Mike Vail
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1975-1984)
Mike Vail was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1975 to 1984 for 7 teams, including the New York Mets, a span of 10 seasons. In 665 career games, he hit .279 with 447 hits, 34 home runs, and 219 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 674.
- 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
- 6'1" / 180 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1975-08-18
- Last Game
- 1984-07-30
Full name: Michael Lewis Vail
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 665 | 1,604 | 146 | 447 | 71 | 11 | 34 | 219 | 3 | 81 | 317 | .279 | .313 | .400 | .713 | 674 |
Career AVG .279 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — +7.0% above league average.
Career OBP .313 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .400 vs. league average .384 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OPS .713 vs. league average .709 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | NYN | NL | 38 | 162 | 17 | 49 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 37 | .302 | .257 (+17%) | .327 (+4%) | .374 (+12%) | .701 (+8%) | 191.8 |
| 1976 | NYN | NL | 53 | 143 | 8 | 31 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 19 | .217 | .255 (-15%) | .320 (-24%) | .360 (-26%) | .681 (-25%) | -590.2 |
| 1977 | NYN | NL | 108 | 279 | 29 | 73 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 35 | 0 | 19 | 58 | .262 | .264 (-1%) | .329 (-6%) | .401 (-1%) | .730 (-3%) | -169.0 |
| 1978 | CLE | AL | 14 | 34 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | .235 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1978 | CHN | NL | 74 | 180 | 15 | 60 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33 | 0 | 3 | 24 | .333 | .257 (+29%) | .323 (+5%) | .378 (+20%) | .702 (+13%) | 0.0 |
| 1979 | CHN | NL | 87 | 179 | 28 | 60 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 35 | 0 | 14 | 27 | .335 | .265 (+26%) | .329 (+15%) | .397 (+31%) | .727 (+24%) | 756.2 |
| 1980 | CHN | NL | 114 | 312 | 30 | 93 | 17 | 2 | 6 | 47 | 2 | 14 | 77 | .298 | .264 (+13%) | .326 (+1%) | .387 (+9%) | .714 (+5%) | 275.6 |
| 1981 | CIN | NL | 31 | 31 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .161 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1982 | CIN | NL | 78 | 189 | 9 | 48 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 29 | 0 | 6 | 33 | .254 | .261 (-3%) | .324 (-15%) | .388 (-2%) | .712 (-8%) | -304.3 |
| 1983 | SFN | NL | 18 | 26 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .154 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1983 | MON | NL | 34 | 53 | 5 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 10 | .283 | .260 (+8%) | .324 (+19%) | .389 (+11%) | .714 (+15%) | 0.0 |
| 1984 | LAN | NL | 16 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .062 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 665 | 1,604 | 146 | 447 | 71 | 11 | 34 | 219 | 3 | 81 | 317 | .279 | — | — | — | — | 160 | ||
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 (665 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 339 | 833 | 80 | 241 | 15 | 118 | .289 |
| Away | 326 | 771 | 66 | 206 | 19 | 101 | .267 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-07-30 | LAD | SDP | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984-07-26 | LAD | ATL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1984-07-22 | LAD | STL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984-07-18 | LAD | PIT | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984-07-16 | LAD | PIT | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984-07-13 | LAD | CHC | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984-07-08 | LAD | STL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1984-07-06 | LAD | STL | W | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984-07-03 | LAD | PIT | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984-06-28 | LAD | CHC | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 5 | 4 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| OF | 399 | 337 | 654 | 35 | 23 | 4 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | NYN | OF | 36 | 36 | 92 | 9 | 3 | 1 |
| 1976 | NYN | OF | 35 | 34 | 63 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 1977 | NYN | OF | 85 | 68 | 159 | 5 | 6 | 2 |
| 1978 | CLE | OF | 9 | 7 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1978 | CHN | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1978 | CHN | OF | 45 | 34 | 50 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1979 | CHN | 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | CHN | OF | 39 | 35 | 51 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 1980 | CHN | OF | 77 | 64 | 126 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| 1981 | CIN | OF | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982 | CIN | OF | 52 | 45 | 72 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 1983 | SFN | 1B | 4 | 3 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1983 | SFN | OF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1983 | MON | 1B | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1983 | MON | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1983 | MON | OF | 15 | 12 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 1984 | LAN | OF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 5 |
| Third Base | 4 |
| Left Field | 124 |
| Center Field | 1 |
| Right Field | 277 |
| Designated Hitter | 1 |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeAnza College | Cupertino | CA | 1971 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Mike Vail (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Mike Vail: the record in brief
Between the debut on August 18, 1975 and the final game on July 30, 1984, Mike Vail built the record summarized on this page. The team column moves through the New York Mets (1975 to 1977), the Cleveland Indians (1978), the Chicago Cubs (1978 to 1980), the Cincinnati Reds (1981 through 1982), the San Francisco Giants (1983), the Montreal Expos (1983), and the Los Angeles Dodgers (1984). Vail, born on November 10, 1951, in San Francisco, CA, USA, is listed as an outfielder and threw and hit right-handed. Vail's listed size is 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds. Vail's full given name, per the bio, is Michael Lewis Vail.
In 665 games and 1,604 at bats, Vail batted .279 with 447 hits, plus 34 homers and 219 RBI. Reaching base at a .313 clip and slugging .400, Vail finished with a .713 OPS. The league as a whole hit .261 across Vail's seasons, which puts the .279 career mark 7.0% above average. Vail collected a career-high 93 hits in 1980. The RBI column peaks at 47 in 1980.
Frequently Asked Questions about Mike Vail
- What years did Mike Vail play?
- Mike Vail played in Major League Baseball from 1975 to 1984.
- Was Mike Vail a pitcher?
- No. Mike Vail was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Mike Vail hit?
- Mike Vail hit 34 career home runs with 447 hits.
- What was Mike Vail's career batting average?
- Mike Vail batted .279 over his career, with 447 hits in 1,604 at bats.
- How many RBI did Mike Vail have?
- Mike Vail drove in 219 runs in his career.
- Is Mike Vail in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Mike Vail has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.