Dave Stapleton

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1980-1986)

Dave Stapleton was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1986 for the Boston Red Sox, a span of 7 seasons. In 582 career games, he hit .271 with 550 hits, 41 home runs, and 224 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 172.

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 .271
HR 41
RBI 224
H 550
OPS .707
PIV 172
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 178 lb
Born
1/16/1954 in Fairhope, AL, USA
MLB Debut
1980-05-30
Last Game
1986-10-05

Full name: David Leslie Stapleton

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Career Batting Statistics

Dave Stapleton — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
582 2,028 238 550 118 8 41 224 6 114 162 .271 .310 .398 .707 172

Career AVG .271 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .310 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .398 vs. league average .387 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .707 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Dave Stapleton — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1980 BOS AL 106 449 61 144 33 5 7 45 3 13 32 .321 .264 (+21%) .326 (+4%) .387 (+19%) .714 (+12%) 832.7
1981 BOS AL 93 355 45 101 17 1 10 42 0 21 22 .285 .255 (+11%) .320 (+1%) .368 (+15%) .688 (+8%) 464.7
1982 BOS AL 150 538 66 142 28 1 14 65 2 31 40 .264 .261 (+1%) .324 (-6%) .388 (+2%) .712 (-1%) -209.6
1983 BOS AL 151 542 54 134 31 1 10 66 1 40 44 .247 .260 (-5%) .324 (-9%) .389 (-7%) .714 (-7%) -726.2
1984 BOS AL 13 39 4 9 2 0 0 1 0 3 3 .231 — — — — 0.0
1985 BOS AL 30 66 4 15 6 0 0 2 0 4 11 .227 .257 (-12%) .323 (-16%) .390 (-19%) .714 (-17%) -189.9
1986 BOS AL 39 39 4 5 1 0 0 3 0 2 10 .128 — — — — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 582 2,028 238 550 118 8 41 224 6 114 162 .271 — — — — 172

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

Dave Stapleton — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
7 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .500

Playoff Batting by Year

Dave Stapleton — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1986 ALCS BOS 4 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .667
1986 WS BOS 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (582 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Dave Stapleton — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home28599212728721115.289
Away297103611126320109.254

Last 10 Games — Batting

Dave Stapleton — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1986-10-05 BOSNYYL 100000000
1986-10-04 BOSNYYL 301000100
1986-10-01 BOSBALW 300000001
1986-09-26 BOSTORL 100000001
1986-09-21 BOSTORW 000000010
1986-09-20 BOSTORL 000000000
1986-09-19 BOSTORL 000000000
1986-09-18 BOSMILW 000000000
1986-09-17 BOSMILW 000000000
1986-09-16 BOSMILW 000000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Dave Stapleton — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 318 280 2593 201 21 266
2B 151 130 309 459 17 126
3B 34 28 27 60 4 4
OF 7 3 6 0 0 0
SS 60 57 87 166 11 32

Season-by-Season Fielding

Dave Stapleton — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1980 BOS 1B 8 7 84 9 1 11
1980 BOS 2B 94 89 178 327 11 90
1980 BOS 3B 2 0 1 2 0 0
1980 BOS OF 6 3 6 0 0 0
1981 BOS 1B 12 11 126 4 1 10
1981 BOS 2B 23 18 61 58 4 19
1981 BOS 3B 25 23 21 49 4 3
1981 BOS SS 33 32 52 93 8 18
1982 BOS 1B 106 105 964 77 9 98
1982 BOS 2B 9 6 28 22 1 3
1982 BOS 3B 5 4 5 7 0 1
1982 BOS OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1982 BOS SS 27 25 35 73 3 14
1983 BOS 1B 145 141 1242 95 9 129
1983 BOS 2B 5 3 7 10 1 3
1984 BOS 1B 10 10 86 8 0 5
1985 BOS 1B 8 1 12 1 1 3
1985 BOS 2B 14 12 29 35 0 8
1986 BOS 1B 29 5 79 7 0 10
1986 BOS 2B 6 2 6 7 0 3
1986 BOS 3B 2 1 0 2 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Dave Stapleton — Career Games by Position
Position Games
First Base 319
Second Base 151
Third Base 34
Shortstop 60
Left Field 5
Right Field 2
Designated Hitter 15

Salary History

Dave Stapleton — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1986 BOS AL $300,000
1985 BOS AL $325,000
Total Career Earnings $625,000

College History

Dave Stapleton — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Faulkner State College Bay Minette AL 1972, 1973
University of South Alabama Mobile AL 1974, 1975

Award Voting History

Dave Stapleton — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1980 Rookie of the Year AL 2nd 40.0 140 3

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Dave Stapleton (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Alex Cintron
    .275 avg, 33 HR
  2. 93
    Dick Kryhoski
    .265 avg, 45 HR
  3. 77
    Johnny McCarthy
    .277 avg, 25 HR
  4. 74
    Bama Rowell
    .275 avg, 19 HR
  5. 71
    Brendan Rodgers
    .261 avg, 47 HR
  6. 70
    Luis Garcia
    .268 avg, 88 HR

Dave Stapleton: the record in brief

Dave Stapleton's major league career runs from a debut on May 30, 1980 to a final game on October 5, 1986. Every season row on the page belongs to the Boston Red Sox, from 1980 through 1986. The bio lists Stapleton as a first baseman who batted and threw right-handed. The recorded size is 6'1" and 178 pounds. Stapleton was born on January 16, 1954, in Fairhope, AL, USA. Dave Stapleton was the playing name; the full given name is David Leslie.

Across 582 games at the plate, Stapleton's career line reads 550 hits in 2,028 at bats for a .271 average, along with 41 home runs and 224 runs batted in. Reaching base at a .310 clip and slugging .398, Stapleton finished with a .707 OPS. Stapleton hit .271 while the league hit .260 over the same span, a figure close to average. Stapleton's most home runs in a season came in 1982, when the total reached 14 for the Boston Red Sox. No season topped the 144 hits of 1980. The RBI column peaks at 66 in 1983.

Frequently Asked Questions about Dave Stapleton

What years did Dave Stapleton play?
Dave Stapleton played in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1986.
Was Dave Stapleton a pitcher?
No. Dave Stapleton was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Dave Stapleton hit?
Dave Stapleton hit 41 career home runs with 550 hits.
What was Dave Stapleton's career batting average?
Dave Stapleton batted .271 over his career, with 550 hits in 2,028 at bats.
How many RBI did Dave Stapleton have?
Dave Stapleton drove in 224 runs in his career.
Is Dave Stapleton in the Hall of Fame?
No. Dave Stapleton has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.