Johnny Bassler

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1913-1927)

Johnny Bassler was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1913 to 1927 for the Cleveland Guardians and the Detroit Tigers, a span of 15 seasons. In 811 career games, he hit .304 with 704 hits, 1 home runs, and 318 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 4,903.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .304
HR 1
RBI 318
H 704
OPS .777
PIV 4,903
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
5'9" / 170 lb
Born
6/3/1895 in Lancaster, PA, USA
Died
6/29/1979 in Santa Monica, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1913-07-11
Last Game
1927-09-30

Full name: John Landis Bassler

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Career Batting Statistics

Johnny Bassler — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
811 2,319 250 704 99 16 1 318 13 437 81 .304 .416 .361 .777 4,903

Career AVG .304 vs. league average .278 across their career seasons — +9.1% above league average.

Career OBP .416 vs. league average .341 across their career seasons — +22.0% above league average.

Career SLG .361 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — 5.8% below league average.

Career OPS .777 vs. league average .724 across their career seasons — +7.3% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Johnny Bassler 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
1913 CLE AL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1914 CLE AL 43 77 5 14 1 1 0 6 3 15 8 .182 .255 (-29%) .322 (avg) .339 (-35%) .661 (-18%) -147.3
1921 DET AL 119 388 37 119 18 5 0 56 2 58 16 .307 .286 (+7%) .344 (+16%) .395 (-4%) .739 (+5%) 683.8
1922 DET AL 121 372 41 120 14 0 0 41 2 62 12 .323 .285 (+13%) .345 (+22%) .397 (-9%) .743 (+5%) 780.0
1923 DET AL 135 383 45 114 12 3 0 49 2 76 13 .298 .282 (+5%) .344 (+20%) .390 (-12%) .734 (+3%) 682.1
1924 DET AL 124 379 43 131 20 3 1 68 2 62 11 .346 .283 (+22%) .345 (+28%) .389 (+8%) .734 (+18%) 1684.9
1925 DET AL 121 344 40 96 19 3 0 52 1 74 6 .279 .288 (-3%) .349 (+17%) .407 (-14%) .756 (avg) 383.7
1926 DET AL 66 174 20 53 8 1 0 22 0 45 6 .305 .279 (+9%) .345 (+29%) .390 (-7%) .735 (+10%) 582.5
1927 DET AL 81 200 19 57 7 0 0 24 1 45 9 .285 .282 (+1%) .344 (+21%) .392 (-18%) .736 (avg) 253.5
Career · 9 seasons 811 2,319 250 704 99 16 1 318 13 437 81 .304 — — — — 4,903

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 (811 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Johnny Bassler — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home40410871143280170.302
Away40712331353791159.307

Last 10 Games — Batting

Johnny Bassler — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1927-09-30 DETCHWL 500000000
1927-09-25 DETNYYW 401000000
1927-09-22 DETNYYL 301000000
1927-09-20 DETBOSW 200000020
1927-09-17 DETBOSW 311000010
1927-09-16 DETBOSW 401000100
1927-09-14 DETMINL 301000011
1927-09-13 DETMINL 300000010
1927-09-12 DETPHAL 400000001
1927-09-10 DETPHAL 201000110

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Johnny Bassler — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
C 756 0 2607 708 67 69
OF 1 0 0 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Johnny Bassler — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1913 CLE C 1 0 1 0 1 0
1914 CLE 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1914 CLE C 25 0 99 42 8 3
1914 CLE OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1921 DET C 114 0 433 113 14 7
1922 DET C 118 0 421 113 11 12
1923 DET C 128 0 447 133 7 8
1924 DET C 122 0 402 103 11 11
1925 DET C 118 0 375 87 8 14
1926 DET C 63 0 223 61 0 6
1927 DET C 67 0 206 56 7 8

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Johnny Bassler Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 755
Third Base 1
Right Field 1

Awards & Honors

Johnny Bassler — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1924 Baseball Magazine All-Star C

Award Voting History

Johnny Bassler — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1924 Most Valuable Player AL 5th 22.0 64 0
1923 Most Valuable Player AL 7th 17.0 64 0
1922 Most Valuable Player AL 6th 13.0 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

Johnny Bassler (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Jack Meyers
    .291 avg, 14 HR
  2. 97
    Earl Smith
    .303 avg, 46 HR
  3. 95
    Mitchell Murray
    .301 avg, 30 HR
  4. 94
    Butch Henline
    .291 avg, 40 HR
  5. 90
    Frankie Pytlak
    .282 avg, 7 HR
  6. 88
    Dick Dietz
    .261 avg, 66 HR

Johnny Bassler: the record in brief

Johnny Bassler played a first major league game on July 11, 1913 and a last one on September 30, 1927. Club by club, the record runs the Cleveland Naps (1913 to 1914) and the Detroit Tigers (1921 to 1927). Bassler, born on June 3, 1895, in Lancaster, PA, USA, is listed as a catcher and threw right-handed and batted left-handed. Size on record: 5'9" and 170 pounds. Bassler died on June 29, 1979, in Santa Monica, CA, USA. On the record, Johnny Bassler was born John Landis Bassler.

Bassler finished with 704 hits from 2,319 at bats in 811 games, which works out to .304; the totals also include 1 home run and 318 runs batted in. Reaching base at a .416 clip and slugging .361, Bassler finished with a .777 OPS. The league as a whole hit .278 across Bassler's seasons, which puts the .304 career mark 9.1% above average. By OPS the gap is 7.3% above league average (.777 against .724). The hits column peaks at 131, in 1924.

Frequently Asked Questions about Johnny Bassler

What years did Johnny Bassler play?
Johnny Bassler played in Major League Baseball from 1913 to 1927.
Was Johnny Bassler a pitcher?
No. Johnny Bassler was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Johnny Bassler hit?
Johnny Bassler hit 1 career home run with 704 hits.
What teams did Johnny Bassler play for?
Johnny Bassler played for 2 teams: the Cleveland Naps (1913–1914) and the Detroit Tigers (1921–1927).
What were Johnny Bassler's career stats?
In 811 games, Johnny Bassler had 704 hits, 1 home runs, 318 RBI, 250 runs, and 13 stolen bases, with a .304 batting average.
What position did Johnny Bassler play?
Johnny Bassler played primarily as a catcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Johnny Bassler and how much did he weigh?
Johnny Bassler was listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 170 pounds.
How many home runs did Johnny Bassler hit each season?
Johnny Bassler's home runs by season: 0 in 1913, 0 in 1914, 0 in 1921, 0 in 1922, 0 in 1923, 1 in 1924, 0 in 1925, 0 in 1926, and 0 in 1927. His most in one season was 1, in 1924.
What was Johnny Bassler's career batting average?
Johnny Bassler batted .304 over his career, with 704 hits in 2,319 at bats.
How many RBI did Johnny Bassler have?
Johnny Bassler drove in 318 runs in his career.
Is Johnny Bassler in the Hall of Fame?
No. Johnny Bassler has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.