Leon Wagner
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1958-1969)
Leon Wagner was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1958 to 1969 for 5 teams, including the San Francisco Giants, a span of 12 seasons. In 1,352 career games, he hit .272 with 1,202 hits, 211 home runs, and 669 RBI. Leon Wagner was a 2-time All-Star and an All-Star Game MVP. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 12,603.
- 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
- L / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'1" / 195 lb
- Died
- 1/3/2004 in Los Angeles, CA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1958-06-22
- Last Game
- 1969-10-02
- Awards
- 2× All-Star · All-Star Game MVP
Full name: Leon Lamar Wagner
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,352 | 4,426 | 636 | 1,202 | 150 | 15 | 211 | 669 | 54 | 435 | 656 | .272 | .340 | .455 | .795 | 12,603 |
Career AVG .272 vs. league average .250 across their career seasons — +8.7% above league average.
Career OBP .340 vs. league average .316 across their career seasons — +7.7% above league average.
Career SLG .455 vs. league average .376 across their career seasons — +20.9% above league average.
Career OPS .795 vs. league average .692 across their career seasons — +14.9% above 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | SFN | NL | 74 | 221 | 31 | 70 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 35 | 1 | 18 | 34 | .317 | .257 (+23%) | .324 (+14%) | .394 (+35%) | .719 (+26%) | 1025.3 |
| 1959 | SFN | NL | 87 | 129 | 20 | 29 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 0 | 25 | 24 | .225 | .256 (-12%) | .323 (+11%) | .392 (+7%) | .715 (+9%) | 279.5 |
| 1960 | SLN | NL | 39 | 98 | 12 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 17 | 17 | .214 | .255 (-16%) | .323 (+3%) | .387 (-8%) | .711 (-3%) | -5.3 |
| 1961 | LAA | AL | 133 | 453 | 74 | 127 | 19 | 2 | 28 | 79 | 5 | 48 | 65 | .280 | .258 (+9%) | .328 (+6%) | .399 (+29%) | .727 (+19%) | 1614.5 |
| 1962 | LAA | AL | 160 | 612 | 96 | 164 | 21 | 5 | 37 | 107 | 7 | 50 | 87 | .268 | .257 (+4%) | .326 (avg) | .393 (+27%) | .719 (+15%) | 1681.2 |
| 1963 | LAA | AL | 149 | 550 | 73 | 160 | 11 | 1 | 26 | 90 | 5 | 49 | 73 | .291 | .246 (+18%) | .308 (+14%) | .371 (+23%) | .680 (+19%) | 2040.8 |
| 1964 | CLE | AL | 163 | 641 | 94 | 162 | 19 | 2 | 31 | 100 | 14 | 56 | 121 | .253 | .250 (+1%) | .312 (+1%) | .377 (+15%) | .690 (+9%) | 1052.4 |
| 1965 | CLE | AL | 144 | 517 | 91 | 152 | 18 | 1 | 28 | 79 | 12 | 60 | 52 | .294 | .245 (+20%) | .310 (+19%) | .371 (+33%) | .682 (+27%) | 2718.0 |
| 1966 | CLE | AL | 150 | 549 | 70 | 153 | 20 | 0 | 23 | 66 | 5 | 46 | 69 | .279 | .248 (+12%) | .309 (+8%) | .376 (+17%) | .685 (+13%) | 1374.6 |
| 1967 | CLE | AL | 135 | 433 | 56 | 105 | 15 | 1 | 15 | 54 | 3 | 37 | 76 | .242 | .242 (avg) | .306 (+3%) | .357 (+8%) | .663 (+6%) | 515.9 |
| 1968 | CLE | AL | 38 | 49 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 6 | .184 | — | — | — | — | -103.2 |
| 1968 | CHA | AL | 69 | 162 | 14 | 46 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 2 | 21 | 31 | .284 | .236 (+20%) | .298 (+23%) | .340 (+3%) | .638 (+12%) | -103.2 |
| 1969 | SFN | NL | 11 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 13 seasons | 1,352 | 4,426 | 636 | 1,202 | 150 | 15 | 211 | 669 | 54 | 435 | 656 | .272 | — | — | — | — | 12,090 | ||
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 (1352 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 683 | 2220 | 318 | 612 | 100 | 334 | .276 |
| Away | 669 | 2206 | 318 | 590 | 111 | 333 | .267 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969-10-02 | SFG | SDP | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1969-10-01 | SFG | SDP | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1969-09-24 | SFG | SDP | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969-09-23 | SFG | SDP | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969-09-21 | SFG | LAD | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1969-09-17 | SFG | HOU | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969-09-13 | SFG | CIN | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969-09-11 | SFG | ATL | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969-09-10 | SFG | ATL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969-09-08 | SFG | CIN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | SFN | OF | 57 | 56 | 89 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 1959 | SFN | OF | 28 | 24 | 48 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1960 | SLN | OF | 32 | 26 | 48 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 1961 | LAA | OF | 116 | 113 | 187 | 12 | 6 | 2 |
| 1962 | LAA | OF | 156 | 154 | 269 | 7 | 8 | 1 |
| 1963 | LAA | OF | 141 | 140 | 254 | 7 | 11 | 1 |
| 1964 | CLE | OF | 163 | 160 | 254 | 5 | 11 | 0 |
| 1965 | CLE | OF | 134 | 132 | 175 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| 1966 | CLE | OF | 139 | 138 | 185 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 1967 | CLE | OF | 117 | 115 | 142 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| 1968 | CLE | OF | 10 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1968 | CHA | OF | 46 | 41 | 48 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1969 | SFN | OF | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Left Field | 1027 |
| Right Field | 127 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | All-Star Game MVP | 1st Game |
| 1962 | TSN All-Star | OF |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuskegee University | Tuskegee | AL | 1953 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 21th | 4.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1964 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 17th | 9.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1963 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 19th | 9.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1962 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 4th | 85.0 | 280 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Leon Wagner (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Leon Wagner: the record in brief
Leon Wagner played a first major league game on June 22, 1958 and a last one on October 2, 1969. Club by club, the record runs the San Francisco Giants (1958 to 1969), the St. Louis Cardinals (1960), the Los Angeles Angels (1961 through 1963), the Cleveland Indians (1964 through 1968), and the Chicago White Sox (1968). Wagner, an outfielder by primary position, threw right-handed and batted left-handed. Wagner is listed at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds. The birth record reads May 13, 1934, in Chattanooga, TN, USA. Wagner's death is recorded on January 3, 2004, in Los Angeles, CA, USA. Leon Wagner was the playing name; the full given name is Leon Lamar.
Wagner finished with 1,202 hits from 4,426 at bats in 1,352 games, which works out to .272, plus 211 homers, 669 RBI, and 54 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .340 clip and slugging .455, Wagner finished with a .795 OPS.
Frequently Asked Questions about Leon Wagner
- What years did Leon Wagner play?
- Leon Wagner played in Major League Baseball from 1958 to 1969.
- Was Leon Wagner a pitcher?
- No. Leon Wagner was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Leon Wagner hit?
- Leon Wagner hit 211 career home runs with 1,202 hits.
- What teams did Leon Wagner play for?
- Leon Wagner played for 5 teams: the San Francisco Giants (1958–1959, 1969), the St. Louis Cardinals (1960), the Los Angeles Angels (1961–1963), the Cleveland Indians (1964–1968), and the Chicago White Sox (1968).
- Did Leon Wagner win an MVP award?
- No. Leon Wagner did not win the MVP award.
- What awards did Leon Wagner win?
- Leon Wagner was selected to 2 All-Star Games.
- What were Leon Wagner's career stats?
- In 1,352 games, Leon Wagner had 1,202 hits, 211 home runs, 669 RBI, 636 runs, and 54 stolen bases, with a .272 batting average.
- What position did Leon Wagner play?
- Leon Wagner played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Leon Wagner and how much did he weigh?
- Leon Wagner was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 195 pounds.
- How many home runs did Leon Wagner hit each season?
- Leon Wagner's home runs by season: 13 in 1958, 5 in 1959, 4 in 1960, 28 in 1961, 37 in 1962, 26 in 1963, 31 in 1964, 28 in 1965, 23 in 1966, 15 in 1967, 1 in 1968, and 0 in 1969. His most in one season was 37, in 1962.
- What was Leon Wagner's career batting average?
- Leon Wagner batted .272 over his career, with 1,202 hits in 4,426 at bats.
- How many RBI did Leon Wagner have?
- Leon Wagner drove in 669 runs in his career.
- Is Leon Wagner in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Leon Wagner has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- How many All-Star Games did Leon Wagner make?
- Leon Wagner was selected to 2 All-Star Games.