Gene Tenace was born on Thursday, October 10, 1946, in Russellton, Pennsylvania. Tenace was 22 years old when he broke into the big leagues on May 29, 1969, with the Oakland Athletics. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Gene Tenace baseball stats page.
"A versatile, power-hitting ball players, Gene Tenace has been consistently among the league leaders in getting bases on balls, leading the American League in this department in 1974. Tenace, however, will always be remembered as the man who virtually single-handedly tore apart the 1972 World Series. Seldom has a player so completely dominated a Series. His four home runs (hit in the first give games) tied a Series record. Tenace led all hitters in home runs, runs batted in, runs scored, total bases, and posted an incredibly .913 slugging average. The most impressive single statistic from that Series, however, is that Gene Tenace drove home nine runs while no other Oakland batter drove in more than one." - Honig, Donald. The October Heroes: Great World Series Games Remembered by the Men Who Played Them. Bison Books. 28 August 1996. Page 57.
Gene TenaceGene Tenace Autograph on a 1982 Donruss Baseball Card (#152) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gene TenaceGene Tenace Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
- | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
Gene TenaceGene Tenace Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1969 | 23 | Athletics | 16 | 38 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .158 | .200 | .237 |
1970 | 24 | Athletics | 38 | 105 | 19 | 32 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 20 | 23 | 2 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .305 | .430 | .562 |
1971 | 25 | Athletics | 65 | 179 | 26 | 49 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 25 | 29 | 0 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .274 | .381 | .430 |
1972 | 26 | Athletics | 82 | 227 | 22 | 51 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 32 | 24 | 2 | 42 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | .225 | .307 | .339 |
1973 | 27 | Athletics | 160 | 510 | 83 | 132 | 18 | 2 | 24 | 2 | 84 | 101 | 8 | 94 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 13 | .259 | .387 | .443 |
1974 | 28 | Athletics | 158 | 484 | 71 | 102 | 17 | 1 | 26 | 3 | 73 | 110 | 6 | 105 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 10 | .211 | .367 | .411 |
1975 | 29 | Athletics | 158 | 498 | 83 | 127 | 17 | 0 | 29 | 1 | 87 | 106 | 2 | 127 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 8 | .255 | .395 | .464 |
1976 | 30 | Athletics | 128 | 417 | 64 | 104 | 19 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 66 | 81 | 2 | 91 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 7 | .249 | .373 | .458 |
1977 | 31 | Padres | 147 | 437 | 66 | 102 | 24 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 61 | 125 | 10 | 119 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 5 | .233 | .415 | .410 |
1978 | 32 | Padres | 142 | 401 | 60 | 90 | 18 | 4 | 16 | 0 | 61 | 101 | 8 | 98 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 5 | .224 | .392 | .409 |
1979 | 33 | Padres | 151 | 463 | 61 | 122 | 16 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 67 | 105 | 4 | 106 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 7 | .263 | .403 | .445 |
1980 | 34 | Padres | 133 | 316 | 46 | 70 | 11 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 50 | 92 | 11 | 63 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 11 | .222 | .399 | .424 |
1981 | 35 | Cardinals | 58 | 129 | 26 | 30 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 38 | 2 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | .233 | .416 | .403 |
1982 | 36 | Cardinals | 66 | 124 | 18 | 32 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 18 | 36 | 1 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | .258 | .436 | .500 |
1983 | 37 | Pirates | 53 | 62 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .177 | .346 | .258 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
15 Years | 1,555 | 4,390 | 653 | 1,060 | 179 | 20 | 201 | 7 | 674 | 984 | 58 | 998 | 21 | 39 | 91 | 77 | .241 | .388 | .429 |
Gene TenaceGene Tenace Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1969 Athletics | C | 13 | 8 | 256 | 67 | 5.2 | 67 | 61 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 1.000 | 7.07 |
1970 Athletics | C | 30 | 29 | 764 | 200 | 6.7 | 198 | 180 | 18 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 23 | 10 | .990 | 7.00 |
1971 Athletics | C | 52 | 45 | 1,280 | 322 | 6.2 | 320 | 300 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 16 | 9 | .994 | 6.75 |
1971 Athletics | LF | 1 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1972 Athletics | 1B | 7 | 6 | 165 | 52 | 7.4 | 52 | 49 | 3 | 0 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 8.51 |
1972 Athletics | 2B | 2 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 1.0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 3.00 |
1972 Athletics | 3B | 2 | 1 | 30 | 4 | 2.0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .750 | 2.70 |
1972 Athletics | C | 49 | 46 | 1,216 | 290 | 5.9 | 284 | 266 | 18 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 9 | .979 | 6.31 |
1972 Athletics | RF | 9 | 6 | 174 | 11 | 1.2 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.71 |
1973 Athletics | 1B | 134 | 132 | 3,231 | 1,169 | 8.7 | 1,156 | 1,095 | 61 | 13 | 104 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .989 | 9.66 |
1973 Athletics | 2B | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 4.50 |
1973 Athletics | C | 33 | 23 | 641 | 133 | 4.0 | 132 | 123 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 7 | .992 | 5.56 |
1974 Athletics | 1B | 106 | 97 | 2,433 | 861 | 8.1 | 857 | 816 | 41 | 4 | 80 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .995 | 9.51 |
1974 Athletics | 2B | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0.3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 9.00 |
1974 Athletics | C | 79 | 58 | 1,535 | 341 | 4.3 | 335 | 293 | 42 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 25 | .982 | 5.89 |
1975 Athletics | 1B | 68 | 39 | 1,110 | 423 | 6.2 | 422 | 401 | 21 | 1 | 27 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .998 | 10.26 |
1975 Athletics | C | 125 | 114 | 2,797 | 614 | 4.9 | 604 | 541 | 63 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 66 | 33 | .984 | 5.83 |
1976 Athletics | 1B | 70 | 62 | 1,689 | 611 | 8.7 | 608 | 577 | 31 | 3 | 47 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .995 | 9.72 |
1976 Athletics | C | 65 | 61 | 1,568 | 293 | 4.5 | 288 | 263 | 25 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 42 | 17 | .983 | 4.96 |
1977 Padres | 1B | 36 | 28 | 810 | 308 | 8.6 | 307 | 280 | 27 | 1 | 20 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .997 | 10.23 |
1977 Padres | 3B | 14 | 13 | 321 | 44 | 3.1 | 41 | 17 | 24 | 3 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .932 | 3.45 |
1977 Padres | C | 99 | 89 | 2,374 | 596 | 6.0 | 584 | 523 | 61 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 73 | 50 | .980 | 6.64 |
1978 Padres | 1B | 80 | 67 | 1,767 | 710 | 8.9 | 705 | 668 | 37 | 5 | 61 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .993 | 10.77 |
1978 Padres | 3B | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1978 Padres | C | 71 | 56 | 1,470 | 321 | 4.5 | 318 | 276 | 42 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 42 | 23 | .991 | 5.84 |
1979 Padres | 1B | 72 | 58 | 1,536 | 621 | 8.6 | 614 | 582 | 32 | 7 | 55 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .989 | 10.79 |
1979 Padres | C | 94 | 77 | 2,037 | 465 | 4.9 | 464 | 413 | 51 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 42 | 38 | .998 | 6.15 |
1980 Padres | 1B | 19 | 11 | 333 | 136 | 7.2 | 135 | 125 | 10 | 1 | 9 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .993 | 10.95 |
1980 Padres | C | 104 | 82 | 2,257 | 471 | 4.5 | 461 | 415 | 46 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 80 | 39 | .979 | 5.51 |
1981 Cardinals | 1B | 7 | 3 | 93 | 43 | 6.1 | 43 | 39 | 4 | 0 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 12.48 |
1981 Cardinals | C | 38 | 36 | 949 | 147 | 3.9 | 144 | 126 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 32 | 12 | .980 | 4.10 |
1982 Cardinals | 1B | 7 | 4 | 105 | 42 | 6.0 | 42 | 39 | 3 | 0 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 10.80 |
1982 Cardinals | C | 37 | 33 | 839 | 171 | 4.6 | 170 | 149 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 30 | 15 | .994 | 5.47 |
1983 Pirates | 1B | 19 | 10 | 243 | 89 | 4.7 | 88 | 83 | 5 | 1 | 6 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .989 | 9.78 |
1983 Pirates | C | 3 | 2 | 51 | 18 | 6.0 | 17 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .944 | 9.00 |
1983 Pirates | RF | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
C Totals | 892 | 759 | 20,034 | 4,449 | 5.0 | 4,386 | 3,945 | 441 | 63 | 65 | 73 | 515 | 289 | .986 | 5.91 | |
1B Totals | 625 | 517 | 13,515 | 5,065 | 8.1 | 5,029 | 4,754 | 275 | 36 | 420 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .993 | 10.05 | |
3B Totals | 17 | 14 | 357 | 48 | 2.8 | 44 | 18 | 26 | 4 | 4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .917 | 3.33 | |
RF Totals | 10 | 6 | 177 | 11 | 1.1 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.68 | |
2B Totals | 6 | 0 | 27 | 4 | 0.7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 4.00 | |
LF Totals | 1 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 | |
15 Years | 1,551 | 1,297 | 34,134 | 9,577 | 6.2 | 9,474 | 8,731 | 743 | 103 | 489 | 73 | 515 | 289 | .989 | 7.49 |
Gene TenaceGene Tenace Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1969 Athletics | 0 | 0 | .000 | 6 | 0 | n/a | 38.0 | 2.5 | 19.0 | - | - | - |
1970 Athletics | 0 | 2 | .000 | 8 | 0 | n/a | 15.0 | 3.5 | 5.3 | - | - | - |
1971 Athletics | 2 | 1 | .667 | 15 | 0 | n/a | 25.6 | 5.3 | 7.2 | - | - | - |
1972 Athletics | 0 | 0 | .000 | 21 | 0 | n/a | 45.4 | 5.4 | 7.1 | - | - | - |
1973 Athletics | 2 | 2 | .500 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 21.3 | 5.4 | 6.1 | - | - | - |
1974 Athletics | 2 | 9 | .182 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.6 | 4.6 | 6.6 | - | - | - |
1975 Athletics | 7 | 4 | .636 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 17.2 | 3.9 | 5.7 | - | - | - |
1976 Athletics | 5 | 4 | .556 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 19.0 | 4.6 | 6.3 | - | - | - |
1977 Padres | 5 | 3 | .625 | 12 | 1 | n/a | 29.1 | 3.7 | 7.2 | - | - | - |
1978 Padres | 6 | 5 | .545 | 12 | 0 | n/a | 25.1 | 4.1 | 6.6 | - | - | - |
1979 Padres | 2 | 6 | .250 | 12 | 0 | n/a | 23.2 | 4.4 | 6.9 | - | - | - |
1980 Padres | 4 | 4 | .500 | 22 | 4 | n/a | 18.6 | 5.0 | 6.3 | - | - | - |
1981 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 18 | 0 | n/a | 25.8 | 5.0 | 5.9 | - | - | - |
1982 Cardinals | 1 | 1 | .500 | 26 | 0 | n/a | 17.7 | 4.0 | 6.9 | - | - | - |
1983 Pirates | 0 | 1 | .000 | 35 | 3 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.6 | 10.3 | - | - | - |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
15 Years | 36 | 42 | .462 | 194 | 8 | 6 | 21.8 | 4.4 | 6.5 | - | - | - |
Gene TenaceGene Tenace Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1969 Oakland Athletics | 24 | $10,000.00 | - | - |
1970 Oakland Athletics | 54, 38 | $12,500.00 | - | - |
1971 Oakland Athletics | 38 | $14,750.00 | - | - |
1972 Oakland Athletics | 38 | $20,000.00 | - | Stats |
1973 Oakland Athletics | 18 | $33,000.00 | - | Stats |
1974 Oakland Athletics | 18 | $45,000.00 | - | Stats |
1975 Oakland Athletics | 18 | $51,000.00 | Stats | - |
1976 Oakland Athletics | 18 | $40,800.00 | - | - |
1977 San Diego Padres | 18 | $310,000.00 | - | - |
1978 San Diego Padres | 18 | $310,000.00 | - | - |
1979 San Diego Padres | 18 | $310,000.00 | - | - |
1980 San Diego Padres | 18 | $310,000.00 | - | - |
1981 St. Louis Cardinals | 18 | $310,000.00 | - | - |
1982 St. Louis Cardinals | 18 | $265,000.00 | - | Stats |
1983 Pittsburgh Pirates | 18 | " " | - | - |
Gene Tenace Stats by Baseball Almanac |
Fury Gene Tenace was a Major League Baseball player with the Oakland Athletics (1969-1976), San Diego Padres (1977-1980), St. Louis Cardinals (1981-1982), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1983). When Gene, as he was commonly known, made his big league debut on May 29, 1969, he became the first former Valley High School (Lucasville, OH) student to play in the majors.
Gene Tenace Rookie Card | 1970 Topps Baseball Card (#21 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Research Library
Did you know that Gene Tenace hit a home run in Game 1 of the 1972 World Series, during his first at-bat? Eight players in baseball history had duplicated that feat during a Fall Classic, before Tenace. However, during his second at-bat, Tenace homered again, becoming the first player in World Series history to hit home runs in his first two at-bats!
Gene Tenace was a backup catcher up to that point in his career, but ended up going 8-for-23 in the 1972 World Series, with four home runs, 9 RBI, and a World Series Most Valuable Player Award. The following season, Tenace was still a reserve catcher (33 games), but also the starting first baseman.
On September 21, 1970, Vida Blue no-hit the Minnesota Twins, allowing just one walk to Harmon Killebrew. The catcher behind the plate was Gene Tenace.
The Kansas City Athletics played their home games in Municipal Stadium. The Kansas City Royals used the park as well, from 1969 through 1972. On September 30, 1972, Gene Tenace hit the twentieth home run of his career, during the top of the fourth inning, off Monty Montgomery – the last home run hit in Municipal Stadium history.
Gene Tenace won six World Series rings during his career, three playing with the Oakland Athletics (1972, 1973, 1974), one with the St. Louis Cardinals (1982), and two more while working as a coach with the Toronto Blue Jays (1992, 1993). Bill James, in The New Bill James Historical Abstract (Free Press Publishing. 13 June 2003. Page 299.), ranked Gene Tenace as the twenty-third greatest catcher in the entire history of Major League Baseball!