Bobby Valentine
Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1969-1979)
Bobby Valentine was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1979 for 5 teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, a span of 11 seasons. In 639 career games, he hit .260 with 441 hits, 12 home runs, and 157 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
- Position
- Shortstop
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'10" / 189 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1969-09-02
- Last Game
- 1979-09-30
Full name: Robert John Valentine
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 639 | 1,698 | 176 | 441 | 59 | 9 | 12 | 157 | 27 | 140 | 134 | .260 | .315 | .326 | .641 | -1,907 |
Career AVG .260 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .315 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .326 vs. league average .375 across their career seasons — 13.1% below league average.
Career OPS .641 vs. league average .698 across their career seasons — 8.2% below 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | LAN | NL | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1971 | LAN | NL | 101 | 281 | 32 | 70 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 5 | 15 | 20 | .249 | .249 (avg) | .316 (-9%) | .365 (-15%) | .682 (-13%) | -585.9 |
| 1972 | LAN | NL | 119 | 391 | 42 | 107 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 32 | 5 | 27 | 33 | .274 | .243 (+12%) | .310 (+3%) | .353 (-5%) | .664 (-2%) | -106.2 |
| 1973 | CAL | AL | 32 | 126 | 12 | 38 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 9 | .302 | .256 (+17%) | .325 (-1%) | .378 (+5%) | .703 (+2%) | 0.5 |
| 1974 | CAL | AL | 117 | 371 | 39 | 97 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 39 | 8 | 25 | 25 | .261 | .256 (+2%) | .324 (-5%) | .369 (-11%) | .693 (-8%) | -512.9 |
| 1975 | CAL | AL | 26 | 57 | 5 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 3 | .281 | .257 (+9%) | .327 (-1%) | .374 (-16%) | .701 (-9%) | -91.5 |
| 1975 | SDN | NL | 7 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .133 | — | — | — | — | -91.5 |
| 1976 | SDN | NL | 15 | 49 | 3 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 2 | .367 | — | — | — | — | 250.9 |
| 1977 | SDN | NL | 44 | 67 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 10 | .179 | .264 (-32%) | .329 (-23%) | .401 (-33%) | .730 (-29%) | -314.2 |
| 1977 | NYN | NL | 42 | 83 | 8 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 | .133 | .264 (-50%) | .329 (-42%) | .401 (-55%) | .730 (-49%) | -314.2 |
| 1978 | NYN | NL | 69 | 160 | 17 | 43 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 19 | 18 | .269 | .257 (+4%) | .323 (+7%) | .378 (-13%) | .702 (-4%) | -39.1 |
| 1979 | SEA | AL | 62 | 98 | 9 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 22 | 5 | .276 | .265 (+4%) | .329 (+23%) | .397 (-15%) | .727 (+2%) | 143.9 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 639 | 1,698 | 176 | 441 | 59 | 9 | 12 | 157 | 27 | 140 | 134 | .260 | — | — | — | — | -1,660 | ||
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 (639 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 323 | 830 | 75 | 193 | 4 | 59 | .233 |
| Away | 316 | 868 | 101 | 248 | 8 | 98 | .286 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979-09-30 | SEA | CHW | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1979-09-29 | SEA | CHW | W | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1979-09-28 | SEA | CHW | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1979-09-27 | SEA | MIL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979-09-23 | SEA | CHW | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1979-09-21 | SEA | CHW | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1979-09-18 | SEA | MIL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979-09-17 | SEA | MIL | L | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979-09-16 | SEA | KCR | W | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979-09-15 | SEA | KCR | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 23 | 14 | 155 | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| 2B | 120 | 96 | 235 | 271 | 14 | 54 |
| 3B | 106 | 94 | 54 | 208 | 31 | 14 |
| C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| OF | 128 | 109 | 218 | 11 | 6 | 1 |
| SS | 161 | 95 | 177 | 332 | 23 | 50 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | LAN | 2B | 21 | 20 | 49 | 45 | 4 | 13 |
| 1971 | LAN | 3B | 23 | 23 | 17 | 50 | 7 | 1 |
| 1971 | LAN | OF | 11 | 9 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1971 | LAN | SS | 37 | 22 | 43 | 80 | 5 | 17 |
| 1972 | LAN | 2B | 49 | 43 | 110 | 132 | 6 | 28 |
| 1972 | LAN | 3B | 39 | 38 | 20 | 81 | 14 | 4 |
| 1972 | LAN | OF | 16 | 8 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1972 | LAN | SS | 10 | 10 | 23 | 32 | 3 | 6 |
| 1973 | CAL | OF | 8 | 7 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973 | CAL | SS | 25 | 25 | 38 | 72 | 6 | 11 |
| 1974 | CAL | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1974 | CAL | 3B | 15 | 15 | 5 | 32 | 5 | 4 |
| 1974 | CAL | OF | 62 | 59 | 113 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 1974 | CAL | SS | 36 | 22 | 42 | 82 | 6 | 6 |
| 1975 | CAL | 1B | 3 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 1975 | CAL | 3B | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1975 | CAL | OF | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975 | SDN | OF | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976 | SDN | 1B | 4 | 3 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 1976 | SDN | OF | 10 | 10 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1977 | SDN | 1B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1977 | SDN | 3B | 10 | 7 | 3 | 15 | 1 | 2 |
| 1977 | SDN | SS | 10 | 1 | 11 | 14 | 1 | 1 |
| 1977 | NYN | 1B | 15 | 9 | 94 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 1977 | NYN | 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1977 | NYN | SS | 14 | 8 | 9 | 29 | 1 | 6 |
| 1978 | NYN | 2B | 45 | 33 | 76 | 92 | 4 | 13 |
| 1978 | NYN | 3B | 9 | 7 | 2 | 17 | 2 | 0 |
| 1979 | SEA | 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | SEA | 3B | 4 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 2 |
| 1979 | SEA | C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | SEA | OF | 15 | 12 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979 | SEA | SS | 29 | 7 | 11 | 23 | 1 | 3 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 1 |
| First Base | 23 |
| Second Base | 120 |
| Third Base | 107 |
| Shortstop | 160 |
| Left Field | 86 |
| Center Field | 17 |
| Right Field | 27 |
| Designated Hitter | 19 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Branch Rickey Award |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Bobby Valentine (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Frequently Asked Questions about Bobby Valentine
- What years did Bobby Valentine play?
- Bobby Valentine played in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1979.
- Was Bobby Valentine a pitcher?
- No. Bobby Valentine was a position player (Shortstop).
- How many home runs did Bobby Valentine hit?
- Bobby Valentine hit 12 career home runs with 441 hits.
- What was Bobby Valentine's career batting average?
- Bobby Valentine batted .260 over his career, with 441 hits in 1,698 at bats.
- How many RBI did Bobby Valentine have?
- Bobby Valentine drove in 157 runs in his career.
- Is Bobby Valentine in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Bobby Valentine has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.