Matt Stairs

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1992-2011)

Matt Stairs was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1992 to 2011 for 13 teams, including the Montreal Expos, a span of 20 seasons. In 1,895 career games, he hit .262 with 1,366 hits, 265 home runs, and 899 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 11,227.

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 .262
HR 265
RBI 899
H 1,366
OPS .832
PIV 11,227
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
5'9" / 200 lb
Born
2/27/1968 in Fredericton, NB, CAN
MLB Debut
1992-05-29
Last Game
2011-07-22

Full name: Matthew Wade Stairs

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Batting Statistics

Matt Stairs — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,895 5,204 770 1,366 294 13 265 899 30 717 1,122 .262 .356 .477 .832 11,227

Career AVG .262 vs. league average .265 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .356 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — +6.5% above league average.

Career SLG .477 vs. league average .418 across their career seasons — +14.0% above league average.

Career OPS .832 vs. league average .752 across their career seasons — +10.7% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Matt Stairs 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
1992 MON NL 13 30 2 5 2 0 0 5 0 7 7 .167 — — — — 0.0
1993 MON NL 6 8 1 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 .375 — — — — 0.0
1995 BOS AL 39 88 8 23 7 1 1 17 0 4 14 .261 .266 (-2%) .337 (-12%) .417 (-5%) .755 (-8%) -144.6
1996 OAK AL 61 137 21 38 5 1 10 23 1 19 23 .277 .269 (+3%) .340 (+8%) .426 (+28%) .767 (+19%) 495.4
1997 OAK AL 133 352 62 105 19 0 27 73 3 50 60 .298 .266 (+12%) .336 (+15%) .419 (+39%) .756 (+28%) 2077.2
1998 OAK AL 149 523 88 154 33 1 26 106 8 59 93 .294 .266 (+11%) .335 (+10%) .420 (+21%) .755 (+17%) 1864.3
1999 OAK AL 146 531 94 137 26 3 38 102 2 89 124 .258 .271 (-5%) .344 (+6%) .433 (+23%) .778 (+15%) 1850.0
2000 OAK AL 143 476 74 108 26 0 21 81 5 78 122 .227 .270 (-16%) .344 (-3%) .437 (-5%) .782 (-4%) -343.0
2001 CHN NL 128 340 48 85 21 0 17 61 2 52 76 .250 .263 (-5%) .332 (+8%) .426 (+8%) .758 (+8%) 672.6
2002 MIL NL 107 270 41 66 15 0 16 41 2 36 50 .244 .261 (-6%) .331 (+5%) .416 (+15%) .747 (+11%) 626.9
2003 PIT NL 121 305 49 89 20 1 20 57 0 45 64 .292 .264 (+10%) .332 (+17%) .422 (+33%) .754 (+26%) 1677.5
2004 KCA AL 126 439 48 117 21 3 18 66 1 49 92 .267 .266 (avg) .335 (+3%) .427 (+5%) .762 (+4%) 416.6
2005 KCA AL 127 396 55 109 26 1 13 66 1 60 69 .275 .264 (+4%) .330 (+13%) .418 (+6%) .749 (+9%) 886.2
2006 KCA AL 77 226 31 59 14 0 8 32 0 31 52 .261 .269 (-3%) .336 (+5%) .431 (-1%) .768 (+2%) 122.8
2006 TEX AL 26 81 6 17 4 0 3 11 0 6 22 .210 .269 (-22%) .336 (-19%) .431 (-14%) .768 (-16%) 122.8
2006 DET AL 14 41 5 10 3 0 2 8 0 3 12 .244 — — — — 122.8
2007 TOR AL 125 357 58 103 28 1 21 64 2 44 66 .289 .268 (+8%) .335 (+10%) .422 (+30%) .758 (+21%) 1509.8
2008 TOR AL 105 320 42 80 11 1 11 44 1 41 87 .250 .263 (-5%) .333 (+3%) .416 (-5%) .749 (-2%) -12.5
2008 PHI NL 16 17 4 5 1 0 2 5 0 1 3 .294 — — — — -12.5
2009 PHI NL 99 103 15 20 4 0 5 17 0 23 30 .194 .262 (-26%) .332 (+7%) .417 (-9%) .750 (-2%) 47.5
2010 SDN NL 78 99 14 23 6 0 6 16 2 11 32 .232 .257 (-10%) .325 (-6%) .402 (+18%) .728 (+7%) 104.0
2011 WAS NL 56 65 4 10 1 0 0 2 0 9 23 .154 .255 (-40%) .320 (-20%) .399 (-58%) .719 (-41%) -396.1
Career · 22 seasons 1,895 5,204 770 1,366 294 13 265 899 30 717 1,122 .262 — — — — 11,688

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

Matt Stairs — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
17 24 1 3 1 0 1 3 2 6 .125

Playoff Batting by Year

Matt Stairs — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2009 NLCS PHI 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
2009 NLDS2 PHI 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000
2009 WS PHI 5 8 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 .125
2008 NLCS PHI 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 1.000
2008 NLDS2 PHI 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2008 WS PHI 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
2000 ALDS1 OAK 3 9 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 .111
1995 ALDS1 BOS 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1895 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Matt Stairs — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home9452596414682123423.263
Away9502608356684142476.262

Last 10 Games — Batting

Matt Stairs — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
2011-07-22 WASLADW 000000000
2011-07-20 WASHOUL 100000001
2011-07-15 WASATLL 101000000
2011-07-09 WASCOLL 100000001
2011-07-08 WASCOLL 000000000
2011-07-07 WASCHCL 100000000
2011-07-05 WASCHCW 100000001
2011-07-04 WASCHCW 200000012
2011-07-03 WASPITL 301000001
2011-07-02 WASPITL 100000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Matt Stairs — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 294 244 1979 157 20 189
2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
OF 776 691 1180 58 20 10

Season-by-Season Fielding

Matt Stairs — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1992 MON OF 10 8 14 0 1 0
1993 MON OF 1 1 1 0 0 0
1995 BOS OF 23 19 19 2 2 0
1996 OAK 1B 1 1 6 3 0 1
1996 OAK OF 44 32 59 8 1 3
1997 OAK 1B 7 1 20 3 1 2
1997 OAK OF 89 67 122 6 3 0
1998 OAK 1B 6 5 45 8 0 6
1998 OAK OF 12 11 22 3 0 0
1999 OAK 1B 1 0 2 0 0 0
1999 OAK OF 139 139 245 13 5 1
2000 OAK 1B 1 0 2 0 0 0
2000 OAK OF 103 96 185 5 4 1
2001 CHN 1B 89 74 516 51 4 38
2001 CHN 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
2001 CHN OF 22 19 31 1 0 0
2002 MIL OF 84 75 129 6 1 1
2003 PIT 1B 31 27 212 10 2 16
2003 PIT OF 55 50 73 4 1 0
2004 KCA 1B 30 25 208 11 3 25
2004 KCA OF 71 68 131 5 2 2
2005 KCA 1B 64 61 499 37 4 60
2005 KCA OF 15 12 18 0 0 0
2006 KCA 1B 11 9 67 1 0 7
2006 KCA OF 2 2 4 0 0 0
2006 TEX 1B 1 0 2 0 0 1
2006 TEX OF 1 1 1 0 0 0
2007 TOR 1B 45 37 377 31 6 32
2007 TOR OF 57 48 66 3 0 0
2008 TOR OF 15 14 19 0 0 0
2008 PHI OF 4 3 5 0 0 0
2009 PHI OF 15 12 23 2 0 2
2010 SDN 1B 3 1 12 1 0 1
2010 SDN OF 14 14 13 0 0 0
2011 WAS 1B 4 3 11 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Matt Stairs Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 294
Second Base 1
Left Field 237
Center Field 2
Right Field 548
Designated Hitter 435

Awards & Honors

Matt Stairs — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1997 Player of the Week Week of 1997-07-19

Salary History

Matt Stairs's recorded salaries total $19,645,000 over 18 seasons, 1993 to 2011. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Stairs's career ran from 1992 to 2011. No salary is recorded for 1992.

Matt Stairs — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
2011 WAS NL $850,000
2010 SDN NL $700,000
2009 PHI NL $1,625,000
2008 TOR AL $1,625,000
2007 TOR AL $850,000
2006 KCA AL $1,350,000
2005 KCA AL $1,200,000
2004 KCA AL $1,000,000
2003 PIT NL $900,000
2002 MIL NL $500,000
2001 CHN NL $3,200,000
2000 OAK AL $3,050,000
1999 OAK AL $1,950,000
1998 OAK AL $325,000
1997 OAK AL $165,000
1996 OAK AL $130,000
1995 BOS AL $115,000
1993 MON NL $110,000
Total recorded salary (partial) $19,645,000

Award Voting History

Matt Stairs — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1999 Most Valuable Player AL 17th 2.0 392 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Matt Stairs (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    George Springer
    .265 avg, 308 HR
  2. 97
    Jeromy Burnitz
    .253 avg, 315 HR
  3. 94
    Pat Burrell
    .253 avg, 292 HR
  4. 93
    Bob Allison
    .255 avg, 256 HR
  5. 93
    Jay Buhner
    .254 avg, 310 HR
  6. 93
    Jeff Burroughs
    .261 avg, 240 HR

Matt Stairs: the record in brief

Matt Stairs played a first major league game on May 29, 1992 and a last one on July 22, 2011. The team column moves through the Montreal Expos (1992 to 1993), the Boston Red Sox (1995), the Oakland Athletics (1996 to 2000), the Chicago Cubs (2001), the Milwaukee Brewers (2002), the Pittsburgh Pirates (2003), the Kansas City Royals (2004 to 2006), and the Texas Rangers (2006), with further stops in the season rows. Stairs is listed as an outfielder at 5-foot-9 and 200 pounds. The bio says Stairs batted left-handed and threw right-handed. The recorded birth is February 27, 1968, in Fredericton, NB, CAN. Stairs's full given name, per the bio, is Matthew Wade Stairs.

Stairs's career batting table shows 1,895 games, 5,204 at bats and 1,366 hits, a .262 average, adding 265 homers, 899 runs batted in, and 30 stolen bases. Stairs's career OPS of .832 combines a .356 on-base mark with .477 slugging. Stairs hit .262 while the league hit .265 over the same span, a figure close to average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Matt Stairs

What years did Matt Stairs play?
Matt Stairs played in Major League Baseball from 1992 to 2011.
Was Matt Stairs a pitcher?
No. Matt Stairs was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Matt Stairs hit?
Matt Stairs hit 265 career home runs with 1,366 hits.
What teams did Matt Stairs play for?
Matt Stairs played for 12 teams: the Washington Nationals (1992–1993, 2011), the Boston Red Sox (1995), the Oakland Athletics (1996–2000), the Chicago Cubs (2001), the Milwaukee Brewers (2002), the Pittsburgh Pirates (2003), the Kansas City Royals (2004–2006), the Texas Rangers (2006), the Detroit Tigers (2006), the Toronto Blue Jays (2007–2008), the Philadelphia Phillies (2008–2009), and the San Diego Padres (2010).
What were Matt Stairs's career stats?
In 1,895 games, Matt Stairs had 1,366 hits, 265 home runs, 899 RBI, 770 runs, and 30 stolen bases, with a .262 batting average.
How much did Matt Stairs earn in his career?
Matt Stairs's recorded salaries total $19,645,000 over 18 seasons, 1993 to 2011. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Stairs's career ran from 1992 to 2011. No salary is recorded for 1992.
What was Matt Stairs's salary?
Matt Stairs's last recorded salary was $850,000, in 2011. His highest recorded salary was $3,200,000, in 2001, and his lowest was $110,000, in 1993. The Salary History table lists each season from 1993 to 2011.
What position did Matt Stairs play?
Matt Stairs played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Matt Stairs and how much did he weigh?
Matt Stairs was listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 200 pounds.
How many home runs did Matt Stairs hit each season?
Matt Stairs's home runs by season: 0 in 1992, 0 in 1993, 1 in 1995, 10 in 1996, 27 in 1997, 26 in 1998, 38 in 1999, 21 in 2000, 17 in 2001, 16 in 2002, 20 in 2003, 18 in 2004, 13 in 2005, 13 in 2006, 21 in 2007, 13 in 2008, 5 in 2009, 6 in 2010, and 0 in 2011. His most in one season was 38, in 1999.
What was Matt Stairs's career batting average?
Matt Stairs batted .262 over his career, with 1,366 hits in 5,204 at bats.
How many RBI did Matt Stairs have?
Matt Stairs drove in 899 runs in his career.
Is Matt Stairs in the Hall of Fame?
No. Matt Stairs has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.