Hank Sauer

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1941-1959)

AVG .266
HR 288
RBI 876
H 1,278
OPS .843
PIV 15,589
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 198 lb
Born
3/17/1917 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Died
8/24/2001 in Burlingame, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1941-09-09
Last Game
1959-08-17
Awards
2× All-Star · MVP

Full name: Henry John Sauer

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,399 4,796 709 1,278 200 19 288 876 11 561 714 .266 .347 .496 .843 15,589

Career AVG .266 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .347 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .496 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — +29.7% above league average.

Career OPS .843 vs. league average .715 across their career seasons — +17.9% 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
1941 CIN NL 9 33 4 10 4 0 0 5 0 1 4 .303 — — — — 0.0
1942 CIN NL 7 20 4 5 0 0 2 4 0 2 2 .250 — — — — 0.0
1945 CIN NL 31 116 18 34 1 0 5 20 2 6 16 .293 .260 (+12%) .328 (avg) .354 (+21%) .683 (+11%) 179.4
1948 CIN NL 145 530 78 138 22 1 35 97 2 60 85 .260 .263 (-1%) .340 (avg) .379 (+33%) .719 (+17%) 1742.7
1949 CIN NL 42 152 22 36 6 0 4 16 0 18 19 .237 .262 (-10%) .343 (-8%) .384 (-7%) .727 (-8%) -187.2
1949 CHN NL 96 357 59 104 17 1 27 83 0 37 47 .291 .262 (+11%) .343 (+6%) .384 (+49%) .727 (+28%) -187.2
1950 CHN NL 145 540 85 148 32 2 32 103 1 60 67 .274 .265 (+3%) .346 (+1%) .401 (+29%) .747 (+16%) 1681.9
1951 CHN NL 141 525 77 138 19 4 30 89 2 45 77 .263 .260 (+1%) .336 (-4%) .385 (+26%) .721 (+12%) 1105.1
1952 CHN NL 151 567 89 153 31 3 37 121 1 77 92 .270 .252 (+7%) .326 (+11%) .369 (+44%) .696 (+28%) 3122.2
1953 CHN NL 108 395 61 104 16 5 19 60 0 50 56 .263 .264 (avg) .335 (+4%) .397 (+19%) .733 (+12%) 915.7
1954 CHN NL 142 520 98 150 18 1 41 103 2 70 68 .288 .261 (+11%) .333 (+13%) .390 (+44%) .723 (+30%) 3151.8
1955 CHN NL 79 261 29 55 8 1 12 28 0 26 47 .211 .258 (-18%) .332 (-14%) .393 (-2%) .726 (-7%) -338.9
1956 SLN NL 75 151 11 45 4 0 5 24 0 25 31 .298 .258 (+15%) .331 (+22%) .397 (+7%) .728 (+14%) 490.6
1957 NY1 NL 127 378 46 98 14 1 26 76 1 49 59 .259 .257 (+1%) .323 (+6%) .391 (+30%) .715 (+19%) 1398.5
1958 SFN NL 88 236 27 59 8 0 12 46 0 35 37 .250 .257 (-3%) .324 (+9%) .394 (+11%) .719 (+10%) 521.8
1959 SFN NL 13 15 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 7 .067 — — — — 0.0
Career · 16 seasons 1,399 4,796 709 1,278 200 19 288 876 11 561 714 .266 — — — — 13,596

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 (1399 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home7262452392699170508.285
Away6732345317579118367.247

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1959-08-17 SFGCINW 100000000
1959-08-08 SFGCINL 100000001
1959-07-25 SFGCHCL 111001100
1959-06-21 SFGATLL 100000000
1959-06-20 SFGATLL 100000001
1959-06-14 SFGPHIL 100000000
1959-05-24 SFGLADW 300000000
1959-05-15 SFGCINL 100000001
1959-05-04 SFGCINW 100000001
1959-04-21 SFGLADL 100000001

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 38 0 303 34 7 27
OF 1228 405 2408 105 67 21

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1941 CIN OF 8 0 21 1 1 1
1942 CIN 1B 4 0 37 4 1 8
1945 CIN 1B 3 0 31 5 1 4
1945 CIN OF 28 0 69 0 2 0
1948 CIN 1B 12 0 89 8 1 4
1948 CIN OF 132 0 270 14 8 6
1949 CIN 1B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1949 CIN OF 39 0 102 6 5 0
1949 CHN OF 96 0 199 10 4 2
1950 CHN 1B 18 0 145 17 4 11
1950 CHN OF 125 0 236 12 9 1
1951 CHN OF 132 0 286 19 6 2
1952 CHN OF 151 0 327 17 6 3
1953 CHN OF 105 0 221 5 7 1
1954 CHN OF 141 141 282 8 11 2
1955 CHN OF 68 68 122 4 2 1
1956 SLN OF 37 34 55 2 0 1
1957 NY1 OF 98 97 125 4 1 0
1958 SFN OF 67 64 93 3 5 1
1959 SFN OF 1 1 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
First Base 38
Left Field 1029
Right Field 209

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1952 Most Valuable Player
1952 TSN All-Star OF
1952 TSN Player of the Year

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1954 Most Valuable Player NL 26th 1.0 336 0
1952 Most Valuable Player NL 1st 226.0 336 8
1951 Most Valuable Player NL 23th 1.0 336 0
1950 Most Valuable Player NL 29th 5.0 336 0
1949 Most Valuable Player NL 19th 8.0 336 0
1948 Most Valuable Player NL 30th 1.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Hank Sauer (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Roger Maris
    .260 avg, 275 HR
  2. 81
    Gus Zernial
    .265 avg, 237 HR
  3. 76
    Matt Stairs
    .262 avg, 265 HR
  4. 74
    George Springer
    .266 avg, 307 HR
  5. 74
    Geoff Jenkins
    .275 avg, 221 HR
  6. 73
    Cody Bellinger
    .260 avg, 237 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Hank Sauer

What years did Hank Sauer play?
Hank Sauer played in Major League Baseball from 1941 to 1959.
Was Hank Sauer a pitcher?
No. Hank Sauer was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Hank Sauer hit?
Hank Sauer hit 288 career home runs with 1278 hits.