Terry Puhl

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1977-1991)

Terry Puhl was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1977 to 1991 for the Houston Astros and the Kansas City Royals, a span of 15 seasons. In 1,531 career games, he hit .280 with 1,361 hits, 62 home runs, and 435 RBI. Terry Puhl was an All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 4,367.

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 .280
HR 62
RBI 435
H 1,361
OPS .737
PIV 4,367
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 195 lb
Born
7/8/1956 in Melville, SK, CAN
MLB Debut
1977-07-12
Last Game
1991-05-29
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Terry Stephen Puhl

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Career Batting Statistics

Terry Puhl — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,531 4,855 676 1,361 226 56 62 435 217 505 507 .280 .349 .388 .737 4,367

Career AVG .280 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — +8.1% above league average.

Career OBP .349 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — +7.5% above league average.

Career SLG .388 vs. league average .389 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .737 vs. league average .713 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Terry Puhl 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
1977 HOU NL 60 229 40 69 13 5 0 10 10 30 31 .301 .264 (+14%) .329 (+17%) .401 (avg) .730 (+8%) 399.0
1978 HOU NL 149 585 87 169 25 6 3 35 32 48 46 .289 .257 (+12%) .323 (+6%) .378 (-3%) .702 (+1%) 168.3
1979 HOU NL 157 600 87 172 22 4 8 49 30 58 46 .287 .265 (+8%) .329 (+7%) .397 (-5%) .727 (avg) 201.9
1980 HOU NL 141 535 75 151 24 5 13 55 27 60 52 .282 .264 (+7%) .326 (+9%) .387 (+8%) .714 (+9%) 1032.6
1981 HOU NL 96 350 43 88 19 4 3 28 22 31 49 .251 .255 (-2%) .320 (-1%) .368 (-4%) .688 (-3%) -171.4
1982 HOU NL 145 507 64 133 17 9 8 50 17 51 49 .262 .261 (avg) .324 (+2%) .388 (-3%) .712 (avg) -3.3
1983 HOU NL 137 465 66 136 25 7 8 44 24 36 48 .292 .260 (+12%) .324 (+6%) .389 (+10%) .714 (+8%) 664.7
1984 HOU NL 132 449 66 135 19 7 9 55 13 59 45 .301 .259 (+16%) .322 (+18%) .384 (+13%) .707 (+15%) 1456.2
1985 HOU NL 57 194 34 55 14 3 2 23 6 18 23 .284 .257 (+10%) .323 (+6%) .390 (+7%) .714 (+6%) 187.4
1986 HOU NL 81 172 17 42 10 0 3 14 3 15 24 .244 .257 (-5%) .325 (-7%) .395 (-10%) .720 (-9%) -261.4
1987 HOU NL 90 122 9 28 5 0 2 15 1 11 16 .230 .262 (-13%) .331 (-11%) .415 (-23%) .746 (-18%) -345.8
1988 HOU NL 113 234 42 71 7 2 3 19 22 35 30 .303 .254 (+19%) .317 (+24%) .377 (+3%) .695 (+13%) 726.6
1989 HOU NL 121 354 41 96 25 4 0 27 9 45 39 .271 .254 (+7%) .319 (+11%) .375 (-3%) .694 (+3%) 312.5
1990 HOU NL 37 41 5 12 1 0 0 8 1 5 7 .293 — — — — 0.0
1991 KCA AL 15 18 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 3 2 .222 — — — — 0.0
Career · 15 seasons 1,531 4,855 676 1,361 226 56 62 435 217 505 507 .280 — — — — 4,367

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

Terry Puhl — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
13 43 6 16 3 0 0 3 3 3 .372

Playoff Batting by Year

Terry Puhl — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1986 NLCS HOU 3 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .667
1981 NWDIV HOU 5 21 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 .190
1980 NLCS HOU 5 19 4 10 2 0 0 3 3 2 .526

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1530 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Terry Puhl — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home774239232366121207.276
Away756245835169941228.284

Last 10 Games — Batting

Terry Puhl — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1991-05-29 KCRSEAL 100000000
1991-05-20 KCRSEAL 401000200
1991-05-19 KCRMILL 100000000
1991-05-18 KCRMILW 100000000
1991-05-15 KCRTORW 100000000
1991-05-14 KCRTORL 101000000
1991-05-13 KCRTORL 101000000
1991-05-12 KCRMILW 100000000
1991-05-10 KCRMILW 401000100
1991-05-03 KCRTORL 100000001

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Terry Puhl — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 4 0 9 0 0 1
OF 1300 1193 2576 57 18 18

Season-by-Season Fielding

Terry Puhl — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1977 HOU OF 59 58 119 3 1 0
1978 HOU OF 148 145 386 6 3 2
1979 HOU OF 152 149 352 7 0 3
1980 HOU OF 135 130 311 14 3 3
1981 HOU OF 88 86 185 5 0 1
1982 HOU OF 138 127 257 4 3 3
1983 HOU OF 124 111 220 4 2 1
1984 HOU OF 126 122 213 6 3 4
1985 HOU OF 53 52 92 3 0 1
1986 HOU OF 47 39 65 0 0 0
1987 HOU OF 40 16 48 0 1 0
1988 HOU OF 78 54 116 2 2 0
1989 HOU 1B 3 0 8 0 0 1
1989 HOU OF 103 99 204 3 0 0
1990 HOU 1B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1990 HOU OF 8 5 8 0 0 0
1991 KCA OF 1 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Terry Puhl Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 4
Left Field 236
Center Field 342
Right Field 788
Designated Hitter 2

Salary History

Terry Puhl — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1990 HOU NL $800,000
1989 HOU NL $950,000
1988 HOU NL $950,000
1987 HOU NL $900,000
1986 HOU NL $850,000
1985 HOU NL $541,667
Total Career Earnings $4,991,667

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Terry Puhl (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Al Bumbry
    .281 avg, 54 HR
  2. 92
    Denard Span
    .281 avg, 71 HR
  3. 90
    Jerry Mumphrey
    .289 avg, 70 HR
  4. 80
    Jack Smith
    .287 avg, 40 HR
  5. 80
    Mike Kreevich
    .283 avg, 45 HR
  6. 80
    Darryl Hamilton
    .291 avg, 51 HR

Terry Puhl: the record in brief

According to the bio, Terry Puhl debuted on July 12, 1977 and played a final game on May 29, 1991. By club, Puhl's seasons break down as the Houston Astros (1977 to 1990) and the Kansas City Royals (1991). At 6 feet, 2 inches and 195 pounds, Puhl is listed as an outfielder. Puhl threw right-handed and batted left-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is July 8, 1956, in Melville, SK, CAN. Terry Puhl was the playing name; the full given name is Terry Stephen.

Puhl finished with 1,361 hits from 4,855 at bats in 1,531 games, which works out to .280, plus 62 homers, 435 RBI, and 217 stolen bases. Puhl's career OPS of .737 combines a .349 on-base mark with .388 slugging. Measured against the leagues Puhl played in, the .280 career average compares with a .259 league average over the same seasons, 8.1% above the league. 1980 was Puhl's biggest home run year, with 13. The highest hit total in a season was 172, in 1979.

Frequently Asked Questions about Terry Puhl

What years did Terry Puhl play?
Terry Puhl played in Major League Baseball from 1977 to 1991.
Was Terry Puhl a pitcher?
No. Terry Puhl was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Terry Puhl hit?
Terry Puhl hit 62 career home runs with 1361 hits.
What was Terry Puhl's career batting average?
Terry Puhl batted .280 over his career, with 1,361 hits in 4,855 at bats.
How many RBI did Terry Puhl have?
Terry Puhl drove in 435 runs in his career.
Is Terry Puhl in the Hall of Fame?
No. Terry Puhl has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.