Luke Appling

Shortstop · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1930-1950)

⭐ Hall of Fame 1964
AVG .310
HR 45
RBI 1,116
H 2,749
OPS .798
PIV 25,114
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 183 lb
Born
4/2/1907 in High Point, NC, USA
Died
1/3/1991 in Cumming, GA, USA
MLB Debut
1930-09-10
Last Game
1950-10-01
Hall of Fame
Inducted 1964 (BBWAA)
Awards
7× All-Star

Full name: Lucius Benjamin Appling

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
2,422 8,856 1,319 2,749 440 102 45 1,116 179 1,302 528 .310 .399 .398 .798 25,114

Career AVG .310 vs. league average .270 across their career seasons — +15.1% above league average.

Career OBP .399 vs. league average .338 across their career seasons — +18.2% above league average.

Career SLG .398 vs. league average .384 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .798 vs. league average .722 across their career seasons — +10.5% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1930 CHA AL 6 26 2 8 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 .308 — — — — 0.0
1931 CHA AL 96 297 36 69 13 4 1 28 9 29 27 .232 .276 (-16%) .338 (-10%) .388 (-19%) .726 (-15%) -717.2
1932 CHA AL 139 489 66 134 20 10 3 63 9 40 36 .274 .275 (avg) .335 (-2%) .391 (-4%) .726 (-3%) -278.7
1933 CHA AL 151 612 90 197 36 10 6 85 6 56 29 .322 .270 (+19%) .329 (+15%) .377 (+17%) .707 (+16%) 2010.3
1934 CHA AL 118 452 75 137 28 6 2 61 3 59 27 .303 .278 (+9%) .340 (+13%) .392 (+3%) .733 (+8%) 809.0
1935 CHA AL 153 525 94 161 28 6 1 71 12 122 40 .307 .279 (+10%) .342 (+28%) .399 (-3%) .742 (+11%) 1977.7
1936 CHA AL 138 526 111 204 31 7 6 128 10 85 25 .388 .283 (+37%) .349 (+35%) .404 (+26%) .753 (+30%) 3770.5
1937 CHA AL 154 574 98 182 42 8 4 77 18 86 28 .317 .276 (+15%) .342 (+19%) .398 (+10%) .740 (+14%) 1987.8
1938 CHA AL 81 294 41 89 14 0 0 44 1 42 17 .303 .272 (+11%) .341 (+15%) .392 (-11%) .734 (+1%) 238.4
1939 CHA AL 148 516 82 162 16 6 0 56 16 105 37 .314 .274 (+15%) .342 (+26%) .393 (-6%) .735 (+9%) 1542.2
1940 CHA AL 150 566 96 197 27 13 0 79 3 69 35 .348 .267 (+30%) .335 (+25%) .387 (+14%) .722 (+19%) 2441.2
1941 CHA AL 154 592 93 186 26 8 1 57 12 82 32 .314 .262 (+20%) .332 (+20%) .373 (+5%) .705 (+12%) 1715.1
1942 CHA AL 142 543 78 142 26 4 3 53 17 63 23 .262 .253 (+3%) .323 (+6%) .349 (-3%) .672 (+1%) 258.8
1943 CHA AL 155 585 63 192 33 2 3 80 27 90 29 .328 .255 (+28%) .324 (+29%) .346 (+17%) .671 (+23%) 3035.7
1945 CHA AL 18 57 12 21 2 2 1 10 1 12 7 .368 .260 (+41%) .328 (+45%) .354 (+48%) .683 (+47%) 470.6
1946 CHA AL 149 582 59 180 27 5 1 55 6 71 41 .309 .256 (+20%) .328 (+17%) .358 (+5%) .687 (+11%) 1440.9
1947 CHA AL 139 503 67 154 29 0 8 49 8 64 28 .306 .262 (+17%) .336 (+15%) .376 (+9%) .712 (+12%) 1346.0
1948 CHA AL 139 497 63 156 16 2 0 47 10 94 35 .314 .263 (+19%) .340 (+24%) .379 (-7%) .719 (+8%) 1338.9
1949 CHA AL 142 492 82 148 21 5 5 58 7 121 24 .301 .262 (+15%) .343 (+28%) .384 (+3%) .727 (+14%) 2111.1
1950 CHA AL 50 128 11 30 3 4 0 13 2 12 8 .234 .265 (-12%) .346 (-13%) .401 (-20%) .747 (-17%) -384.4
Career · 20 seasons 2,422 8,856 1,319 2,749 440 102 45 1,116 179 1,302 528 .310 — — — — 25,114

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.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (2422 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home12244393645138022573.314
Away11984463673137023537.307

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1950-10-01 CHWSLAL 401000000
1950-10-01 CHWSLAW 301000010
1950-09-30 CHWSLAW 401000000
1950-09-27 CHWCLEL 300000000
1950-09-26 CHWCLEL 300000000
1950-09-24 CHWSLAL 400000000
1950-09-24 CHWSLAL 302000010
1950-09-23 CHWSLAW 110000010
1950-09-17 CHWMINW 312010100
1950-09-16 CHWPHAW 312000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 13 0 91 12 0 16
2B 40 0 87 127 8 20
3B 88 0 98 186 21 15
SS 2218 0 4398 7218 643 1424

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1930 CHA SS 6 0 12 17 4 1
1931 CHA 2B 1 0 4 1 1 0
1931 CHA SS 76 0 147 232 42 37
1932 CHA 2B 30 0 62 110 6 16
1932 CHA 3B 14 0 13 22 6 2
1932 CHA SS 85 0 195 287 37 66
1933 CHA SS 151 0 314 534 55 107
1934 CHA 2B 8 0 21 16 1 4
1934 CHA SS 110 0 243 341 34 55
1935 CHA SS 153 0 335 556 39 93
1936 CHA SS 137 0 320 471 41 119
1937 CHA SS 154 0 280 541 49 111
1938 CHA SS 78 0 149 258 20 37
1939 CHA SS 148 0 289 461 39 78
1940 CHA SS 150 0 307 436 37 83
1941 CHA SS 154 0 294 473 42 95
1942 CHA SS 141 0 269 418 38 77
1943 CHA SS 155 0 300 500 36 115
1945 CHA SS 17 0 37 56 7 7
1946 CHA SS 149 0 252 505 39 99
1947 CHA 3B 2 0 1 1 0 0
1947 CHA SS 129 0 232 422 35 86
1948 CHA 3B 72 0 84 163 15 13
1948 CHA SS 64 0 133 210 20 50
1949 CHA SS 141 0 253 450 26 95
1950 CHA 1B 13 0 91 12 0 16
1950 CHA 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1950 CHA SS 20 0 37 50 3 13

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
First Base 13
Second Base 40
Third Base 88
Shortstop 2218

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1943 Baseball Magazine All-Star SS
1943 TSN All-Star SS
1940 Baseball Magazine All-Star SS
1940 TSN All-Star SS
1937 Baseball Magazine All-Star SS
1936 Baseball Magazine All-Star SS
1936 TSN All-Star SS

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1949 Most Valuable Player AL 22th 3.0 336 0
1948 Most Valuable Player AL 22th 8.0 336 0
1947 Most Valuable Player AL 10th 43.0 336 0
1946 Most Valuable Player AL 12th 26.0 336 0
1943 Most Valuable Player AL 2nd 215.0 336 5
1940 Most Valuable Player AL 10th 54.0 336 0
1939 Most Valuable Player AL 33th 1.0 336 0
1937 Most Valuable Player AL 17th 5.0 80 0
1936 Most Valuable Player AL 2nd 65.0 80 0
1935 Most Valuable Player AL 15th 7.0 80 0
1933 Most Valuable Player AL 21th 1.0 80 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Luke Appling (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Buddy Myer
    .303 avg, 38 HR
  2. 97
    Stan Hack
    .301 avg, 57 HR
  3. 97
    Joe Judge
    .298 avg, 71 HR
  4. 94
    Joe Sewell HOF
    .312 avg, 49 HR
  5. 93
    Rod Carew HOF
    .328 avg, 92 HR
  6. 88
    Billy Herman HOF
    .304 avg, 47 HR

Compare Luke Appling

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

vs Arky Vaughan
vs Joe Cronin
vs Willie Wells
vs Vern Stephens
vs Lou Boudreau
vs Corey Seager

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Frequently Asked Questions about Luke Appling

What years did Luke Appling play?
Luke Appling played in Major League Baseball from 1930 to 1950.
Was Luke Appling a pitcher?
No. Luke Appling was a position player (Shortstop).
How many home runs did Luke Appling hit?
Luke Appling hit 45 career home runs with 2749 hits.
Is Luke Appling in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Luke Appling was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964.