Cesar Tovar
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1965-1976)
Cesar Tovar was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1976 for 5 teams, including the Minnesota Twins, a span of 12 seasons. In 1,488 career games, he hit .278 with 1,546 hits, 46 home runs, and 435 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 4,414.
- 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
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'9" / 155 lb
- Died
- 7/14/1994 in Caracas, Distrito Capital, Venezuela
- MLB Debut
- 1965-04-12
- Last Game
- 1976-09-29
Full name: Cesar Leonardo Tovar
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,488 | 5,569 | 834 | 1,546 | 253 | 55 | 46 | 435 | 226 | 413 | 410 | .278 | .335 | .368 | .703 | 4,414 |
Career AVG .278 vs. league average .250 across their career seasons — +11.0% above league average.
Career OBP .335 vs. league average .317 across their career seasons — +5.8% above league average.
Career SLG .368 vs. league average .367 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OPS .703 vs. league average .684 across their career seasons — near 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | MIN | AL | 18 | 25 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | .200 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1966 | MIN | AL | 134 | 465 | 57 | 121 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 41 | 16 | 44 | 50 | .260 | .248 (+5%) | .309 (+5%) | .376 (-11%) | .685 (-4%) | -211.7 |
| 1967 | MIN | AL | 164 | 649 | 98 | 173 | 32 | 7 | 6 | 47 | 19 | 46 | 51 | .267 | .242 (+10%) | .306 (+6%) | .357 (+2%) | .663 (+4%) | 514.4 |
| 1968 | MIN | AL | 157 | 613 | 89 | 167 | 31 | 6 | 6 | 47 | 35 | 34 | 41 | .272 | .236 (+15%) | .298 (+9%) | .340 (+9%) | .638 (+9%) | 1036.6 |
| 1969 | MIN | AL | 158 | 535 | 99 | 154 | 25 | 5 | 11 | 52 | 45 | 37 | 37 | .288 | .248 (+16%) | .320 (+7%) | .369 (+12%) | .689 (+10%) | 983.3 |
| 1970 | MIN | AL | 161 | 650 | 120 | 195 | 36 | 13 | 10 | 54 | 30 | 52 | 47 | .300 | .253 (+18%) | .325 (+9%) | .385 (+15%) | .711 (+12%) | 1488.7 |
| 1971 | MIN | AL | 157 | 657 | 94 | 204 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 45 | 18 | 45 | 39 | .311 | .249 (+25%) | .316 (+13%) | .365 (+1%) | .682 (+6%) | 868.1 |
| 1972 | MIN | AL | 141 | 548 | 86 | 145 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 31 | 21 | 39 | 39 | .265 | .243 (+9%) | .310 (+6%) | .353 (-6%) | .664 (avg) | 78.2 |
| 1973 | PHI | NL | 97 | 328 | 49 | 88 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 21 | 6 | 29 | 35 | .268 | .256 (+4%) | .325 (+3%) | .378 (-6%) | .703 (-2%) | -70.9 |
| 1974 | TEX | AL | 138 | 562 | 78 | 164 | 24 | 6 | 4 | 58 | 13 | 47 | 33 | .292 | .256 (+14%) | .324 (+9%) | .369 (+2%) | .693 (+5%) | 670.1 |
| 1975 | TEX | AL | 102 | 427 | 53 | 110 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 16 | 27 | 25 | .258 | .257 (avg) | .327 (-7%) | .374 (-15%) | .701 (-11%) | -737.6 |
| 1975 | OAK | AL | 19 | 26 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | .231 | — | — | — | — | -737.6 |
| 1976 | OAK | AL | 29 | 45 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | .178 | — | — | — | — | -204.7 |
| 1976 | NYA | AL | 13 | 39 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | .154 | — | — | — | — | -204.7 |
| Career · 14 seasons | 1,488 | 5,569 | 834 | 1,546 | 253 | 55 | 46 | 435 | 226 | 413 | 410 | .278 | — | — | — | — | 3,472 | ||
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.
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | MIN | AL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 1 season | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | — | 0 | ||
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 (1489 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 746 | 2752 | 441 | 783 | 26 | 221 | .285 |
| Away | 742 | 2817 | 393 | 763 | 20 | 214 | .271 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976-09-29 | NYY | BOS | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-09-23 | NYY | BAL | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-09-22 | NYY | BAL | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1976-09-21 | NYY | BAL | L | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1976-09-20 | NYY | MIL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1976-09-18 | NYY | MIL | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-09-17 | NYY | MIL | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1976-09-09 | NYY | MIL | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-09-08 | NYY | MIL | W | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976-09-07 | NYY | BOS | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 1 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968-09-22 | MIN | OAK | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2B | 215 | 180 | 395 | 481 | 28 | 109 |
| 3B | 227 | 187 | 160 | 351 | 38 | 27 |
| C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| OF | 945 | 842 | 2043 | 71 | 44 | 18 |
| P | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SS | 77 | 52 | 87 | 139 | 14 | 20 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | MIN | 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| 1965 | MIN | 3B | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 1965 | MIN | OF | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | MIN | SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966 | MIN | 2B | 76 | 73 | 154 | 205 | 8 | 33 |
| 1966 | MIN | OF | 24 | 21 | 53 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1966 | MIN | SS | 31 | 27 | 47 | 67 | 6 | 10 |
| 1967 | MIN | 2B | 36 | 31 | 69 | 66 | 4 | 11 |
| 1967 | MIN | 3B | 70 | 56 | 60 | 101 | 9 | 8 |
| 1967 | MIN | OF | 74 | 70 | 169 | 5 | 1 | 3 |
| 1967 | MIN | SS | 9 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 3 | 1 |
| 1968 | MIN | 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968 | MIN | 2B | 18 | 12 | 29 | 24 | 2 | 6 |
| 1968 | MIN | 3B | 75 | 68 | 48 | 147 | 14 | 8 |
| 1968 | MIN | C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968 | MIN | OF | 78 | 52 | 138 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| 1968 | MIN | P | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1968 | MIN | SS | 35 | 20 | 31 | 59 | 5 | 9 |
| 1969 | MIN | 2B | 41 | 33 | 78 | 99 | 7 | 25 |
| 1969 | MIN | 3B | 20 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 2 | 2 |
| 1969 | MIN | OF | 113 | 76 | 225 | 9 | 4 | 3 |
| 1970 | MIN | 2B | 8 | 6 | 17 | 10 | 2 | 5 |
| 1970 | MIN | 3B | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 1970 | MIN | OF | 151 | 146 | 370 | 12 | 9 | 1 |
| 1971 | MIN | 2B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 1971 | MIN | 3B | 7 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| 1971 | MIN | OF | 154 | 150 | 348 | 14 | 5 | 3 |
| 1972 | MIN | OF | 139 | 134 | 287 | 10 | 5 | 2 |
| 1973 | PHI | 2B | 22 | 20 | 39 | 56 | 3 | 24 |
| 1973 | PHI | 3B | 46 | 39 | 34 | 56 | 7 | 7 |
| 1973 | PHI | OF | 24 | 20 | 40 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 1974 | TEX | OF | 135 | 133 | 331 | 13 | 7 | 3 |
| 1975 | TEX | 2B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975 | TEX | OF | 31 | 30 | 56 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 1975 | OAK | 2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975 | OAK | 3B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1975 | OAK | SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976 | OAK | OF | 20 | 8 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1976 | NYA | 2B | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 1 |
| Catcher | 1 |
| First Base | 1 |
| Second Base | 214 |
| Third Base | 232 |
| Shortstop | 79 |
| Left Field | 394 |
| Center Field | 469 |
| Right Field | 207 |
| Designated Hitter | 90 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 24th | 4.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1970 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 18th | 16.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1969 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 17th | 9.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1968 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 23th | 3.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1967 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 7th | 70.0 | 280 | 1 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Cesar Tovar (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Cesar Tovar: the record in brief
Cesar Tovar played a first major league game on April 12, 1965 and a last one on September 29, 1976. The season rows list, in order, the Minnesota Twins (1965 to 1972), the Philadelphia Phillies (1973), the Texas Rangers (1974 to 1975), the Oakland Athletics (1975 to 1976), and the New York Yankees (1976). The bio lists Tovar as an outfielder who threw and hit right-handed. Tovar is listed at 5'9" and 155 pounds. Tovar was born on July 3, 1940, in Caracas, Distrito Capital, Venezuela. The bio records the death on July 14, 1994, in Caracas, Distrito Capital, Venezuela. The given name on file is Cesar Leonardo Tovar.
The batting record for Tovar: 1,488 games, 1,546 hits in 5,569 at bats, and a .278 average, adding 46 home runs, 435 RBI, and 226 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .335 and the slugging percentage .368, for an OPS of .703. The league as a whole hit .250 across Tovar's seasons, which puts the .278 career mark 11.0% above average.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cesar Tovar
- What years did Cesar Tovar play?
- Cesar Tovar played in Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1976.
- Was Cesar Tovar a pitcher?
- No. Cesar Tovar was a position player (Outfielder), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
- How many home runs did Cesar Tovar hit?
- Cesar Tovar hit 46 career home runs with 1,546 hits.
- What teams did Cesar Tovar play for?
- Cesar Tovar played for 5 teams: the Minnesota Twins (1965–1972), the Philadelphia Phillies (1973), the Texas Rangers (1974–1975), the Oakland Athletics (1975–1976), and the New York Yankees (1976).
- What were Cesar Tovar's career stats?
- In 1,488 games, Cesar Tovar had 1,546 hits, 46 home runs, 435 RBI, 834 runs, and 226 stolen bases, with a .278 batting average.
- What position did Cesar Tovar play?
- Cesar Tovar played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Cesar Tovar and how much did he weigh?
- Cesar Tovar was listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 155 pounds.
- How many home runs did Cesar Tovar hit each season?
- Cesar Tovar's home runs by season: 0 in 1965, 2 in 1966, 6 in 1967, 6 in 1968, 11 in 1969, 10 in 1970, 1 in 1971, 2 in 1972, 1 in 1973, 4 in 1974, 3 in 1975, and 0 in 1976. His most in one season was 11, in 1969.
- What was Cesar Tovar's career batting average?
- Cesar Tovar batted .278 over his career, with 1,546 hits in 5,569 at bats.
- How many RBI did Cesar Tovar have?
- Cesar Tovar drove in 435 runs in his career.
- What was Cesar Tovar's career ERA?
- Cesar Tovar finished with a 0.00 career ERA, going 0-0 with 1 strikeouts.
- Is Cesar Tovar in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Cesar Tovar has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.