Willie Upshaw

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1978-1988)

AVG .262
HR 123
RBI 528
H 1,103
OPS .754
PIV 5,187
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'0" / 185 lb
Born
4/27/1957 in Blanco, TX, USA
MLB Debut
1978-04-09
Last Game
1988-09-28

Full name: Willie Clay Upshaw

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,264 4,203 596 1,103 199 45 123 528 88 452 642 .262 .335 .419 .754 5,187

Career AVG .262 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .335 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .419 vs. league average .388 across their career seasons — +7.9% above league average.

Career OPS .754 vs. league average .713 across their career seasons — +5.9% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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
1978 TOR AL 95 224 26 53 8 2 1 17 4 21 35 .237 .257 (-8%) .323 (-8%) .378 (-20%) .702 (-14%) -498.6
1980 TOR AL 34 61 10 13 3 1 1 5 1 6 14 .213 .264 (-19%) .326 (-13%) .387 (-11%) .714 (-12%) -121.5
1981 TOR AL 61 111 15 19 3 1 4 10 2 11 16 .171 .255 (-33%) .320 (-21%) .368 (-12%) .688 (-16%) -286.0
1982 TOR AL 160 580 77 155 25 7 21 75 8 52 91 .267 .261 (+2%) .324 (+1%) .388 (+14%) .712 (+8%) 859.8
1983 TOR AL 160 579 99 177 26 7 27 104 10 61 98 .306 .260 (+17%) .324 (+15%) .389 (+32%) .714 (+24%) 2842.9
1984 TOR AL 152 569 79 158 31 9 19 84 10 55 86 .278 .259 (+7%) .322 (+7%) .384 (+21%) .707 (+14%) 1570.3
1985 TOR AL 148 501 79 138 31 5 15 65 8 48 71 .275 .257 (+7%) .323 (+6%) .390 (+14%) .714 (+10%) 1013.8
1986 TOR AL 155 573 85 144 28 6 9 60 23 78 87 .251 .257 (-2%) .325 (+5%) .395 (-7%) .720 (-2%) -36.0
1987 TOR AL 150 512 68 125 22 4 15 58 10 58 78 .244 .262 (-7%) .331 (-2%) .415 (-6%) .746 (-4%) -312.4
1988 CLE AL 149 493 58 121 22 3 11 50 12 62 66 .245 .254 (-3%) .317 (+4%) .377 (-2%) .695 (avg) 155.0
Career · 10 seasons 1,264 4,203 596 1,103 199 45 123 528 88 452 642 .262 — — — — 5,187

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
7 26 2 6 2 0 0 1 1 4 .231

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1985 ALCS TOR 7 26 2 6 2 0 0 1 1 4 .231

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1264 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home619200029654353270.272
Away645220330056070258.254

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1988-09-28 CLEDETW 401000001
1988-09-26 CLEDETL 400000002
1988-09-25 CLETORW 100000001
1988-09-24 CLETORL 100000000
1988-09-23 CLETORL 100000000
1988-09-21 CLEDETL 401000001
1988-09-20 CLEDETL 300000010
1988-09-19 CLEDETW 400000000
1988-09-18 CLETORL 301100010
1988-09-16 CLETORL 100000001

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1094 1016 8939 799 98 845
OF 67 55 95 3 5 2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1978 TOR 1B 10 5 50 2 2 4
1978 TOR OF 52 43 81 2 5 1
1980 TOR 1B 14 4 51 7 1 11
1980 TOR OF 1 1 0 0 0 0
1981 TOR 1B 14 3 58 5 0 7
1981 TOR OF 14 11 14 1 0 1
1982 TOR 1B 155 155 1438 101 17 123
1983 TOR 1B 159 154 1294 117 21 131
1984 TOR 1B 151 151 1246 103 14 133
1985 TOR 1B 147 129 1157 104 10 111
1986 TOR 1B 154 151 1314 131 12 118
1987 TOR 1B 146 135 1169 127 9 114
1988 CLE 1B 144 129 1162 102 12 93

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
First Base 1096
Left Field 53
Center Field 6
Right Field 9
Designated Hitter 55

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1985 Player of the Week Week of 1985-04-26

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1988 CLE AL $900,000
1987 TOR AL $940,000
1986 TOR AL $940,000
1985 TOR AL $730,000
Total Career Earnings $3,510,000

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1984 Most Valuable Player AL 16th 8.0 392 0
1983 Most Valuable Player AL 11th 41.0 392 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Willie Upshaw (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Scott Spiezio
    .255 avg, 119 HR
  2. 95
    Don Hoak
    .265 avg, 89 HR
  3. 94
    Aaron Boone
    .263 avg, 126 HR
  4. 93
    Travis Lee
    .256 avg, 115 HR
  5. 92
    Jason Kipnis
    .260 avg, 126 HR
  6. 91
    Robby Thompson
    .257 avg, 119 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Willie Upshaw

What years did Willie Upshaw play?
Willie Upshaw played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1988.
Was Willie Upshaw a pitcher?
No. Willie Upshaw was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Willie Upshaw hit?
Willie Upshaw hit 123 career home runs with 1103 hits.