Champ Summers
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1974-1984)
Champ Summers was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1984 for 6 teams, including the Athletics, a span of 11 seasons. In 698 career games, he hit .255 with 350 hits, 54 home runs, and 218 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 3,151.
- 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
- Position
- Outfielder
- Bats / Throws
- L / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'2" / 205 lb
- Died
- 10/11/2012 in Ocala, FL, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1974-05-04
- Last Game
- 1984-09-30
Full name: John Junior Summers
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 698 | 1,371 | 199 | 350 | 63 | 4 | 54 | 218 | 15 | 188 | 244 | .255 | .350 | .425 | .776 | 3,151 |
Career AVG .255 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .350 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — +7.8% above league average.
Career SLG .425 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — +11.1% above league average.
Career OPS .776 vs. league average .708 across their career seasons — +9.6% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | OAK | AL | 20 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .125 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1975 | CHN | NL | 76 | 91 | 14 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 13 | .231 | .257 (-10%) | .327 (-5%) | .374 (-9%) | .701 (-7%) | -104.4 |
| 1976 | CHN | NL | 83 | 126 | 11 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 13 | 31 | .206 | .255 (-19%) | .320 (-11%) | .360 (-19%) | .681 (-15%) | -275.3 |
| 1977 | CIN | NL | 59 | 76 | 11 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 16 | .171 | .264 (-35%) | .329 (-28%) | .401 (-15%) | .730 (-21%) | -274.4 |
| 1978 | CIN | NL | 13 | 35 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 4 | .257 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1979 | CIN | NL | 27 | 60 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 15 | .200 | .265 (-25%) | .329 (+7%) | .397 (-20%) | .727 (-8%) | -35.3 |
| 1979 | DET | AL | 90 | 246 | 47 | 77 | 12 | 1 | 20 | 51 | 7 | 40 | 33 | .313 | .265 (+18%) | .329 (+25%) | .397 (+54%) | .727 (+41%) | -35.3 |
| 1980 | DET | AL | 120 | 347 | 61 | 103 | 19 | 1 | 17 | 60 | 4 | 52 | 52 | .297 | .264 (+12%) | .326 (+20%) | .387 (+30%) | .714 (+26%) | 1873.1 |
| 1981 | DET | AL | 64 | 165 | 16 | 42 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 1 | 19 | 35 | .255 | .255 (avg) | .320 (+6%) | .368 (-3%) | .688 (+1%) | 77.2 |
| 1982 | SFN | NL | 70 | 125 | 15 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 0 | 16 | 17 | .248 | .261 (-5%) | .324 (+6%) | .388 (-1%) | .712 (+2%) | 82.9 |
| 1983 | SFN | NL | 29 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 8 | .136 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1984 | SDN | NL | 47 | 54 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 15 | .185 | .259 (-29%) | .322 (-21%) | .384 (-23%) | .707 (-22%) | -187.6 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 698 | 1,371 | 199 | 350 | 63 | 4 | 54 | 218 | 15 | 188 | 244 | .255 | — | — | — | — | 1,121 | ||
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
Playoff Batting by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (698 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 366 | 693 | 120 | 183 | 36 | 135 | .264 |
| Away | 332 | 678 | 79 | 167 | 18 | 83 | .246 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-09-30 | SDP | ATL | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984-09-28 | SDP | ATL | W | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984-09-25 | SDP | SFG | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1984-09-24 | SDP | SFG | W | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1984-09-23 | SDP | ATL | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984-09-22 | SDP | ATL | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1984-09-21 | SDP | ATL | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984-09-05 | SDP | CIN | W | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1984-09-01 | SDP | NYN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1984-08-31 | SDP | NYN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 32 | 18 | 192 | 12 | 1 | 23 |
| 3B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| OF | 263 | 189 | 315 | 10 | 14 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | OAK | OF | 12 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975 | CHN | OF | 18 | 9 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1976 | CHN | 1B | 10 | 7 | 69 | 4 | 0 | 10 |
| 1976 | CHN | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976 | CHN | OF | 26 | 12 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1977 | CIN | 3B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1977 | CIN | OF | 16 | 9 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1978 | CIN | OF | 12 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1979 | CIN | 1B | 6 | 6 | 41 | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| 1979 | CIN | OF | 13 | 11 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1979 | DET | 1B | 4 | 2 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1979 | DET | OF | 69 | 60 | 87 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1980 | DET | 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980 | DET | OF | 47 | 33 | 60 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1981 | DET | OF | 18 | 15 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1982 | SFN | 1B | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982 | SFN | OF | 31 | 27 | 40 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 1983 | SFN | OF | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984 | SDN | 1B | 8 | 1 | 53 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 1 |
| First Base | 33 |
| Third Base | 1 |
| Left Field | 104 |
| Right Field | 161 |
| Designated Hitter | 113 |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | Edwardsville | IL | 1971 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Champ Summers (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Frequently Asked Questions about Champ Summers
- What years did Champ Summers play?
- Champ Summers played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1984.
- Was Champ Summers a pitcher?
- No. Champ Summers was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Champ Summers hit?
- Champ Summers hit 54 career home runs with 350 hits.
- What was Champ Summers's career batting average?
- Champ Summers batted .255 over his career, with 350 hits in 1,371 at bats.
- How many RBI did Champ Summers have?
- Champ Summers drove in 218 runs in his career.
- Is Champ Summers in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Champ Summers has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.