Wayne Tolleson

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1981-1990)

Wayne Tolleson was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1990 for the Texas Rangers, the Chicago White Sox, and the New York Yankees, a span of 10 seasons. In 863 career games, he hit .241 with 559 hits, 9 home runs, and 133 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 .241
HR 9
RBI 133
H 559
OPS .600
PIV -5,412
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
B / R
Height / Weight
5'9" / 160 lb
Born
11/22/1955 in Spartanburg, SC, USA
MLB Debut
1981-09-01
Last Game
1990-09-30

Full name: Jimmy Wayne Tolleson

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Career Batting Statistics

Wayne Tolleson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
863 2,322 301 559 60 17 9 133 108 219 384 .241 .307 .293 .600 -5,412

Career AVG .241 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 6.8% below league average.

Career OBP .307 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — 5.1% below league average.

Career SLG .293 vs. league average .388 across their career seasons — 24.5% below league average.

Career OPS .600 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — 15.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Wayne Tolleson 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
1981 TEX AL 14 24 6 4 0 0 0 1 2 1 5 .167 — — — — 0.0
1982 TEX AL 38 70 6 8 1 0 0 2 1 5 14 .114 .261 (-56%) .324 (-47%) .388 (-67%) .712 (-58%) -629.0
1983 TEX AL 134 470 64 122 13 2 3 20 33 40 68 .260 .260 (avg) .324 (-2%) .389 (-19%) .714 (-11%) -743.4
1984 TEX AL 118 338 35 72 9 2 0 9 22 27 47 .213 .259 (-18%) .322 (-14%) .384 (-35%) .707 (-25%) -1289.1
1985 TEX AL 123 323 45 101 9 5 1 18 21 21 46 .313 .257 (+22%) .323 (+9%) .390 (-3%) .714 (+3%) 176.6
1986 CHA AL 81 260 39 65 7 3 3 29 13 38 43 .250 .257 (-3%) .325 (+5%) .395 (-15%) .720 (-6%) -177.9
1986 NYA AL 60 215 22 61 9 2 0 14 4 14 33 .284 .257 (+10%) .325 (+2%) .395 (-13%) .720 (-6%) -177.9
1987 NYA AL 121 349 48 77 4 0 1 22 5 43 72 .221 .262 (-16%) .331 (-8%) .415 (-42%) .746 (-27%) -1384.2
1988 NYA AL 21 59 8 15 2 0 0 5 1 8 12 .254 .254 (avg) .317 (+6%) .377 (-24%) .695 (-10%) -67.0
1989 NYA AL 80 140 16 23 5 2 1 9 5 16 23 .164 .254 (-35%) .319 (-20%) .375 (-33%) .694 (-27%) -581.2
1990 NYA AL 73 74 12 11 1 1 0 4 1 6 21 .149 .257 (-42%) .324 (-35%) .385 (-51%) .710 (-44%) -519.8
Career · 11 seasons 863 2,322 301 559 60 17 9 133 108 219 384 .241 — — — — -5,393

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.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (863 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Wayne Tolleson — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home4241146150283370.247
Away4391176151276663.235

Last 10 Games — Batting

Wayne Tolleson — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1990-09-30 NYYMILW 200000001
1990-09-26 NYYBALW 000000000
1990-09-24 NYYBALL 100000011
1990-09-22 NYYBOSW 400000002
1990-09-21 NYYBOSL 000000000
1990-09-14 NYYDETW 000000000
1990-09-13 NYYDETW 100000010
1990-09-11 NYYTEXW 000000000
1990-09-10 NYYTEXL 000000000
1990-09-07 NYYOAKL 000000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Wayne Tolleson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 292 238 524 720 31 158
3B 143 101 80 208 17 20
OF 3 0 2 0 0 0
SS 409 308 497 964 39 204

Season-by-Season Fielding

Wayne Tolleson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1981 TEX 3B 6 4 5 8 0 0
1981 TEX SS 2 0 0 0 0 0
1982 TEX 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1982 TEX 3B 4 0 0 2 0 0
1982 TEX SS 26 23 47 68 5 20
1983 TEX 2B 112 107 246 315 16 69
1983 TEX SS 26 20 22 57 1 12
1984 TEX 2B 109 94 191 276 10 61
1984 TEX 3B 5 0 2 3 0 0
1984 TEX OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1984 TEX SS 7 2 2 8 0 1
1985 TEX 2B 29 19 44 65 4 11
1985 TEX 3B 12 3 9 8 2 0
1985 TEX SS 81 67 96 182 8 37
1986 CHA 3B 65 60 37 113 7 9
1986 CHA OF 2 0 2 0 0 0
1986 CHA SS 18 10 13 25 1 3
1986 NYA 2B 3 1 3 2 0 1
1986 NYA 3B 7 5 5 10 1 2
1986 NYA SS 56 53 87 177 5 35
1987 NYA 3B 3 1 0 5 0 2
1987 NYA SS 119 108 162 321 15 64
1988 NYA 2B 12 9 20 33 1 7
1988 NYA 3B 10 8 8 21 2 2
1988 NYA SS 1 0 0 0 0 0
1989 NYA 2B 13 2 6 15 0 5
1989 NYA 3B 28 20 14 38 5 5
1989 NYA SS 28 12 25 54 2 10
1990 NYA 2B 13 6 14 14 0 4
1990 NYA 3B 3 0 0 0 0 0
1990 NYA SS 45 13 43 72 2 22

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Wayne Tolleson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 293
Third Base 141
Shortstop 410
Left Field 1
Center Field 2
Designated Hitter 27

Salary History

Wayne Tolleson — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1990 NYA AL $425,000
1988 NYA AL $410,000
1987 NYA AL $385,000
1986 DET AL $275,000
1985 TEX AL $135,000
Total Career Earnings $1,630,000

College History

Wayne Tolleson — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Western Carolina University Cullowhee NC 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Wayne Tolleson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Tom Downey
    .240 avg, 7 HR
  2. 95
    Jeff Huson
    .234 avg, 8 HR
  3. 91
    John Knight
    .239 avg, 14 HR
  4. 87
    Jake Stephens
    .236 avg, 4 HR
  5. 86
    Nicky Lopez
    .248 avg, 8 HR
  6. 85
    Sonny Jackson
    .251 avg, 7 HR

Wayne Tolleson: the record in brief

The profile opens with Wayne Tolleson's first major league game on September 1, 1981; the last one listed came on September 30, 1990. By club, Tolleson's seasons break down as the Texas Rangers (1981 to 1985), the Chicago White Sox (1986), and the New York Yankees (1986 through 1990). Listed as a shortstop, Tolleson switch-hit and threw right-handed. Tolleson is listed at 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds. The birth record reads November 22, 1955, in Spartanburg, SC, USA. Wayne Tolleson was the playing name; the full given name is Jimmy Wayne.

Tolleson collected 559 hits in 2,322 at bats across 863 games, good for a .241 batting average; the totals also include 9 home runs, 133 runs batted in, and 108 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .307 and the slugging percentage .293, for an OPS of .600. Measured against the leagues Tolleson played in, the .241 career average compares with a .258 league average over the same seasons, 6.8% below the league. The OPS comparison is .600 to a league .711, 15.7% below average. 1983 produced Tolleson's most hits, 122 of them for the Texas Rangers.

Frequently Asked Questions about Wayne Tolleson

What years did Wayne Tolleson play?
Wayne Tolleson played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1990.
Was Wayne Tolleson a pitcher?
No. Wayne Tolleson was a position player (Shortstop).
How many home runs did Wayne Tolleson hit?
Wayne Tolleson hit 9 career home runs with 559 hits.
What was Wayne Tolleson's career batting average?
Wayne Tolleson batted .241 over his career, with 559 hits in 2,322 at bats.
How many RBI did Wayne Tolleson have?
Wayne Tolleson drove in 133 runs in his career.
Is Wayne Tolleson in the Hall of Fame?
No. Wayne Tolleson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.