Kevin Elster

Born: 8/3/1964 in San Pedro, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1986-09-02 | Final Game: 2000-10-01

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 180 lbs

Full name: Kevin Daniel Elster

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Biography

Kevin Elster, born in 1964, was a professional baseball player who made significant contributions to Major League Baseball from 1986 until his retirement in 2000. Primarily known for his role as a position player, Elster played in 940 games throughout his career. He garnered a reputation as a reliable shortstop, known for his defensive skills, although his offensive output was modest, finishing with a batting average of .228. Over his career, he accumulated 648 hits, 88 home runs, and 376 RBIs, showcasing moments of power alongside his defensive prowess. Elster's career unfolded during a transformative period in baseball, characterized by the rise of power hitting and increasing offensive production across the league. He was part of several teams, including the New York Mets and Texas Rangers, and he was particularly noted for his contributions during the late 1980s and into the 1990s. With a total of 14 stolen bases, Elster displayed versatility on the base paths, contributing to his teams in various ways. Although he may not be remembered as a superstar, Kevin Elster's role as a dependable player and solid defender has earned him a place in the annals of baseball history.

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
940	2844	332	648	136	12	88	376	14	295	562	0.228	0.300	0.377	0.677	-3622.8

Career AVG .228 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — 13.1% below league average.

Career OBP .300 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — 9.4% below league average.

Career SLG .377 vs. league average .405 across their career seasons — 6.9% below league average.

Career OPS 0.677 vs. league average 0.736 across their career seasons — 8.0% below 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
1986	NYN	NL	19	30	3	5	1	0	0	0	0	3	8	0.167	—	—	—	—	0.0
1987	NYN	NL	5	10	1	4	2	0	0	1	0	0	1	0.400	—	—	—	—	0.0
1988	NYN	NL	149	406	41	87	11	1	9	37	2	35	47	0.214	.254 (-16%)	.317 (-11%)	.377 (-17%)	.695 (-15%)	-1108.0
1989	NYN	NL	151	458	52	106	25	2	10	55	4	34	77	0.231	.254 (-9%)	.319 (-11%)	.375 (-4%)	.694 (-7%)	-824.6
1990	NYN	NL	92	314	36	65	20	1	9	45	2	30	54	0.207	.257 (-20%)	.324 (-16%)	.385 (-6%)	.710 (-10%)	-710.4
1991	NYN	NL	115	348	33	84	16	2	6	36	2	40	53	0.241	.255 (-6%)	.323 (-2%)	.384 (-9%)	.708 (-6%)	-343.0
1992	NYN	NL	6	18	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0.222	—	—	—	—	0.0
1994	NYY	AL	7	20	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1995	NYY	AL	10	17	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	5	0.118	—	—	—	—	0.0
1995	PHI	NL	26	53	10	11	4	1	1	9	0	7	14	0.208	.266 (-22%)	.337 (-11%)	.417 (-10%)	.755 (-10%)	0.0
1996	TEX	AL	157	515	79	130	32	2	24	99	4	52	138	0.252	.269 (-6%)	.340 (-7%)	.426 (+8%)	.767 (+2%)	-38.7
1997	PIT	NL	39	138	14	31	6	2	7	25	0	21	39	0.225	.266 (-16%)	.336 (-3%)	.419 (+7%)	.756 (+3%)	51.0
1998	TEX	AL	84	297	33	69	10	1	8	37	0	33	66	0.232	.266 (-13%)	.335 (-7%)	.420 (-16%)	.755 (-12%)	-650.4
2000	LAD	NL	80	220	29	50	8	0	14	32	0	38	52	0.227	.270 (-16%)	.344 (-1%)	.437 (+4%)	.782 (+2%)	118.3

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
14	24	3	6	3	0	0	1	6	3	0.250

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1996	ALDS2	TEX	4	12	2	4	2	0	3	2	0.333
1988	NLCS	NYN	5	8	1	2	1	1	3	0	0.250
1986	NLCS	NYN	4	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.000
1986	WS	NYN	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	5	1	17	0	1	1
2B	1	0	0	0	0	0
3B	10	8	8	18	2	0
SS	895	818	1306	2351	98	433

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1986	NYN	SS	19	9	16	35	2	6
1987	NYN	SS	3	2	4	6	1	0
1988	NYN	SS	148	123	196	345	13	61
1989	NYN	SS	150	134	235	374	15	63
1990	NYN	SS	92	91	159	251	17	42
1991	NYN	SS	107	98	149	299	14	39
1992	NYN	SS	5	5	8	10	0	3
1994	NYA	SS	7	7	5	27	0	7
1995	NYA	2B	1	0	0	0	0	0
1995	NYA	SS	10	5	10	14	0	2
1995	PHI	1B	4	1	17	0	0	1
1995	PHI	3B	2	1	2	2	0	0
1995	PHI	SS	19	14	18	36	1	11
1996	TEX	SS	157	155	285	441	14	103
1997	PIT	SS	39	39	54	123	1	22
1998	TEX	SS	84	84	107	257	9	49
2000	LAN	1B	1	0	0	0	1	0
2000	LAN	3B	8	7	6	16	2	0
2000	LAN	SS	55	52	60	133	11	25

Career Games by Position

Position	Games
First Base	5
Second Base	1
Third Base	10
Shortstop	895

Awards & Honors

Year	Award	Notes
1996	TSN Comeback Player of the Year

Salary History

Year	Team	League	Salary
2000	LAN	NL	$300,000
1998	TEX	AL	$1,500,000
1997	PIT	NL	$1,650,000
1996	TEX	AL	$270,000
1995	NYA	AL	$300,000
1995	PHI	NL	$109,000
1994	NYA	AL	$200,000
1992	NYN	NL	$760,000
1991	NYN	NL	$625,000
1990	NYN	NL	$260,000
1989	NYN	NL	$140,000
1988	NYN	NL	$69,000
1986	NYN	NL	$60,000
Total Career Earnings			$6,243,000