Danny Thompson

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1970-1976)

Danny Thompson was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1976 for the Minnesota Twins and the Texas Rangers, a span of 7 seasons. In 694 career games, he hit .248 with 550 hits, 15 home runs, and 194 RBI.

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 .248
HR 15
RBI 194
H 550
OPS .596
PIV -4,787
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 183 lb
Born
2/1/1947 in Wichita, KS, USA
Died
12/10/1976 in Rochester, MN, USA
MLB Debut
1970-06-25
Last Game
1976-10-02

Full name: Danny Leon Thompson

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Career Batting Statistics

Danny Thompson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
694 2,218 189 550 70 11 15 194 8 120 235 .248 .287 .310 .596 -4,787

Career AVG .248 vs. league average .253 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .287 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — 10.8% below league average.

Career SLG .310 vs. league average .370 across their career seasons — 16.2% below league average.

Career OPS .596 vs. league average .691 across their career seasons — 13.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Danny Thompson — 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
1970 MIN AL 96 302 25 66 9 0 0 22 0 7 39 .219 .253 (-14%) .325 (-28%) .385 (-36%) .711 (-32%) -1575.2
1971 MIN AL 48 57 10 15 2 0 0 7 0 7 12 .263 .249 (+6%) .316 (+7%) .365 (-18%) .682 (-7%) -41.5
1972 MIN AL 144 573 54 158 22 6 4 48 3 34 57 .276 .243 (+13%) .310 (+2%) .353 (+1%) .664 (+1%) 67.4
1973 MIN AL 99 347 29 78 13 2 1 36 1 16 41 .225 .256 (-13%) .325 (-20%) .378 (-25%) .703 (-23%) -1318.4
1974 MIN AL 97 264 25 66 6 1 4 25 1 22 29 .250 .256 (-3%) .324 (-4%) .369 (-12%) .693 (-8%) -305.9
1975 MIN AL 112 355 25 96 11 2 5 37 0 18 30 .270 .257 (+5%) .327 (-8%) .374 (-5%) .701 (-6%) -421.1
1976 MIN AL 34 124 9 29 4 0 0 6 1 3 8 .234 .255 (-8%) .320 (-20%) .360 (-26%) .681 (-23%) -451.9
1976 TEX AL 64 196 12 42 3 0 1 13 2 13 19 .214 .255 (-16%) .320 (-17%) .360 (-32%) .681 (-25%) -451.9
Career · 8 seasons 694 2,218 189 550 70 11 15 194 8 120 235 .248 — — — — -4,498

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

Danny Thompson — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 8 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 .125

Playoff Batting by Year

Danny Thompson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1970 ALCS MIN 3 8 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 .125

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (694 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Danny Thompson — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home3431060992809102.264
Away351115890270692.233

Last 10 Games — Batting

Danny Thompson — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1976-10-02 TEXCHWW 100000001
1976-09-29 TEXMINL 301000000
1976-09-28 TEXMINW 100000000
1976-09-25 TEXKCRW 300000000
1976-09-24 TEXKCRL 200000000
1976-09-21 TEXLAAL 301100101
1976-09-18 TEXOAKL 300000001
1976-09-16 TEXCHWW 500000000
1976-09-14 TEXLAAL 200000100
1976-09-13 TEXLAAL 600000001

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Danny Thompson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 99 85 171 246 6 39
3B 106 49 48 107 8 11
SS 478 441 724 1367 97 234

Season-by-Season Fielding

Danny Thompson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1970 MIN 2B 81 70 144 204 5 35
1970 MIN 3B 37 0 3 11 0 3
1970 MIN SS 6 4 9 14 1 1
1971 MIN 2B 3 3 4 6 1 0
1971 MIN 3B 17 8 9 17 3 2
1971 MIN SS 1 0 0 1 0 0
1972 MIN SS 144 144 247 468 32 76
1973 MIN 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1973 MIN SS 95 92 131 326 24 50
1974 MIN 3B 5 5 4 9 1 2
1974 MIN SS 88 69 127 183 12 39
1975 MIN 2B 1 1 5 0 0 0
1975 MIN 3B 7 6 4 16 2 1
1975 MIN SS 100 89 138 245 24 40
1976 MIN SS 34 34 58 103 2 23
1976 TEX 2B 14 11 18 36 0 4
1976 TEX 3B 39 30 28 54 2 3
1976 TEX SS 10 9 14 27 2 5

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Danny Thompson — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Second Base 99
Third Base 105
Shortstop 478
Designated Hitter 6

Awards & Honors

Danny Thompson — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1974 Hutch Award

College History

Danny Thompson — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Oklahoma State University Stillwater OK 1967, 1968

Award Voting History

Danny Thompson — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1972 Most Valuable Player AL 23th 5.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Danny Thompson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Roberto Peña
    .245 avg, 13 HR
  2. 89
    Rafael Santana
    .246 avg, 13 HR
  3. 78
    Mario Guerrero
    .257 avg, 7 HR
  4. 73
    Bobby Bragan
    .240 avg, 15 HR
  5. 71
    Ed Romero
    .247 avg, 8 HR
  6. 68
    Lennie Merullo
    .240 avg, 6 HR

Danny Thompson: the record in brief

Between the debut on June 25, 1970 and the final game on October 2, 1976, Danny Thompson built the record summarized on this page. Thompson played for the Minnesota Twins (1970 through 1976) and the Texas Rangers (1976). At 6 feet, 0 inches and 183 pounds, Thompson is listed as a shortstop. The bio says Thompson batted and threw right-handed. Thompson was born on February 1, 1947, in Wichita, KS, USA. Thompson's death is recorded on December 10, 1976, in Rochester, MN, USA. Thompson's full given name, per the bio, is Danny Leon Thompson.

Thompson collected 550 hits in 2,218 at bats across 694 games, good for a .248 batting average, along with 15 home runs and 194 RBI. Thompson's career OPS of .596 combines a .287 on-base mark with .310 slugging. Thompson hit .248 while the league hit .253 over the same span, a figure close to average. No season topped the 158 hits of 1972. 1972 brought the most runs batted in, 48. 1972 was the strongest of the full seasons by average: .276 against a league .243, a 13% edge.

Thompson's awards table lists Hutch Award (1974).

Frequently Asked Questions about Danny Thompson

What years did Danny Thompson play?
Danny Thompson played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1976.
Was Danny Thompson a pitcher?
No. Danny Thompson was a position player (Shortstop).
How many home runs did Danny Thompson hit?
Danny Thompson hit 15 career home runs with 550 hits.
What was Danny Thompson's career batting average?
Danny Thompson batted .248 over his career, with 550 hits in 2,218 at bats.
How many RBI did Danny Thompson have?
Danny Thompson drove in 194 runs in his career.
Is Danny Thompson in the Hall of Fame?
No. Danny Thompson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.