Babe Adams

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1906-1926)

Babe Adams was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1906 to 1926 for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 21 seasons. Across 482 career appearances, he went 194-140 with a 2.76 ERA and 1,036 strikeouts. He also batted .212 with 3 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 41399.5.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 194–140
ERA 2.76
WHIP 1.09
SO 1,036
Pitcher PIV 41399.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 185 lb
Born
5/18/1882 in Tipton, IN, USA
Died
7/27/1968 in Silver Spring, MD, USA
MLB Debut
1906-04-18
Last Game
1926-08-11

Full name: Charles Benjamin Adams

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Career Pitching Statistics

Babe Adams — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
194 140 482 355 206 44 15 2995.1 2,841 917 68 430 1,036 2.76 41399.5

Career ERA 2.76 vs. league average 3.38 across their career seasons — 18.5% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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Babe Adams Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1906 SLN NL 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4.0 9 6 2 0 13.50 — 0.0
1907 PIT NL 0 2 4 3 1 0 0 22.0 40 17 3 11 6.95 2.50 (-178%) -49.0
1909 PIT NL 12 3 25 12 7 3 2 130.0 88 16 23 65 1.11 2.55 (+56%) 2362.7
1910 PIT NL 18 9 34 30 16 3 0 245.0 217 61 60 101 2.24 2.79 (+20%) 1559.8
1911 PIT NL 22 12 40 37 24 6 0 293.1 253 76 42 133 2.33 3.37 (+31%) 5854.8
1912 PIT NL 11 8 28 21 11 2 0 170.1 169 55 35 63 2.91 3.36 (+14%) 1150.0
1913 PIT NL 21 10 43 37 24 4 0 313.2 271 75 49 144 2.15 3.07 (+30%) 5001.9
1914 PIT NL 13 16 40 35 19 3 1 283.0 253 79 39 91 2.51 2.93 (+14%) 2960.4
1915 PIT NL 14 14 40 30 17 2 2 245.0 229 78 34 62 2.87 2.90 (+1%) 1466.2
1916 PIT NL 2 9 16 10 4 1 0 72.1 91 46 12 22 5.72 2.78 (-106%) 59.0
1918 PIT NL 1 1 3 3 2 0 0 22.2 15 3 4 6 1.19 2.83 (+58%) 305.4
1919 PIT NL 17 10 34 29 23 6 1 263.1 213 58 23 92 1.98 3.09 (+36%) 6523.9
1920 PIT NL 17 13 35 33 19 8 2 263.0 240 63 18 84 2.16 3.45 (+37%) 5401.8
1921 PIT NL 14 5 25 20 11 2 0 160.0 155 47 18 55 2.64 4.02 (+34%) 3639.3
1922 PIT NL 8 11 27 19 12 4 0 171.1 191 68 15 39 3.57 4.18 (+15%) 4580.2
1923 PIT NL 13 7 26 22 11 0 1 158.2 196 78 25 38 4.42 4.03 (-10%) 1357.3
1924 PIT NL 3 1 9 3 2 0 0 39.2 31 5 3 5 1.13 4.13 (+73%) 618.6
1925 PIT NL 6 5 33 10 3 0 3 101.1 129 61 17 18 5.42 4.55 (-19%) -469.0
1926 PIT NL 2 3 19 0 0 0 3 36.2 51 25 8 7 6.14 4.11 (-49%) -923.8
Career · 19 seasons 194 140 482 355 206 44 15 2,995.1 2,841 917 430 1,036 2.76 — 41,399

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Babe Adams — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
482 1,019 79 216 31 15 3 75 1 53 194 .212 .252 .281 .532 -3,042

Career AVG .212 vs. league average .266 across their career seasons — 20.4% below league average.

Career OBP .252 vs. league average .330 across their career seasons — 23.7% below league average.

Career SLG .281 vs. league average .357 across their career seasons — 21.5% below league average.

Career OPS .532 vs. league average .687 across their career seasons — 22.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Babe Adams Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1906 SLN NL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1907 PIT NL 4 7 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .286 — — — — 0.0
1909 PIT NL 25 39 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 2 15 .051 — — — — 0.0
1910 PIT NL 34 83 9 16 3 0 0 6 0 9 23 .193 .249 (-23%) .317 (-14%) .326 (-30%) .644 (-22%) -255.6
1911 PIT NL 40 103 9 26 5 1 0 10 0 3 17 .252 .266 (-5%) .336 (-19%) .356 (-10%) .693 (-14%) -258.8
1912 PIT NL 28 53 5 12 3 1 0 3 0 8 9 .226 .268 (-16%) .335 (-2%) .358 (-11%) .694 (-7%) -46.4
1913 PIT NL 43 114 13 33 6 2 0 13 0 1 16 .289 .259 (+11%) .325 (-9%) .345 (+9%) .670 (avg) -50.4
1914 PIT NL 40 97 8 16 0 2 1 4 0 3 29 .165 .255 (-35%) .322 (-39%) .339 (-30%) .661 (-34%) -515.0
1915 PIT NL 40 85 4 12 1 0 0 7 0 4 14 .141 .250 (-44%) .318 (-44%) .332 (-54%) .651 (-49%) -607.4
1916 PIT NL 16 22 1 6 0 1 0 2 0 2 1 .273 — — — — 0.0
1918 PIT NL 3 9 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 .333 — — — — 0.0
1919 PIT NL 34 92 2 17 2 1 0 4 0 6 13 .185 .262 (-30%) .322 (-27%) .347 (-34%) .670 (-31%) -430.9
1920 PIT NL 35 89 4 13 0 0 1 3 0 1 18 .146 .271 (-46%) .331 (-53%) .363 (-50%) .694 (-52%) -714.6
1921 PIT NL 25 63 7 16 2 4 0 6 1 1 7 .254 .286 (-11%) .344 (-23%) .395 (+4%) .739 (-8%) -127.7
1922 PIT NL 27 56 6 16 2 0 1 6 0 4 7 .286 .285 (avg) .345 (-4%) .397 (-6%) .743 (-5%) -40.7
1923 PIT NL 26 55 5 15 5 1 0 8 0 6 13 .273 .282 (-4%) .344 (avg) .390 (+3%) .734 (+1%) 5.7
1924 PIT NL 9 11 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 .182 — — — — 0.0
1925 PIT NL 33 31 3 7 1 0 0 1 0 3 6 .226 — — — — 0.0
1926 PIT NL 19 9 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222 — — — — 0.0
Career · 19 seasons 482 1,019 79 216 31 15 3 75 1 53 194 .212 — — — — -3,042

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Babe Adams — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
4 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Babe Adams — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1925 WS PIT 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1909 WS PIT 3 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Babe Adams — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
3 0 4 3 0 28.0 20 4 6 11 1.29

Playoff Pitching by Year

Babe Adams — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1925 WS PIT 0 0 1 0 0 1.0 2 0 0 0 0.00
1909 WS PIT 3 0 3 3 0 27.0 18 4 6 11 1.33

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (964 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Babe Adams — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home24748640108141.222
Away23553239108233.203

Pitching — Home / Away

Babe Adams — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2471515.014894561795372.71
Away2351470.013554322475062.64

Last 10 Games — Batting

Babe Adams — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1926-08-11 PITBROL 000000000
1926-08-04 PITBSNL 000000000
1926-08-02 PITPHIL 000000000
1926-07-26 PITBROW 000000000
1926-07-08 PITPHIL 000000000
1926-07-05 PITCHCL 000000000
1926-07-05 PITCHCW 000000000
1926-07-01 PITSTLW 100000000
1926-06-27 PITCINL 200000000
1926-06-26 PITCINL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Babe Adams — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1926-08-11 PITBRO — 0.2200000
1926-08-04 PITBSN — 1.0200000
1926-08-02 PITPHI — 3.0410140
1926-07-26 PITBRO SV 0.2000000
1926-07-08 PITPHI L 0.1444001
1926-07-05 PITCHC — 0.1322000
1926-07-05 PITCHC SV 0.2000000
1926-07-01 PITSTL SV 2.0000010
1926-06-27 PITCIN — 5.11077101
1926-06-26 PITCIN — 2.0100000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Babe Adams — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 482 46 58 648 17 17

Season-by-Season Fielding

Babe Adams — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1906 SLN P 1 1 0 3 1 0
1907 PIT P 4 3 3 7 1 0
1909 PIT P 25 12 1 33 3 0
1910 PIT P 34 30 7 44 5 1
1911 PIT P 40 0 3 42 1 2
1912 PIT P 28 0 2 36 0 0
1913 PIT P 43 0 10 74 1 1
1914 PIT P 40 0 13 62 0 2
1915 PIT P 40 0 3 67 0 5
1916 PIT P 16 0 2 20 0 0
1918 PIT P 3 0 0 4 0 0
1919 PIT P 34 0 4 55 0 1
1920 PIT P 35 0 3 66 2 1
1921 PIT P 25 0 1 34 0 1
1922 PIT P 27 0 5 43 1 2
1923 PIT P 26 0 0 29 1 0
1924 PIT P 9 0 1 5 0 0
1925 PIT P 33 0 0 17 0 1
1926 PIT P 19 0 0 7 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Babe Adams Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 482

Awards & Honors

Babe Adams — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1909 Baseball Magazine All-Star P4
1909 Baseball Magazine All-Star P5

Award Voting History

Babe Adams — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1913 Most Valuable Player NL 22th 3.0 64 0
1911 Most Valuable Player NL 27th 1.0 64 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Babe Adams (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Doc White
    189-156, 2.39 ERA
  2. 97
    Jack Chesbro HOF
    198-132, 2.68 ERA
  3. 90
    Eddie Cicotte
    209-149, 2.38 ERA
  4. 90
    Art Nehf
    184-120, 3.20 ERA
  5. 89
    Jeff Pfeffer
    158-112, 2.77 ERA
  6. 88
    Jesse Barnes
    152-150, 3.22 ERA

Compare Babe Adams

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Adams's closest peers by position and era.

vs Walter Johnson
vs Christy Mathewson
vs Pete Alexander
vs Ed Walsh
vs Honus Wagner
vs Eddie Plank

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

See Babe Adams in Another Era

What would Adams's 1909 season look like in a different era's run environment? Try the cross-era translation with a live slider.

Translate Babe Adams's peak season across eras →

Babe Adams: the record in brief

April 18, 1906 and August 11, 1926 bracket Babe Adams's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The season rows list, in order, the St. Louis Cardinals (1906) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1907 to 1926). Adams played primarily as a pitcher and threw right-handed and batted left-handed. The bio adds a birth date on May 18, 1882, in Tipton, IN, USA and a listed size of 5 feet, 11 inches and 185 pounds. Adams's death is recorded on July 27, 1968, in Silver Spring, MD, USA. The bio lists the given name Charles Benjamin.

Adams pitched in 482 games, starting 355, and finished with a 194-140 record and 2.76 ERA. The totals include 1,036 strikeouts, 206 complete games, 44 shutouts, and 15 saves. Against a 3.38 league ERA for the same years, Adams was 18.5% better. No season topped the 22 wins of 1911. 1913 produced Adams's most strikeouts, 144.

Frequently Asked Questions about Babe Adams

What years did Babe Adams play?
Babe Adams played in Major League Baseball from 1906 to 1926.
Was Babe Adams a pitcher?
Yes. Babe Adams pitched in the major leagues, recording 194 wins and 1036 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Babe Adams hit?
Babe Adams hit 3 career home runs with 216 hits.
What teams did Babe Adams play for?
Babe Adams played for 2 teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (1906) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1907, 1909–1916, 1918–1926).
What were Babe Adams's career stats?
In 482 games, Babe Adams went 194-140 with a 2.76 ERA, 1,036 strikeouts, 2,995.1 innings pitched, and 15 saves. At the plate he had 216 hits and 3 home runs.
What position did Babe Adams play?
Babe Adams played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Babe Adams and how much did he weigh?
Babe Adams was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 185 pounds.
What was Babe Adams's career ERA?
Babe Adams finished with a 2.76 career ERA, going 194-140 with 1,036 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Babe Adams have?
Babe Adams recorded 1,036 career strikeouts.
Is Babe Adams in the Hall of Fame?
No. Babe Adams has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.