Jake Beckley

First Baseman · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1888-1907)

Jake Beckley was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1888 to 1907 for 5 teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 20 seasons. In 2,392 career games, he hit .308 with 2,938 hits, 87 home runs, and 1,581 RBI. Jake Beckley was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 26,506.

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

⭐ Hall of Fame 1971
AVG .308
HR 87
RBI 1,581
H 2,938
OPS .797
PIV 26,506
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
5'10" / 200 lb
Born
8/4/1867 in Hannibal, MO, USA
Died
6/25/1918 in Kansas City, MO, USA
MLB Debut
1888-06-20
Last Game
1907-06-15
Hall of Fame
Inducted 1971 (Veterans)

Full name: Jacob Peter Beckley

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Career Batting Statistics

Jake Beckley — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
2,392 9,551 1,603 2,938 473 244 87 1,581 315 616 526 .308 .361 .436 .797 26,506

Career AVG .308 vs. league average .265 across their career seasons — +16.2% above league average.

Career OBP .361 vs. league average .328 across their career seasons — +9.9% above league average.

Career SLG .436 vs. league average .350 across their career seasons — +24.3% above league average.

Career OPS .797 vs. league average .679 across their career seasons — +17.4% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jake Beckley 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
1888 PIT NL 71 283 35 97 15 3 0 27 20 7 22 .343 .238 (+44%) .290 (+25%) .319 (+30%) .610 (+28%) 1154.6
1889 PIT NL 123 522 91 157 24 10 9 97 11 29 29 .301 .263 (+14%) .334 (+3%) .357 (+22%) .691 (+13%) 1116.6
1890 PTP PL 124 529 110 171 38 22 9 123 18 42 33 .323 .260 (+24%) .336 (+13%) .351 (+51%) .687 (+32%) 2934.8
1891 PIT NL 133 554 94 162 20 19 4 73 13 44 46 .292 .254 (+15%) .331 (+7%) .343 (+22%) .675 (+14%) 1344.3
1892 PIT NL 151 614 102 145 21 19 10 96 30 31 44 .236 .244 (-4%) .316 (-9%) .327 (+16%) .644 (+4%) 111.1
1893 PIT NL 131 542 108 164 32 19 5 106 15 54 26 .303 .279 (+8%) .356 (+8%) .379 (+21%) .735 (+15%) 1641.2
1894 PIT NL 132 537 123 185 36 19 7 122 21 43 16 .345 .309 (+11%) .379 (+9%) .435 (+20%) .814 (+15%) 1750.3
1895 PIT NL 130 534 104 175 31 19 5 111 20 24 20 .328 .296 (+11%) .361 (+5%) .399 (+21%) .761 (+14%) 1398.5
1896 PIT NL 59 217 44 55 7 5 3 32 8 22 28 .253 .290 (-13%) .354 (-1%) .387 (-4%) .741 (-3%) -54.3
1896 NY1 NL 46 182 37 55 8 4 6 38 11 9 7 .302 .290 (+4%) .354 (-1%) .387 (+26%) .741 (+13%) -54.3
1897 NY1 NL 17 68 8 17 2 3 1 11 2 2 2 .250 .291 (-14%) .354 (-15%) .387 (+6%) .741 (-4%) -69.5
1897 CIN NL 97 365 76 126 17 9 7 76 23 18 12 .345 .291 (+18%) .354 (+12%) .387 (+29%) .741 (+21%) -69.5
1898 CIN NL 118 459 86 135 20 12 4 72 6 28 27 .294 .270 (+9%) .333 (+4%) .347 (+20%) .680 (+12%) 939.2
1899 CIN NL 135 517 87 172 27 16 3 99 20 40 21 .333 .282 (+18%) .343 (+14%) .366 (+27%) .710 (+20%) 2073.3
1900 CIN NL 141 558 98 190 26 10 2 94 23 40 18 .341 .279 (+22%) .338 (+15%) .366 (+18%) .705 (+17%) 1859.2
1901 CIN NL 140 580 78 178 36 13 3 79 4 28 37 .307 .271 (+13%) .326 (+6%) .359 (+19%) .686 (+13%) 1311.0
1902 CIN NL 129 531 82 175 23 7 5 69 15 34 29 .330 .266 (+24%) .321 (+17%) .343 (+24%) .665 (+21%) 2075.9
1903 CIN NL 120 459 85 150 29 10 2 81 23 42 13 .327 .261 (+25%) .316 (+21%) .345 (+29%) .662 (+25%) 2159.7
1904 SLN NL 142 551 72 179 22 9 1 67 17 35 31 .325 .246 (+32%) .300 (+25%) .321 (+25%) .622 (+25%) 2537.4
1905 SLN NL 134 514 48 147 20 10 1 57 12 30 41 .286 .248 (+15%) .307 (+8%) .322 (+15%) .629 (+12%) 989.5
1906 SLN NL 87 320 29 79 16 6 0 44 3 13 19 .247 .247 (avg) .307 (-8%) .315 (+6%) .622 (-1%) -145.0
1907 SLN NL 32 115 6 24 3 0 0 7 0 1 5 .209 .245 (-15%) .304 (-27%) .308 (-24%) .613 (-25%) -423.9
Career · 22 seasons 2,392 9,551 1,603 2,938 473 244 87 1,581 315 616 526 .308 — — — — 24,580

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 Pitching Statistics

Jake Beckley — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4.0 9 3 0 1 2 6.75 0.0

Career ERA 6.75 vs. league average 3.17 across their career seasons — 112.6% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jake Beckley — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1902 CIN NL 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4.0 9 3 1 2 6.75 — 0.0
Career · 1 season 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4.0 9 3 1 2 6.75 — 0

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 (1179 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Jake Beckley — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home60822953457328302.319
Away570231532569713271.301

Pitching — Home / Away

Jake Beckley — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Away14.093126.75

Last 10 Games — Batting

Jake Beckley — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1907-06-15 STLBSNL 300000000
1907-06-11 STLNY1L 000000000
1907-06-10 STLNY1L 400000000
1907-06-09 STLNY1L 301000000
1907-06-08 STLPHIL 300000000
1907-06-08 STLPHIW 401000000
1907-06-06 STLPHIL 400000000
1907-06-05 STLPHIL 400000000
1907-05-30 STLCINL 400000000
1907-05-29 STLCINL 400000000

Last 1 Games — Pitching

Jake Beckley — Last 1 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1902-10-04 CINPIT L 4.0983120

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jake Beckley — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 2383 389 23755 1316 481 1327
2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
OF 6 0 5 1 1 0
P 1 0 7 2 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jake Beckley — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1888 PIT 1B 71 0 744 19 16 38
1889 PIT 1B 122 0 1236 53 24 73
1889 PIT OF 1 0 0 1 0 0
1890 PTP 1B 124 0 1280 58 32 61
1891 PIT 1B 133 0 1250 87 24 63
1892 PIT 1B 151 0 1523 132 38 88
1893 PIT 1B 131 0 1360 95 21 83
1894 PIT 1B 132 0 1230 85 30 80
1895 PIT 1B 130 0 1349 54 31 76
1896 PIT 1B 56 0 558 31 11 42
1896 PIT 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1896 PIT OF 3 0 2 0 0 0
1896 NY1 1B 45 0 418 22 8 18
1896 NY1 OF 2 0 3 0 1 0
1897 NY1 1B 17 0 166 15 5 12
1897 CIN 1B 97 0 830 45 19 56
1898 CIN 1B 118 0 1167 53 21 76
1899 CIN 1B 135 0 1301 72 19 75
1900 CIN 1B 140 0 1389 93 30 91
1901 CIN 1B 140 0 1366 71 34 79
1902 CIN 1B 129 0 1262 64 23 84
1902 CIN P 1 0 7 2 0 0
1903 CIN 1B 119 0 1127 78 30 56
1904 SLN 1B 142 142 1526 64 20 65
1905 SLN 1B 134 134 1442 69 28 56
1906 SLN 1B 85 83 928 43 13 38
1907 SLN 1B 32 30 303 13 4 17

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jake Beckley Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 1
First Base 2383
Second Base 1
Left Field 2
Center Field 3
Right Field 1

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Jake Beckley (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Frankie Frisch HOF
    .316 avg, 105 HR
  2. 96
    Pie Traynor HOF
    .320 avg, 58 HR
  3. 95
    Roger Connor HOF
    .316 avg, 138 HR
  4. 95
    Nap Lajoie HOF
    .338 avg, 82 HR
  5. 93
    Joe Judge
    .298 avg, 71 HR
  6. 93
    George Sisler HOF
    .340 avg, 102 HR

Compare Jake Beckley

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

vs Lou Gehrig
vs Jimmie Foxx
vs Honus Wagner
vs Dan Brouthers
vs Cap Anson
vs Nap Lajoie

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Jake Beckley: the record in brief

According to the bio, Jake Beckley debuted on June 20, 1888 and played a final game on June 15, 1907. Club by club, the record runs the Pittsburg Alleghenys (1888 through 1889), the Pittsburgh Burghers (1890), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1891 through 1896), the New York Giants (1896 to 1897), the Cincinnati Reds (1897 through 1903), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1904 through 1907). Beckley is listed as a first baseman at 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds. The bio says Beckley batted and threw left-handed. Beckley was born on August 4, 1867, in Hannibal, MO, USA. Beckley died on June 25, 1918, in Kansas City, MO, USA. Beckley's full given name, per the bio, is Jacob Peter Beckley.

Beckley's career batting table shows 2,392 games, 9,551 at bats and 2,938 hits, a .308 average, plus 87 home runs, 1,581 RBI, and 315 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .361 clip and slugging .436, Beckley finished with a .797 OPS.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jake Beckley

What years did Jake Beckley play?
Jake Beckley played in Major League Baseball from 1888 to 1907.
Was Jake Beckley a pitcher?
No. Jake Beckley was a position player (First Baseman), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
How many home runs did Jake Beckley hit?
Jake Beckley hit 87 career home runs with 2,938 hits.
Is Jake Beckley in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Jake Beckley was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.
What teams did Jake Beckley play for?
Jake Beckley played for 5 teams: the Pittsburgh Pirates (1888–1889, 1891–1896), the Pittsburgh Burghers (1890), the New York Giants (1896–1897), the Cincinnati Reds (1897–1903), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1904–1907).
What were Jake Beckley's career stats?
In 2,392 games, Jake Beckley had 2,938 hits, 87 home runs, 1,581 RBI, 1,603 runs, and 315 stolen bases, with a .308 batting average.
What position did Jake Beckley play?
Jake Beckley played primarily as a first baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Jake Beckley and how much did he weigh?
Jake Beckley was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 200 pounds.
How many home runs did Jake Beckley hit each season?
Jake Beckley's home runs by season: 0 in 1888, 9 in 1889, 9 in 1890, 4 in 1891, 10 in 1892, 5 in 1893, 7 in 1894, 5 in 1895, 9 in 1896, 8 in 1897, 4 in 1898, 3 in 1899, 2 in 1900, 3 in 1901, 5 in 1902, 2 in 1903, 1 in 1904, 1 in 1905, 0 in 1906, and 0 in 1907. His most in one season was 10, in 1892.
What was Jake Beckley's career batting average?
Jake Beckley batted .308 over his career, with 2,938 hits in 9,551 at bats.
How many RBI did Jake Beckley have?
Jake Beckley drove in 1,581 runs in his career.
What was Jake Beckley's career ERA?
Jake Beckley finished with a 6.75 career ERA, going 0-1 with 2 strikeouts.