0 1 .333
1977 WS NYA 6 22 1 6 0 0 0 3 0 3 .273
1976 ALCS NYA 4 11 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 .273
1976 WS NYA 4 9 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 .333

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1746 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home887292830786138401.294
Away859293534484364365.287

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1984-06-16 NYYBALW 500000101
1984-06-14 NYYBOSW 333100000
1984-06-11 NYYBOSL 311000021
1984-06-06 NYYBOSL 501100000
1984-05-24 NYYSEAW 301000011
1984-05-22 NYYSEAL 200000010
1984-05-19 NYYLAAL 402000001
1984-05-18 NYYLAAL 422001100
1984-05-13 NYYSEAW 501000100
1984-05-11 NYYSEAL 301000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 3 1 17 1 0 0
OF 1401 1318 2529 105 52 16

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1968 CLE OF 2 1 1 0 0 0
1969 KCA OF 129 125 278 13 7 1
1970 KCA 1B 1 0 3 0 0 0
1970 KCA OF 139 138 247 6 4 2
1971 KCA OF 115 113 201 6 3 2
1972 KCA OF 150 150 275 8 7 2
1973 KCA OF 128 125 196 9 3 3
1974 NYA 1B 1 0 5 0 0 0
1974 NYA OF 130 128 265 16 3 0
1975 NYA OF 46 41 65 5 1 0
1976 NYA OF 49 44 106 4 2 0
1977 NYA 1B 1 1 9 1 0 0
1977 NYA OF 51 47 77 2 2 0
1978 NYA OF 103 101 213 4 7 0
1979 NYA OF 112 102 204 13 4 1
1980 NYA OF 104 77 157 8 5 1
1981 NYA OF 36 30 69 2 1 1
1982 NYA OF 40 33 68 2 0 1
1983 NYA OF 43 40 67 4 3 2
1984 NYA OF 24 23 40 3 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
First Base 3
Left Field 1127
Center Field 4
Right Field 276
Designated Hitter 231

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1969 Rookie of the Year

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1978 Most Valuable Player AL 21th 11.0 392 0
1974 Most Valuable Player AL 23th 8.0 336 0
1972 Most Valuable Player AL 32th 1.0 336 0
1969 Most Valuable Player AL 35th 1.0 336 0
1969 Rookie of the Year AL 1st 9.0 24 9

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Lou Piniella (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Curt Flood
    .293 avg, 85 HR
  2. 88
    Mark Kotsay
    .276 avg, 127 HR
  3. 84
    Melky Cabrera
    .285 avg, 144 HR
  4. 84
    Tony Gonzalez
    .286 avg, 103 HR
  5. 83
    Darin Erstad
    .282 avg, 124 HR
  6. 83
    Jo-Jo Moore
    .298 avg, 79 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Lou Piniella

What years did Lou Piniella play?
Lou Piniella played in Major League Baseball from 1964 to 1984.
Was Lou Piniella a pitcher?
No. Lou Piniella was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Lou Piniella hit?
Lou Piniella hit 102 career home runs with 1705 hits.