George Brett, baseball player, 317 home runs, 1973-1993

George Brett

⭐ Hall of Fame 1999

Born: 5/15/1953 in Glen Dale, WV, USA

MLB Debut: 1973-08-02 | Final Game: 1993-10-03

Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 185 lbs

Full name: George Howard Brett

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Biography

George Brett was a legendary position player who made an indelible mark on Major League Baseball during his career from 1973 to 1993. Born in 1953, Brett spent his entire 21-year career with the Kansas City Royals, where he became one of the franchise's most iconic athletes. Over the course of 2,707 games, he amassed 3,154 hits, demonstrating remarkable consistency and skill at the plate, culminating in a career batting average of .305. Known for his powerful hitting, Brett recorded 317 home runs and drove in 1,596 runs, solidifying his reputation as one of the premier offensive players of his era. Additionally, he showcased his speed on the bases with 201 stolen bases, a testament to his all-around athleticism. Brett's accomplishments were recognized with 13 All-Star selections, and he was a pivotal figure during the Royals' ascent in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He played a crucial role in leading the team to its first World Series championship in 1985, where his performance was instrumental in securing the title. A key player during a transformative period in baseball, Brett's offensive prowess and competitive spirit made him a revered figure in the sport, and he remains a symbol of excellence in the game, celebrated for his contributions both on and off the field.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
2707 10349 1583 3154 665 137 317 1596 201 1096 908 0.305 0.369 0.487 0.857 41431.9

Career AVG .305 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — +17.7% above league average.

Career OBP .369 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — +13.7% above league average.

Career SLG .487 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — +26.4% above league average.

Career OPS 0.857 vs. league average 0.710 across their career seasons — +20.6% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1973 KCR AL 13 40 2 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 0.125 — — — — 0.0
1974 KCR AL 133 457 49 129 21 5 2 47 8 21 38 0.282 .256 (+10%) .324 (-4%) .369 (-2%) .693 (-3%) -345.7
1975 KCR AL 159 634 84 195 35 13 11 90 13 46 49 0.308 .257 (+19%) .327 (+8%) .374 (+22%) .701 (+15%) 1718.9
1976 KCR AL 159 645 94 215 34 14 7 67 21 49 36 0.333 .255 (+30%) .320 (+18%) .360 (+28%) .681 (+23%) 2751.5
1977 KCR AL 139 564 105 176 32 13 22 88 14 55 24 0.312 .264 (+18%) .329 (+13%) .401 (+33%) .730 (+24%) 2624.2
1978 KCR AL 128 510 79 150 45 8 9 62 23 39 35 0.294 .257 (+14%) .323 (+6%) .378 (+23%) .702 (+15%) 1285.1
1979 KCR AL 154 645 119 212 42 20 23 107 17 51 36 0.329 .265 (+24%) .329 (+14%) .397 (+42%) .727 (+29%) 3549.6
1980 KCR AL 117 449 87 175 33 9 24 118 15 58 22 0.390 .264 (+47%) .326 (+39%) .387 (+71%) .714 (+57%) 4887.8
1981 KCR AL 89 347 42 109 27 7 6 43 14 27 23 0.314 .255 (+23%) .320 (+13%) .368 (+31%) .688 (+23%) 1280.7
1982 KCR AL 144 552 101 166 32 9 21 82 6 71 51 0.301 .261 (+15%) .324 (+17%) .388 (+30%) .712 (+24%) 2667.7
1983 KCR AL 123 464 90 144 38 2 25 93 0 57 39 0.310 .260 (+19%) .324 (+18%) .389 (+45%) .714 (+33%) 2913.5
1984 KCR AL 104 377 42 107 21 3 13 69 0 38 37 0.284 .259 (+9%) .322 (+6%) .384 (+19%) .707 (+13%) 870.5
1985 KCR AL 155 550 108 184 38 5 30 112 9 103 49 0.335 .257 (+30%) .323 (+35%) .390 (+50%) .714 (+43%) 5149.2
1986 KCR AL 124 441 70 128 28 4 16 73 1 80 45 0.290 .257 (+13%) .325 (+23%) .395 (+22%) .720 (+22%) 2183.7
1987 KCR AL 115 427 71 124 18 2 22 78 6 72 47 0.290 .262 (+10%) .331 (+17%) .415 (+20%) .746 (+18%) 1710.3
1988 KCR AL 157 589 90 180 42 3 24 103 14 82 51 0.306 .254 (+20%) .317 (+22%) .377 (+35%) .695 (+29%) 3549.5
1989 KCR AL 124 457 67 129 26 3 12 80 14 59 47 0.282 .254 (+11%) .319 (+13%) .375 (+15%) .694 (+14%) 1279.8
1990 KCR AL 142 544 82 179 45 7 14 87 9 56 63 0.329 .257 (+28%) .324 (+19%) .385 (+34%) .710 (+27%) 2820.3
1991 KCR AL 131 505 77 129 40 2 10 61 2 58 75 0.255 .255 (avg) .323 (+1%) .384 (+5%) .708 (+3%) 231.8
1992 KCR AL 152 592 55 169 35 5 7 61 8 35 69 0.285 .255 (+12%) .322 (+2%) .377 (+5%) .699 (+4%) 355.5
1993 KCR AL 145 560 69 149 31 3 19 75 7 39 67 0.266 .265 (avg) .332 (-6%) .403 (+8%) .735 (+1%) -51.7

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
43 166 30 56 8 5 10 23 17 20 0.337

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1985 ALCS KCA 7 23 6 8 2 0 3 5 7 5 0.348
1985 WS KCA 7 27 5 10 1 0 0 1 4 7 0.370
1984 ALCS KCA 3 13 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.231
1981 AWDIV KCA 3 12 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.167
1980 ALCS KCA 3 11 3 3 1 0 2 4 1 0 0.273
1980 WS KCA 6 24 3 9 2 1 1 3 2 4 0.375
1978 ALCS KCA 4 18 7 7 1 1 3 3 0 1 0.389
1977 ALCS KCA 5 20 2 6 0 2 0 2 1 0 0.300
1976 ALCS KCA 5 18 4 8 1 1 1 5 2 1 0.444

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 461 455 4064 291 30 365
3B 1692 1673 1372 3674 261 307
OF 36 32 60 3 0 1
SS 11 2 7 16 1 1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1973 KCA 3B 13 9 9 28 1 2
1974 KCA 3B 132 128 102 279 21 16
1974 KCA SS 1 0 0 0 0 0
1975 KCA 3B 159 159 131 355 26 27
1975 KCA SS 1 0 1 1 0 0
1976 KCA 3B 157 157 140 335 26 22
1976 KCA SS 4 2 6 15 0 1
1977 KCA 3B 135 134 115 325 20 33
1977 KCA SS 1 0 0 0 1 0
1978 KCA 3B 128 128 104 289 16 25
1978 KCA SS 1 0 0 0 0 0
1979 KCA 1B 8 5 47 5 1 6
1979 KCA 3B 149 148 129 373 30 28
1980 KCA 1B 1 1 4 0 0 1
1980 KCA 3B 112 112 103 256 17 28
1981 KCA 3B 88 87 74 170 14 7
1982 KCA 3B 134 132 107 294 17 22
1982 KCA OF 12 11 23 1 0 1
1983 KCA 1B 14 12 104 3 1 9
1983 KCA 3B 102 97 85 188 24 25
1983 KCA OF 13 12 21 1 0 0
1984 KCA 3B 101 101 59 201 14 18
1985 KCA 3B 152 152 107 339 15 33
1986 KCA 3B 115 115 97 218 16 17
1986 KCA SS 2 0 0 0 0 0
1987 KCA 1B 83 83 798 50 6 69
1987 KCA 3B 11 11 7 19 3 3
1988 KCA 1B 124 124 1126 70 10 105
1988 KCA SS 1 0 0 0 0 0
1989 KCA 1B 104 105 896 80 2 71
1989 KCA OF 2 0 2 0 0 0
1990 KCA 1B 102 100 865 66 7 89
1990 KCA 3B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1990 KCA OF 9 9 14 1 0 0
1991 KCA 1B 10 10 87 5 1 6
1992 KCA 1B 15 15 137 12 2 9
1992 KCA 3B 3 3 2 5 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Games
First Base 462
Third Base 1692
Shortstop 11
Left Field 22
Right Field 14
Designated Hitter 505

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
2015 Bob Feller Act of Valor Award - HOF Player
1993 Player of the Week Week of 1993-09-25
1992 Player of the Week Week of 1992-10-03
1990 Player of the Month July
1990 Player of the Week Week of 1990-07-21
1988 Player of the Week Week of 1988-07-22
1988 Silver Slugger 1B
1988 TSN All-Star 1B
1986 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
1986 Player of the Week Week of 1986-08-15
1985 ALCS MVP
1985 Gold Glove 3B
1985 Player of the Month July
1985 Player of the Month May
1985 Player of the Week Week of 1985-07-05
1985 Silver Slugger 3B
1983 Player of the Month April
1983 Player of the Week Week of 1983-04-23
1982 Player of the Month June
1980 Hutch Award
1980 Most Valuable Player
1980 Player of the Month July
1980 Player of the Week Week of 1980-06-06
1980 Player of the Week Week of 1980-07-18
1980 Player of the Week Week of 1980-08-15
1980 Silver Slugger 3B
1980 TSN All-Star 3B
1980 TSN Major League Player of the Year
1980 TSN Player of the Year
1979 Player of the Week Week of 1979-05-26
1979 TSN All-Star 3B
1976 Player of the Week Week of 1976-05-14
1976 TSN All-Star 3B

Featured In Rankings

#3
Top 20 Third Basemen in History of MLB Baseball
Ranked 3 of 20
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Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1993 KCA AL $2,750,000
1992 KCA AL $3,100,000
1991 KCA AL $3,105,000
1990 KCA AL $2,255,000
1989 KCA AL $2,005,000
1988 KCA AL $2,305,000
1987 KCA AL $2,055,000
1986 KCA AL $1,471,429
1985 KCA AL $1,000,000
Total Career Earnings $20,046,429

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1990 Most Valuable Player AL 7th 60.0 392 0
1988 Most Valuable Player AL 12th 29.0 392 0
1985 Most Valuable Player AL 2nd 274.0 392 5
1982 Most Valuable Player AL 20th 9.0 392 0
1981 Most Valuable Player AL 27th 1.0 392 0
1980 Most Valuable Player AL 1st 335.0 392 17
1979 Most Valuable Player AL 3rd 226.0 392 2
1978 Most Valuable Player AL 19th 14.0 392 0
1977 Most Valuable Player AL 13th 51.0 392 0
1976 Most Valuable Player AL 2nd 217.0 336 2
1975 Most Valuable Player AL 11th 37.0 336 0
1974 Rookie of the Year AL 3rd 2.0 24 2