Leon Roberts

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1974-1984)

Leon Roberts was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1984 for 6 teams, including the Detroit Tigers, a span of 11 seasons. In 901 career games, he hit .267 with 731 hits, 78 home runs, and 328 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 3,561.

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 .267
HR 78
RBI 328
H 731
OPS .751
PIV 3,561
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 200 lb
Born
1/22/1951 in Vicksburg, MI, USA
MLB Debut
1974-09-03
Last Game
1984-09-30

Full name: Leon Kauffman Roberts

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Career Batting Statistics

Leon Roberts — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
901 2,737 342 731 126 28 78 328 26 256 428 .267 .332 .419 .751 3,561

Career AVG .267 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .332 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .419 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — +9.5% above league average.

Career OPS .751 vs. league average .708 across their career seasons — +6.1% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Leon Roberts 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
1974 DET AL 17 63 5 17 3 2 0 7 0 3 10 .270 .256 (+5%) .324 (-7%) .369 (+3%) .693 (-1%) -36.6
1975 DET AL 129 447 51 115 17 5 10 38 3 36 94 .257 .257 (avg) .327 (-4%) .374 (+3%) .701 (avg) -73.6
1976 HOU NL 87 235 31 68 11 2 7 33 1 19 43 .289 .255 (+13%) .320 (+9%) .360 (+23%) .681 (+16%) 636.0
1977 HOU NL 19 27 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 8 .074 — — — — 0.0
1978 SEA AL 134 472 78 142 21 7 22 92 6 41 52 .301 .257 (+17%) .323 (+12%) .378 (+36%) .702 (+25%) 2227.7
1979 SEA AL 140 450 61 122 24 6 15 54 3 56 64 .271 .265 (+2%) .329 (+7%) .397 (+13%) .727 (+10%) 975.5
1980 SEA AL 119 374 48 94 18 3 10 33 8 43 59 .251 .264 (-5%) .326 (avg) .387 (+2%) .714 (+1%) 56.1
1981 TEX AL 72 233 26 65 17 2 4 31 3 25 38 .279 .255 (+9%) .320 (+8%) .368 (+14%) .688 (+11%) 417.7
1982 TEX AL 31 73 7 17 3 0 1 6 0 4 14 .233 .261 (-11%) .324 (-14%) .388 (-19%) .712 (-17%) -198.0
1982 TOR AL 40 105 6 24 4 0 1 5 1 7 16 .229 .261 (-12%) .324 (-15%) .388 (-24%) .712 (-20%) -198.0
1983 KCA AL 84 213 24 55 7 0 8 24 1 17 27 .258 .260 (-1%) .324 (-4%) .389 (+4%) .714 (avg) 1.7
1984 KCA AL 29 45 4 10 1 1 0 3 0 4 3 .222 — — — — -110.0
Career · 12 seasons 901 2,737 342 731 126 28 78 328 26 256 428 .267 — — — — 3,699

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.

Career Pitching Statistics

Leon Roberts — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 4 3 1 1 1 27.00 0.0

Career ERA 27.00 vs. league average 3.81 across their career seasons — 608.5% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Leon Roberts — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1984 KCA AL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 4 3 1 1 27.00 — 0.0
Career · 1 season 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 4 3 1 1 27.00 — 0

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.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (902 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Leon Roberts — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home451136218736841165.270
Away450137515536337163.264

Pitching — Home / Away

Leon Roberts — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Away11.0431127.00

Last 10 Games — Batting

Leon Roberts — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1984-09-30 KCROAKL 101000100
1984-09-24 KCRLAAW 000000000
1984-09-18 KCRLAAW 100000000
1984-09-11 KCRMINL 000000010
1984-07-27 KCRMILW 100000000
1984-07-25 KCRTORW 100000000
1984-07-23 KCRTORW 010000000
1984-07-19 KCRBALW 201000011
1984-07-15 KCRNYYL 301000000
1984-07-14 KCRNYYL 100000000

Last 1 Games — Pitching

Leon Roberts — Last 1 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1984-07-03 KCRCLE — 1.0433111

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Leon Roberts — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 788 698 1574 40 30 9
P 1 0 0 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Leon Roberts — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1974 DET OF 17 15 25 0 2 0
1975 DET OF 127 124 268 10 5 2
1976 HOU OF 60 55 99 1 2 0
1977 HOU OF 9 5 3 2 0 0
1978 SEA OF 128 122 296 10 8 4
1979 SEA OF 136 118 286 6 5 2
1980 SEA OF 104 96 238 6 4 1
1981 TEX OF 71 63 130 2 1 0
1982 TEX OF 28 17 42 0 0 0
1982 TOR OF 16 14 24 0 0 0
1983 KCA OF 76 59 139 3 3 0
1984 KCA OF 16 10 24 0 0 0
1984 KCA P 1 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Leon Roberts Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 1
First Base 1
Left Field 248
Center Field 29
Right Field 531
Designated Hitter 36

College History

Leon Roberts — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI 1970, 1971, 1972

Award Voting History

Leon Roberts — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1978 Most Valuable Player AL 33th 3.0 392 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Leon Roberts (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Gabe Kapler
    .268 avg, 82 HR
  2. 97
    George Altman
    .269 avg, 101 HR
  3. 96
    Jason Michaels
    .263 avg, 59 HR
  4. 96
    Odubel Herrera
    .271 avg, 78 HR
  5. 93
    Harry Simpson
    .268 avg, 76 HR
  6. 91
    Gates Brown
    .257 avg, 84 HR

Leon Roberts: the record in brief

According to the bio, Leon Roberts debuted on September 3, 1974 and played a final game on September 30, 1984. The season rows list, in order, the Detroit Tigers (1974 to 1975), the Houston Astros (1976 to 1977), the Seattle Mariners (1978 to 1980), the Texas Rangers (1981 to 1982), the Toronto Blue Jays (1982), and the Kansas City Royals (1983 to 1984). Born on January 22, 1951, in Vicksburg, MI, USA, Roberts is listed as an outfielder and threw and hit right-handed. The bio gives 6'3" and 200 pounds. The bio lists the given name Leon Kauffman.

Roberts's career batting table shows 901 games, 2,737 at bats and 731 hits, a .267 average, along with 78 homers, 328 RBI, and 26 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .332 and the slugging percentage .419, for an OPS of .751. Roberts hit .267 while the league hit .260 over the same span, a figure close to average. In OPS terms, Roberts's .751 stands 6.1% above the league's .708.

Frequently Asked Questions about Leon Roberts

What years did Leon Roberts play?
Leon Roberts played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1984.
Was Leon Roberts a pitcher?
No. Leon Roberts was a position player (Outfielder), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
How many home runs did Leon Roberts hit?
Leon Roberts hit 78 career home runs with 731 hits.
What was Leon Roberts's career batting average?
Leon Roberts batted .267 over his career, with 731 hits in 2,737 at bats.
How many RBI did Leon Roberts have?
Leon Roberts drove in 328 runs in his career.
What was Leon Roberts's career ERA?
Leon Roberts finished with a 27.00 career ERA, going 0-0 with 1 strikeouts.