Ray Blades

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1922-1932)

Ray Blades was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1922 to 1932 for the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 11 seasons. In 767 career games, he hit .301 with 726 hits, 50 home runs, and 340 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 8,032.

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 .301
HR 50
RBI 340
H 726
OPS .855
PIV 8,032
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'7" / 163 lb
Born
8/6/1896 in Mount Vernon, IL, USA
Died
5/18/1979 in Lincoln, IL, USA
MLB Debut
1922-08-19
Last Game
1932-09-25

Full name: Francis Raymond Blades

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Career Batting Statistics

Ray Blades — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
767 2,415 467 726 133 51 50 340 33 331 310 .301 .395 .460 .855 8,032

Career AVG .301 vs. league average .283 across their career seasons — +6.3% above league average.

Career OBP .395 vs. league average .345 across their career seasons — +14.7% above league average.

Career SLG .460 vs. league average .397 across their career seasons — +15.8% above league average.

Career OPS .855 vs. league average .742 across their career seasons — +15.3% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ray Blades 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
1922 SLN NL 37 130 27 39 2 4 3 21 3 25 21 .300 .285 (+5%) .345 (+24%) .397 (+12%) .743 (+18%) 515.6
1923 SLN NL 98 317 48 78 21 5 5 44 4 37 46 .246 .282 (-13%) .344 (-1%) .390 (avg) .734 (avg) 18.6
1924 SLN NL 131 456 86 142 21 13 11 68 7 35 38 .311 .283 (+10%) .345 (+8%) .389 (+25%) .734 (+17%) 1504.2
1925 SLN NL 122 462 112 158 37 8 12 57 6 59 47 .342 .288 (+19%) .349 (+21%) .407 (+31%) .756 (+27%) 2629.4
1926 SLN NL 107 416 81 127 17 12 8 43 6 62 57 .305 .279 (+9%) .345 (+18%) .390 (+18%) .735 (+18%) 1689.9
1927 SLN NL 61 180 33 57 8 5 2 29 3 28 22 .317 .282 (+12%) .344 (+20%) .392 (+15%) .736 (+17%) 648.0
1928 SLN NL 51 85 9 20 7 1 1 19 0 20 26 .235 .280 (-16%) .342 (+15%) .395 (-5%) .737 (+4%) 142.0
1930 SLN NL 45 101 26 40 6 2 4 25 1 21 15 .396 .293 (+35%) .354 (+42%) .429 (+43%) .784 (+43%) 907.8
1931 SLN NL 35 67 10 19 4 0 1 5 1 10 7 .284 .276 (+3%) .338 (+16%) .388 (avg) .726 (+7%) 132.4
1932 SLN NL 80 201 35 46 10 1 3 29 2 34 31 .229 .275 (-17%) .335 (+2%) .391 (-15%) .726 (-7%) -156.0
Career · 10 seasons 767 2,415 467 726 133 51 50 340 33 331 310 .301 — — — — 8,032

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

Ray Blades — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
8 12 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 5 .083

Playoff Batting by Year

Ray Blades — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1931 WS SLN 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
1930 WS SLN 5 9 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 .111
1928 WS SLN 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (767 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Ray Blades — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home383118824735422174.298
Away384122722137228173.303

Last 10 Games — Batting

Ray Blades — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1932-09-25 STLPITW 401000100
1932-09-25 STLPITL 402000100
1932-09-24 STLPITL 301000110
1932-09-23 STLPITW 211000020
1932-09-22 STLCINW 401000100
1932-09-21 STLCINW 312100100
1932-09-20 STLCINW 301000000
1932-09-18 STLBSNW 300000010
1932-09-18 STLBSNL 300000011
1932-09-17 STLBSNL 401000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ray Blades — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 7 0 12 16 0 2
3B 14 0 9 11 2 0
OF 623 0 1313 51 52 9
SS 4 0 5 12 5 2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ray Blades — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1922 SLN 3B 1 0 1 2 1 0
1922 SLN OF 29 0 61 6 5 0
1922 SLN SS 4 0 5 12 5 2
1923 SLN 3B 4 0 0 1 0 0
1923 SLN OF 83 0 194 11 7 2
1924 SLN 2B 7 0 12 16 0 2
1924 SLN 3B 7 0 7 8 1 0
1924 SLN OF 109 0 256 6 12 1
1925 SLN 3B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1925 SLN OF 114 0 266 13 6 4
1926 SLN OF 105 0 229 10 5 1
1927 SLN OF 50 0 64 0 6 0
1928 SLN OF 19 0 34 1 1 1
1930 SLN OF 32 0 66 1 3 0
1931 SLN OF 20 0 26 1 4 0
1932 SLN 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1932 SLN OF 62 0 117 2 3 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ray Blades Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 8
Third Base 14
Shortstop 4
Left Field 505
Center Field 1
Right Field 126

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ray Blades (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Dick Wakefield
    .293 avg, 56 HR
  2. 88
    Pete Reiser
    .295 avg, 58 HR
  3. 87
    Earl Webb
    .306 avg, 56 HR
  4. 86
    Branch Russell
    .309 avg, 57 HR
  5. 82
    Henry Kimbro
    .299 avg, 31 HR
  6. 79
    Danny Taylor
    .297 avg, 44 HR

Ray Blades: the record in brief

Between the debut on August 19, 1922 and the final game on September 25, 1932, Ray Blades built the record summarized on this page. Blades spent the whole of the career shown here with one club, the St. Louis Cardinals. At 5'7" and 163 pounds, Blades is listed as an outfielder. Blades batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is August 6, 1896, in Mount Vernon, IL, USA. The bio records the death on May 18, 1979, in Lincoln, IL, USA. Ray Blades was the playing name; the full given name is Francis Raymond.

Blades collected 726 hits in 2,415 at bats across 767 games, good for a .301 batting average, along with 50 home runs, 340 RBI, and 33 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .395 clip and slugging .460, Blades finished with a .855 OPS. Set against a .283 league average for the same years, Blades's .301 average sits 6.3% above it. In OPS terms, Blades's .855 stands 15.3% above the league's .742. 1925 was Blades's biggest home run year, with 12.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ray Blades

What years did Ray Blades play?
Ray Blades played in Major League Baseball from 1922 to 1932.
Was Ray Blades a pitcher?
No. Ray Blades was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Ray Blades hit?
Ray Blades hit 50 career home runs with 726 hits.
What teams did Ray Blades play for?
Ray Blades played for one team, the St. Louis Cardinals (1922–1928, 1930–1932).
What were Ray Blades's career stats?
In 767 games, Ray Blades had 726 hits, 50 home runs, 340 RBI, 467 runs, and 33 stolen bases, with a .301 batting average.
What position did Ray Blades play?
Ray Blades played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Ray Blades and how much did he weigh?
Ray Blades was listed at 5 feet 7 inches and 163 pounds.
How many home runs did Ray Blades hit each season?
Ray Blades's home runs by season: 3 in 1922, 5 in 1923, 11 in 1924, 12 in 1925, 8 in 1926, 2 in 1927, 1 in 1928, 4 in 1930, 1 in 1931, and 3 in 1932. His most in one season was 12, in 1925.
What was Ray Blades's career batting average?
Ray Blades batted .301 over his career, with 726 hits in 2,415 at bats.
How many RBI did Ray Blades have?
Ray Blades drove in 340 runs in his career.
Is Ray Blades in the Hall of Fame?
No. Ray Blades has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.