Ruben Sierra

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1986-2006)

Ruben Sierra was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 2006 for 9 teams, including the Texas Rangers, a span of 21 seasons. In 2,186 career games, he hit .268 with 2,152 hits, 306 home runs, and 1,322 RBI. Ruben Sierra was a 4-time All-Star and a Silver Slugger. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 5,497.

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 .268
HR 306
RBI 1,322
H 2,152
OPS .765
PIV 5,497
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
B / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 175 lb
Born
10/6/1965 in Rio Piedras, P.R.
MLB Debut
1986-06-01
Last Game
2006-07-09
Awards
4× All-Star · Silver Slugger

Full name: Ruben Angel Sierra

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Batting Statistics

Ruben Sierra — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
2,186 8,044 1,084 2,152 428 59 306 1,322 142 610 1,239 .268 .315 .450 .765 5,497

Career AVG .268 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .315 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .450 vs. league average .411 across their career seasons — +9.4% above league average.

Career OPS .765 vs. league average .743 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ruben Sierra 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
1986 TEX AL 113 382 50 101 13 10 16 55 7 22 65 .264 .257 (+3%) .325 (-7%) .395 (+21%) .720 (+8%) 354.9
1987 TEX AL 158 643 97 169 35 4 30 109 16 39 114 .263 .262 (avg) .331 (-9%) .415 (+13%) .746 (+3%) 100.9
1988 TEX AL 156 615 77 156 32 2 23 91 18 44 91 .254 .254 (avg) .317 (-5%) .377 (+12%) .695 (+4%) 303.7
1989 TEX AL 162 634 101 194 35 14 29 119 8 43 82 .306 .254 (+20%) .319 (+9%) .375 (+45%) .694 (+28%) 3131.0
1990 TEX AL 159 608 70 170 37 2 16 96 9 49 86 .280 .257 (+8%) .324 (+2%) .385 (+11%) .710 (+7%) 670.2
1991 TEX AL 161 661 110 203 44 5 25 116 16 56 91 .307 .255 (+20%) .323 (+10%) .384 (+31%) .708 (+21%) 2644.9
1992 TEX AL 124 500 66 139 30 6 14 70 12 31 59 .278 .255 (+9%) .322 (-2%) .377 (+18%) .699 (+9%) 584.6
1992 OAK AL 27 101 17 28 4 1 3 17 2 14 9 .277 .255 (+8%) .322 (+11%) .377 (+13%) .699 (+12%) 584.6
1993 OAK AL 158 630 77 147 23 5 22 101 25 52 97 .233 .265 (-12%) .332 (-13%) .403 (-3%) .735 (-8%) -971.9
1994 OAK AL 110 426 71 114 21 1 23 92 8 23 64 .268 .269 (-1%) .338 (-12%) .424 (+14%) .763 (+2%) -46.8
1995 OAK AL 70 264 40 70 17 0 12 42 4 24 42 .265 .266 (-1%) .337 (-4%) .417 (+12%) .755 (+4%) 151.1
1995 NYA AL 56 215 33 56 15 0 7 44 1 22 34 .260 .266 (-2%) .337 (-5%) .417 (+3%) .755 (-1%) 151.1
1996 NYA AL 96 360 39 93 17 1 11 52 1 40 58 .258 .269 (-4%) .340 (-4%) .426 (-6%) .767 (-5%) -334.7
1996 DET AL 46 158 22 35 9 1 1 20 3 20 25 .222 .269 (-18%) .340 (-10%) .426 (-27%) .767 (-20%) -334.7
1997 CIN NL 25 90 6 22 5 1 2 7 0 6 21 .244 .266 (-8%) .336 (-13%) .419 (-7%) .756 (-10%) -164.9
1997 TOR AL 14 48 4 10 0 2 1 5 0 3 13 .208 — — — — -164.9
1998 CHA AL 27 74 7 16 4 1 4 11 2 3 11 .216 .266 (-19%) .335 (-26%) .420 (+9%) .755 (-7%) -115.2
2000 TEX AL 20 60 5 14 0 0 1 7 1 4 9 .233 .270 (-14%) .344 (-18%) .437 (-35%) .782 (-28%) -275.5
2001 TEX AL 94 344 55 100 22 1 23 67 2 19 52 .291 .263 (+10%) .332 (-3%) .426 (+32%) .758 (+16%) 904.4
2002 SEA AL 122 419 47 113 23 0 13 60 4 31 66 .270 .261 (+3%) .331 (-4%) .416 (avg) .747 (-2%) -141.2
2003 TEX AL 43 133 14 35 9 0 3 12 1 14 27 .263 .264 (avg) .332 (avg) .422 (-6%) .754 (-3%) -52.9
2003 NYA AL 63 174 19 48 8 1 6 31 1 13 20 .276 .264 (+4%) .332 (-3%) .422 (+3%) .754 (+1%) -52.9
2004 NYA AL 107 307 40 75 12 1 17 65 1 25 55 .244 .266 (-8%) .335 (-12%) .427 (+7%) .762 (-1%) -183.2
2005 NYA AL 61 170 14 39 12 0 4 29 0 9 41 .229 .264 (-13%) .330 (-20%) .418 (-12%) .749 (-15%) -473.5
2006 MIN AL 14 28 3 5 1 0 0 4 0 4 7 .179 — — — — 0.0
Career · 25 seasons 2,186 8,044 1,084 2,152 428 59 306 1,322 142 610 1,239 .268 — — — — 6,269

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

Ruben Sierra — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
31 91 9 24 5 3 5 21 11 23 .264

Playoff Batting by Year

Ruben Sierra — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2005 ALDS2 NYA 3 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .333
2004 ALCS NYA 5 21 1 7 1 1 0 2 3 8 .333
2004 ALDS2 NYA 3 12 1 2 0 0 1 3 2 3 .167
2003 ALCS NYA 3 2 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 .500
2003 ALDS1 NYA 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2003 WS NYA 5 4 0 1 0 1 0 2 1 3 .250
1995 ALDS2 NYA 5 23 2 4 2 0 2 5 2 7 .174
1992 ALCS OAK 6 24 4 8 2 1 1 7 2 1 .333

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (2186 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Ruben Sierra — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home108939755381047163672.263
Away109740695461105143650.272

Last 10 Games — Batting

Ruben Sierra — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
2006-07-09 MINTEXL 100000001
2006-07-02 MINMILW 100000000
2006-06-27 MINLADW 310000010
2006-06-25 MINCHCW 412000200
2006-06-20 MINHOUW 100000001
2006-06-18 MINPITW 100000000
2006-06-17 MINPITW 100000001
2006-04-29 MINDETL 400000002
2006-04-26 MINKCRL 100000001
2006-04-25 MINKCRW 101000100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ruben Sierra — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 1622 1565 2951 108 94 23

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ruben Sierra — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1986 TEX OF 107 93 200 7 6 1
1987 TEX OF 157 156 272 17 11 6
1988 TEX OF 153 152 310 11 7 3
1989 TEX OF 162 162 313 13 9 2
1990 TEX OF 151 150 283 7 10 1
1991 TEX OF 161 160 305 15 7 3
1992 TEX OF 119 119 224 6 7 0
1992 OAK OF 25 25 59 0 0 0
1993 OAK OF 133 131 291 9 7 3
1994 OAK OF 98 97 155 8 9 2
1995 OAK OF 62 60 89 1 4 0
1995 NYA OF 10 9 18 1 1 0
1996 NYA OF 33 33 56 5 1 1
1996 DET OF 23 22 52 1 5 1
1997 CIN OF 24 22 34 3 0 0
1997 TOR OF 7 7 13 0 1 0
1998 CHA OF 14 12 19 1 0 0
2001 TEX OF 36 33 59 0 4 0
2002 SEA OF 60 54 91 1 2 0
2003 TEX OF 23 20 24 1 1 0
2003 NYA OF 17 13 20 0 0 0
2004 NYA OF 29 22 41 1 1 0
2005 NYA OF 18 13 23 0 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ruben Sierra Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Left Field 202
Center Field 31
Right Field 1425
Designated Hitter 452

Awards & Honors

Ruben Sierra — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
2004 Player of the Week Week of 2004-05-01
2001 MLB Players Choice Comeback Player
2001 TSN Comeback Player of the Year
1991 Player of the Month May
1991 Player of the Week Week of 1991-09-07
1989 Player of the Month June
1989 Silver Slugger OF
1989 TSN All-Star OF
1989 TSN Player of the Year

Salary History

Ruben Sierra's recorded salaries total $43,415,000 over 16 seasons, 1986 to 2005. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Sierra's career ran from 1986 to 2006. No salary is recorded for 1987, 2000, 2001, and 2006.

Ruben Sierra — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
2005 NYA AL $1,500,000
2004 NYA AL $1,000,000
2003 TEX AL $600,000
2002 SEA AL $1,900,000
1998 CHA AL $500,000
1997 CIN NL $6,700,000
1996 NYA AL $6,200,000
1995 OAK AL $6,200,000
1994 OAK AL $4,700,000
1993 OAK AL $4,200,000
1992 TEX AL $5,000,000
1991 TEX AL $2,650,000
1990 TEX AL $1,625,000
1989 TEX AL $350,000
1988 TEX AL $230,000
1986 TEX AL $60,000
Total recorded salary (partial) $43,415,000

Award Voting History

Ruben Sierra — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1994 Most Valuable Player AL 23th 1.0 392 0
1991 Most Valuable Player AL 8th 63.0 392 0
1989 Most Valuable Player AL 2nd 228.0 392 6
1987 Most Valuable Player AL 20th 5.0 392 0
1986 Rookie of the Year AL 6th 1.0 140 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ruben Sierra (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Raul Ibanez
    .272 avg, 305 HR
  2. 97
    Joe Carter
    .259 avg, 396 HR
  3. 93
    George Hendrick
    .278 avg, 267 HR
  4. 91
    Willie Horton
    .273 avg, 325 HR
  5. 90
    Torii Hunter
    .277 avg, 353 HR
  6. 89
    Vernon Wells
    .270 avg, 270 HR

Ruben Sierra: the record in brief

The profile opens with Ruben Sierra's first major league game on June 1, 1986; the last one listed came on July 9, 2006. The season rows list, in order, the Texas Rangers (1986 through 2003), the Oakland Athletics (1992 to 1995), the New York Yankees (1995 to 2005), the Detroit Tigers (1996), the Cincinnati Reds (1997), the Toronto Blue Jays (1997), the Chicago White Sox (1998), and the Seattle Mariners (2002), with further stops in the season rows. Born on October 6, 1965, in Rio Piedras, P.R., Sierra is listed as an outfielder and switch-hit and threw right-handed. Size on record: 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds. Ruben Sierra was the playing name; the full given name is Ruben Angel.

Sierra finished with 2,152 hits from 8,044 at bats in 2,186 games, which works out to .268; the totals also include 306 homers, 1,322 runs batted in, and 142 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .315 and the slugging percentage .450, for an OPS of .765.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ruben Sierra

What years did Ruben Sierra play?
Ruben Sierra played in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 2006.
Was Ruben Sierra a pitcher?
No. Ruben Sierra was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Ruben Sierra hit?
Ruben Sierra hit 306 career home runs with 2,152 hits.
What teams did Ruben Sierra play for?
Ruben Sierra played for 9 teams: the Texas Rangers (1986–1992, 2000–2001, 2003), the Oakland Athletics (1992–1995), the New York Yankees (1995–1996, 2003–2005), the Detroit Tigers (1996), the Cincinnati Reds (1997), the Toronto Blue Jays (1997), the Chicago White Sox (1998), the Seattle Mariners (2002), and the Minnesota Twins (2006).
Did Ruben Sierra win an MVP award?
No. Ruben Sierra did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Ruben Sierra win?
Ruben Sierra won the Silver Slugger award (1989). He was selected to 4 All-Star Games.
What were Ruben Sierra's career stats?
In 2,186 games, Ruben Sierra had 2,152 hits, 306 home runs, 1,322 RBI, 1,084 runs, and 142 stolen bases, with a .268 batting average.
How much did Ruben Sierra earn in his career?
Ruben Sierra's recorded salaries total $43,415,000 over 16 seasons, 1986 to 2005. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Sierra's career ran from 1986 to 2006. No salary is recorded for 1987, 2000, 2001, and 2006.
What was Ruben Sierra's salary?
Ruben Sierra's last recorded salary was $1,500,000, in 2005. His highest recorded salary was $6,700,000, in 1997, and his lowest was $60,000, in 1986. The Salary History table lists each season from 1986 to 2005.
What position did Ruben Sierra play?
Ruben Sierra played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Ruben Sierra and how much did he weigh?
Ruben Sierra was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 175 pounds.
How many home runs did Ruben Sierra hit each season?
Ruben Sierra's home runs by season: 16 in 1986, 30 in 1987, 23 in 1988, 29 in 1989, 16 in 1990, 25 in 1991, 17 in 1992, 22 in 1993, 23 in 1994, 19 in 1995, 12 in 1996, 3 in 1997, 4 in 1998, 1 in 2000, 23 in 2001, 13 in 2002, 9 in 2003, 17 in 2004, 4 in 2005, and 0 in 2006. His most in one season was 30, in 1987.
What was Ruben Sierra's career batting average?
Ruben Sierra batted .268 over his career, with 2,152 hits in 8,044 at bats.
How many RBI did Ruben Sierra have?
Ruben Sierra drove in 1,322 runs in his career.