Merv Rettenmund

Born: 6/6/1943 in Flint, MI, USA

Died: 12/7/2024 in San Diego, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1968-04-14 | Final Game: 1980-06-22

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 190 lbs

Full name: Mervin Weldon Rettenmund

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Biography

Merv Rettenmund was an accomplished position player in Major League Baseball, whose career spanned from 1968 to 1980. Born in 1943, Rettenmund made his mark in the league during a time characterized by the transition from the deadball era to a more offensive-minded style of play. Over the course of his career, he played in 1,023 games, accumulating 693 hits and achieving a batting average of .271. Known for his versatility, Rettenmund contributed to his teams with 66 home runs and 329 RBIs, while also demonstrating speed on the bases with 68 stolen bases. Rettenmund played for several teams during his tenure, including the Baltimore Orioles and the San Diego Padres, and was noted for his ability to perform in clutch situations. His skill set was representative of the evolving game in the late 1960s and 1970s, where power and speed became increasingly valuable. Rettenmund's contributions to baseball extended beyond mere statistics; he was a key player in the development of strategies that emphasized both contact hitting and base running, leaving a lasting impact on the teams he represented and the players who followed in his footsteps.

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1023	2555	393	693	114	16	66	329	68	445	382	0.271	0.381	0.406	0.786	7961.2

Career AVG .271 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — +6.3% above league average.

Career OBP .381 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — +18.2% above league average.

Career SLG .406 vs. league average .375 across their career seasons — +8.2% above league average.

Career OPS 0.786 vs. league average 0.697 across their career seasons — +12.8% 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
1968	BAL	AL	31	64	10	19	5	0	2	7	1	18	20	0.297	.236 (+25%)	.298 (+51%)	.340 (+38%)	.638 (+44%)	544.0
1969	BAL	AL	95	190	27	47	10	3	4	25	6	28	28	0.247	.248 (avg)	.320 (+6%)	.369 (+7%)	.689 (+6%)	205.1
1970	BAL	AL	106	338	60	109	17	2	18	58	13	38	59	0.322	.253 (+27%)	.325 (+21%)	.385 (+41%)	.711 (+32%)	2041.4
1971	BAL	AL	141	491	81	156	23	4	11	75	15	87	60	0.318	.249 (+27%)	.316 (+33%)	.365 (+23%)	.682 (+28%)	3037.9
1972	BAL	AL	102	301	40	70	10	2	6	21	6	41	37	0.233	.243 (-5%)	.310 (+5%)	.353 (-4%)	.664 (avg)	87.9
1973	BAL	AL	95	321	59	84	17	2	9	44	11	57	38	0.262	.256 (+2%)	.325 (+16%)	.378 (+9%)	.703 (+12%)	902.0
1974	CIN	NL	80	208	30	45	6	0	6	28	5	37	39	0.216	.256 (-16%)	.324 (+4%)	.369 (-10%)	.693 (-4%)	-16.3
1975	CIN	NL	93	188	24	45	6	1	2	19	5	35	22	0.239	.257 (-7%)	.327 (+9%)	.374 (-16%)	.701 (-5%)	-36.5
1976	SDP	NL	86	140	16	32	7	0	2	11	4	29	23	0.229	.255 (-11%)	.320 (+13%)	.360 (-11%)	.681 (avg)	131.9
1977	SDP	NL	107	126	23	36	6	1	4	17	1	33	28	0.286	.264 (+8%)	.329 (+31%)	.401 (+11%)	.730 (+20%)	663.2
1978	LAA	AL	50	108	16	29	5	1	1	14	0	30	13	0.269	.257 (+4%)	.323 (+34%)	.378 (-5%)	.702 (+13%)	427.3
1979	LAA	AL	35	76	7	20	2	0	1	10	1	11	14	0.263	.265 (-1%)	.329 (+9%)	.397 (-17%)	.727 (-5%)	-26.7
1980	LAA	AL	2	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0.250	—	—	—	—	0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
25	60	8	11	1	0	2	8	9	12	0.183

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1979	ALCS	CAL	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0.000
1975	NLCS	CIN	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.000
1975	WS	CIN	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.000
1973	ALCS	BAL	3	11	1	1	0	0	0	3	2	0.091
1971	ALCS	BAL	3	8	0	2	1	0	1	0	3	0.250
1971	WS	BAL	7	27	3	5	0	1	4	0	4	0.185
1970	ALCS	BAL	1	3	1	1	0	0	1	2	1	0.333
1970	WS	BAL	2	5	2	2	0	1	2	1	0	0.400
1969	ALCS	BAL	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1969	WS	BAL	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
3B	2	0	0	1	0	0
OF	747	587	1346	37	21	10

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1968	BAL	OF	23	16	29	1	0	0
1969	BAL	OF	78	42	107	3	1	0
1970	BAL	OF	93	78	201	6	5	1
1971	BAL	OF	134	129	292	7	7	4
1972	BAL	OF	98	80	174	6	2	2
1973	BAL	OF	90	78	196	4	3	1
1974	CIN	OF	69	58	103	3	0	0
1975	CIN	3B	1	0	0	1	0	0
1975	CIN	OF	61	44	99	1	0	1
1976	SDN	OF	43	25	79	6	2	1
1977	SDN	3B	1	0	0	0	0	0
1977	SDN	OF	27	14	30	0	0	0
1978	CAL	OF	22	17	30	0	1	0
1979	CAL	OF	9	6	6	0	0	0