Cesar Tovar Stats

Cesar Tovar was born on Wednesday, July 3, 1940, in Caracas, Distrito Capital, Venezuela. Tovar was 24 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 12, 1965, with the Minnesota Twins. 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 Cesar Tovar baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Get me Cesar Tovar. I didn't want him back just because I had him before. That'd be foolish sentiment. I wanted him because of his leadership and his hustle and his ability. He's always played for me – given 100 percent – and I know he will. The little guy can beat you so many ways – his bat, his feet, his brains, his hustle." - Texas Rangers Manager Billy Martin in The Sporting News (Merle Heryford, 12/22/1973, "Rangers Get Tovar … Martin Elated", Page 47)

Cesar Tovar

Cesar 'Pepito' Tovar Autograph on a 1974 Topps Baseball Card (#538 | <a href='../baseball_cards/baseball_cards_oneset.php?s=1974top01' title='1974 Topps Baseball Card Checklist'>Checklist</a>)

Cesar 'Pepito' Tovar Autograph on a 1974 Topps Baseball Card (#538 | Checklist)

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Birth Name:   César Leonardo Tovar
Nickname:   Mr. Versatility - Pepito
Born On:   07-03-1940  (Cancer)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Caracas, Distrito Capital, Venezuela
Year of Death Data Died On:   07-14-1994 (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Caracas, Distrito Capital, Venezuela
Cemetery:   Cementerio General del Sur, Caracas, Distrito Federal, Venezuela
High School:   None Attended
College:   None Attended
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Right   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   5-09   Player Weight Chart Weight:   155
First Game:   04-12-1965 (Age 24)
Last Game:   09-29-1976
Draft:   Undrafted Free Agent

Cesar Tovar

Cesar Tovar Pitching Stats

1968 28 Twins 1 1 0 0 0 .000 0.00 0 0 0 1.0 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0
1 Year 1 1 0 0 0 .000 0.00 0 0 0 1.0 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0

Cesar Tovar

Cesar Tovar Hitting Stats

1965 25 Twins 18 25 3 5 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 .200 .259 .240
1966 26 Twins 134 465 57 121 19 5 2 0 41 44 1 50 7 7 4 7 .260 .325 .335
1967 27 Twins 164 649 98 173 32 7 6 0 47 46 0 51 13 5 13 8 .267 .325 .365
1968 28 Twins 157 613 89 167 31 6 6 0 47 34 0 41 5 4 17 2 .272 .326 .372
1969 29 Twins 158 535 99 154 25 5 11 1 52 37 3 37 7 3 9 7 .288 .342 .415
1970 30 Twins 161 650 120 195 36 13 10 0 54 52 5 47 10 6 8 9 .300 .356 .442
1971 31 Twins 157 657 94 204 29 3 1 0 45 45 5 39 11 2 3 5 .311 .356 .368
1972 32 Twins 141 548 86 145 20 6 2 0 31 39 6 39 5 1 14 6 .265 .329 .334
1973 33 Phillies 97 328 49 88 18 4 1 0 21 29 2 35 0 2 5 3 .268 .335 .357
1974 34 Rangers 138 562 78 164 24 6 4 0 58 47 0 33 8 3 9 3 .292 .354 .377
1975 35 Rangers 102 427 53 110 16 0 3 0 28 27 0 25 5 1 3 8 .258 .306 .316
1975 35 Athletics 19 26 5 6 1 0 0 0 3 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 .231 .310 .269
1976 36 Athletics 29 45 1 8 0 0 0 0 4 4 0 4 1 0 2 0 .178 .275 .178
1976 36 Yankees 13 39 2 6 1 0 0 0 2 4 1 3 1 0 1 0 .154 .250 .179
12 Years 1,488 5,569 834 1,546 253 55 46 1 435 413 23 410 73 34 88 58 .278 .335 .368

Cesar Tovar

Cesar Tovar Fielding Stats

1965 Twins 2B 4 1 42 10 2.5 8 2 6 2 2 n/a n/a n/a .800 5.14
1965 Twins 3B 2 1 51 9 4.5 8 0 8 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .889 4.24
1965 Twins CF 2 2 36 3 1.5 3 3 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.25
1965 Twins SS 1 0 6 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
1966 Twins 2B 76 73 1,932 367 4.8 359 154 205 8 33 n/a n/a n/a .978 5.02
1966 Twins CF 20 17 459 47 2.4 47 47 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.76
1966 Twins LF 4 4 90 9 2.3 9 7 2 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.70
1966 Twins SS 31 27 786 120 3.9 114 47 67 6 10 n/a n/a n/a .950 3.92
1967 Twins 2B 36 31 810 139 3.9 135 69 66 4 11 n/a n/a n/a .971 4.50
1967 Twins 3B 70 56 1,560 170 2.4 161 60 101 9 8 n/a n/a n/a .947 2.79
1967 Twins CF 64 60 1,503 144 2.3 143 140 3 1 1 n/a n/a n/a .993 2.57
1967 Twins LF 10 6 177 21 2.1 21 20 1 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 3.20
1967 Twins RF 6 4 114 9 1.5 9 8 1 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.13
1967 Twins SS 9 5 132 24 2.7 21 9 12 3 1 n/a n/a n/a .875 4.30
1968 Twins 1B 1 0 3 1 1.0 1 0 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 9.00
1968 Twins 2B 18 12 291 55 3.1 53 29 24 2 6 n/a n/a n/a .964 4.92
1968 Twins 3B 75 68 1,635 209 2.8 195 48 147 14 8 n/a n/a n/a .933 3.22
1968 Twins C 1 0 3 1 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 9.00
1968 Twins CF 36 29 807 86 2.4 85 81 4 1 1 n/a n/a n/a .988 2.84
1968 Twins LF 37 15 480 39 1.1 35 35 0 4 0 n/a n/a n/a .897 1.97
1968 Twins P 1 1 3 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
1968 Twins RF 11 8 219 21 1.9 21 20 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.59
1968 Twins SS 35 20 555 95 2.7 90 31 59 5 9 n/a n/a n/a .947 4.38
1969 Twins 2B 41 33 948 184 4.5 177 78 99 7 25 n/a n/a n/a .962 5.04
1969 Twins 3B 20 14 402 40 2.0 38 12 26 2 2 n/a n/a n/a .950 2.55
1969 Twins CF 69 65 1,653 187 2.7 183 177 6 4 3 n/a n/a n/a .979 2.99
1969 Twins LF 40 3 357 31 0.8 31 29 2 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.34
1969 Twins RF 8 8 231 19 2.4 19 19 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.22
1970 Twins 2B 8 6 168 29 3.6 27 17 10 2 5 n/a n/a n/a .931 4.34
1970 Twins 3B 4 4 117 8 2.0 5 2 3 3 0 n/a n/a n/a .625 1.15
1970 Twins CF 132 125 3,123 334 2.5 326 316 10 8 1 n/a n/a n/a .976 2.82
1970 Twins LF 45 21 729 44 1.0 43 43 0 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .977 1.59
1970 Twins RF 2 0 12 1 0.5 1 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.25
1971 Twins 2B 2 0 30 5 2.5 5 1 4 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 4.50
1971 Twins 3B 7 5 135 14 2.0 12 3 9 2 1 n/a n/a n/a .857 2.40
1971 Twins CF 42 33 711 84 2.0 83 81 2 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .988 3.15
1971 Twins LF 104 81 2,241 195 1.9 192 186 6 3 1 n/a n/a n/a .985 2.31
1971 Twins RF 47 36 993 87 1.9 86 81 5 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .989 2.34
1972 Twins CF 5 2 63 5 1.0 5 5 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.14
1972 Twins LF 41 38 1,005 67 1.6 67 66 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.80
1972 Twins RF 100 94 2,514 232 2.3 227 218 9 5 2 n/a n/a n/a .978 2.44
1973 Phillies 2B 22 20 393 98 4.5 95 39 56 3 24 n/a n/a n/a .969 6.53
1973 Phillies 3B 46 39 999 97 2.1 90 34 56 7 7 n/a n/a n/a .928 2.43
1973 Phillies CF 3 2 63 9 3.0 9 9 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 3.86
1973 Phillies LF 6 2 99 4 0.7 3 3 0 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .750 0.82
1973 Phillies RF 16 16 321 34 2.1 32 31 1 2 0 n/a n/a n/a .941 2.69
1974 Rangers CF 88 84 2,040 201 2.3 198 190 8 3 2 n/a n/a n/a .985 2.62
1974 Rangers LF 68 41 1,227 122 1.8 118 117 1 4 0 n/a n/a n/a .967 2.60
1974 Rangers RF 12 8 246 26 2.2 26 23 3 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.85
1975 Rangers 2B 1 1 27 3 3.0 3 1 2 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 3.00
1975 Rangers CF 6 6 168 21 3.5 20 20 0 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .952 3.21
1975 Rangers LF 25 23 588 41 1.6 37 36 1 4 0 n/a n/a n/a .902 1.70
1975 Rangers RF 1 1 21 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
1975 Athletics 2B 4 1 33 2 0.5 2 1 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.64
1975 Athletics 3B 3 0 21 2 0.7 2 1 1 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.57
1975 Athletics SS 1 0 3 1 1.0 1 0 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 9.00
1976 Athletics CF 2 0 30 3 1.5 3 3 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.70
1976 Athletics LF 14 5 195 15 1.1 14 14 0 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .933 1.94
1976 Athletics RF 4 3 84 7 1.8 7 7 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.25
1976 Yankees 2B 3 2 48 12 4.0 12 4 8 0 2 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 6.75
CF Totals 469 425 10,656 1,124 2.4 1,105 1,072 33 19 8 n/a n/a n/a .983 2.80
LF Totals 394 239 7,188 588 1.5 570 556 14 18 3 n/a n/a n/a .969 2.14
3B Totals 227 187 4,920 549 2.4 511 160 351 38 27 n/a n/a n/a .931 2.80
2B Totals 215 180 4,722 904 4.2 876 395 481 28 109 n/a n/a n/a .969 5.01
RF Totals 207 178 4,755 436 2.1 428 408 20 8 6 n/a n/a n/a .982 2.43
SS Totals 77 52 1,482 240 3.1 226 87 139 14 20 n/a n/a n/a .942 4.12
1B Totals 1 0 3 1 1.0 1 0 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 9.00
C Totals 1 0 3 1 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 9.00
P Totals 1 1 3 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
12 Years 1,592 1,262 33,732 3,843 2.4 3,718 2,679 1,039 125 173 0 0 0 .967 2.98

Cesar Tovar

Cesar Tovar Miscellaneous Stats

1965 Twins 2 0 1.000 5 5 n/a 0.0 8.3 12.5 - - -
1966 Twins 16 6 .727 2 5 n/a 232.5 9.3 11.3 - - -
1967 Twins 19 11 .633 1 0 n/a 108.2 12.7 13.8 - - -
1968 Twins 35 13 .729 3 0 n/a 102.2 15.0 13.0 1.00 9.00 9.00
1969 Twins 45 12 .789 11 13 n/a 48.6 14.5 10.3 - - -
1970 Twins 30 15 .667 3 1 n/a 65.0 13.8 12.0 - - -
1971 Twins 18 14 .563 2 0 n/a 657.0 16.8 14.6 - - -
1972 Twins 21 10 .677 3 1 n/a 274.0 14.1 17.7 - - -
1973 Phillies 6 4 .600 17 1 n/a 328.0 9.4 15.6 - - -
1974 Rangers 13 9 .591 1 0 3 140.5 17.0 9.7 - - -
1975 Rangers 16 11 .593 4 1 66 142.3 17.1 15.3 - - -
1975 Athletics 4 0 1.000 12 1 7 0.0 8.7 8.7 - - -
1976 Athletics 1 2 .333 9 3 4 0.0 11.3 11.3 - - -
1976 Yankees 0 1 .000 2 0 10 0.0 13.0 19.5 - - -
12 Years 226 108 .677 75 31 90 121.1 13.6 12.8 1.00 9.00 9.00

Cesar Tovar

Cesar Tovar Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1965 Minnesota Twins 12 $6,000.00 - -
1966 Minnesota Twins 12 $7,500.00 - -
1967 Minnesota Twins 12 $10,000.00 - -
1968 Minnesota Twins 12 $17,000.00 - -
1969 Minnesota Twins 12 $30,000.00 - -
1970 Minnesota Twins 12 $40,000.00 - -
1971 Minnesota Twins 12 $50,000.00 - -
1972 Minnesota Twins 12 $55,000.00 - -
1973 Philadelphia Phillies 12 $55,000.00 - -
1974 Texas Rangers 12 $59,000.00 - -
1975 Texas Rangers 12 $65,000.00 - -
1975 Oakland Athletics 3 "     "     - -
1976 Oakland Athletics 2, 3 $65,000.00 - -
1976 New York Yankees 26 "     "     - -

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Did you know that Cesar Tovar is one of only five players in Major League history to play all nine positions during a single game (09-22-1968)? The other four are Bert Campaneris (09-08-1965), Scott Sheldon (09-06-2000), Shane Halter (10-01-2000) and Andrew Romine (09-30-2017).

Cesar Tovar, All Nine Positions Played

Cesar Tovar | The Alamogordo Daily News | September 23, 1968 | Page 2

On May 20, 1970, Rod Carew became the first player in a Minnesota Twins uniform to hit for the cycle. On September 19, 1972, Cesar Tovar became the first right-handed hitter in a Twins uniform to hit for the cycle. When the franchise was located in Washington (1901-1960), Otis Clymer, Goose Goslin, Joe Cronin and Mickey Vernon each had a cycle, they wore a Senators uniform.

Cesar Tovar completed his cycle with a walk-off home run, just the second instance in Major League history at that point, behind Ken Boyer (September 14, 1961).

Cesas Tovar was not a hitter you would want to see at the plate if you were a pitcher who was close to finishing off a no-hitter: On April 30, 1967, Tovar had the only hit against Barry Moore. On May 15, 1969, Tovar broke up a no-hit bid being tossed by Dave McNally (who also had to settle for a 1-hitter). That same year, on August 10, 1969, Tovar had a ninth-inning single (the only hit in the game) which broke up Mike Cuellar's no-no. The following year, Tovar spoiled a Dick Bosman (August 13, 1970) close-bid (1-hitter) then ended one more before hanging up his cleats, a Catfish Hunter 1-hitter on May 31, 1975. Five pitchers, five 1-hitters, Cesar "The No Hit Ender" Tovar.