Lou Boudreau
Shortstop · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1938-1952)
Lou Boudreau was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1952 for the Cleveland Guardians and the Boston Red Sox, a span of 15 seasons. In 1,646 career games, he hit .295 with 1,779 hits, 68 home runs, and 789 RBI. Lou Boudreau was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970 and was a 8-time All-Star and an MVP. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 17,260.
- 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
- Position
- Shortstop
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 185 lb
- Died
- 8/10/2001 in Olympia Fields, IL, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1938-09-09
- Last Game
- 1952-08-24
- Hall of Fame
- Inducted 1970 (BBWAA)
- Awards
- 8× All-Star · MVP
Full name: Louis Boudreau
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,646 | 6,029 | 861 | 1,779 | 385 | 66 | 68 | 789 | 51 | 796 | 309 | .295 | .380 | .415 | .795 | 17,260 |
Career AVG .295 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — +12.5% above league average.
Career OBP .380 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — +13.9% above league average.
Career SLG .415 vs. league average .373 across their career seasons — +11.0% above league average.
Career OPS .795 vs. league average .708 across their career seasons — +12.4% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | CLE | AL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1939 | CLE | AL | 53 | 225 | 42 | 58 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 28 | 24 | .258 | .274 (-6%) | .342 (-1%) | .393 (-8%) | .735 (-5%) | -168.6 |
| 1940 | CLE | AL | 155 | 627 | 97 | 185 | 46 | 10 | 9 | 101 | 6 | 73 | 39 | .295 | .267 (+10%) | .335 (+10%) | .387 (+14%) | .722 (+13%) | 1644.0 |
| 1941 | CLE | AL | 148 | 579 | 95 | 149 | 45 | 8 | 10 | 56 | 9 | 85 | 57 | .257 | .262 (-2%) | .332 (+7%) | .373 (+11%) | .705 (+9%) | 1125.5 |
| 1942 | CLE | AL | 147 | 506 | 57 | 143 | 18 | 10 | 2 | 58 | 7 | 75 | 39 | .283 | .253 (+12%) | .323 (+17%) | .349 (+6%) | .672 (+11%) | 1358.1 |
| 1943 | CLE | AL | 152 | 539 | 69 | 154 | 32 | 7 | 3 | 67 | 4 | 90 | 31 | .286 | .255 (+12%) | .324 (+19%) | .346 (+12%) | .671 (+16%) | 1919.7 |
| 1944 | CLE | AL | 150 | 584 | 91 | 191 | 45 | 5 | 3 | 67 | 11 | 73 | 39 | .327 | .261 (+25%) | .325 (+25%) | .357 (+22%) | .683 (+23%) | 2895.1 |
| 1945 | CLE | AL | 97 | 345 | 50 | 106 | 24 | 1 | 3 | 48 | 0 | 35 | 20 | .307 | .260 (+18%) | .328 (+14%) | .354 (+15%) | .683 (+15%) | 940.9 |
| 1946 | CLE | AL | 140 | 515 | 51 | 151 | 30 | 6 | 6 | 62 | 6 | 40 | 14 | .293 | .256 (+14%) | .328 (+5%) | .358 (+14%) | .687 (+10%) | 860.5 |
| 1947 | CLE | AL | 150 | 538 | 79 | 165 | 45 | 3 | 4 | 67 | 1 | 67 | 10 | .307 | .262 (+17%) | .336 (+15%) | .376 (+13%) | .712 (+14%) | 1625.3 |
| 1948 | CLE | AL | 152 | 560 | 116 | 199 | 34 | 6 | 18 | 106 | 3 | 98 | 9 | .355 | .263 (+35%) | .340 (+33%) | .379 (+41%) | .719 (+37%) | 4662.1 |
| 1949 | CLE | AL | 134 | 475 | 53 | 135 | 20 | 3 | 4 | 60 | 0 | 70 | 10 | .284 | .262 (+8%) | .343 (+11%) | .384 (-5%) | .727 (+2%) | 443.6 |
| 1950 | CLE | AL | 81 | 260 | 23 | 70 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 31 | 5 | .269 | .265 (+1%) | .346 (+1%) | .401 (-14%) | .747 (-7%) | -267.1 |
| 1951 | BOS | AL | 82 | 273 | 37 | 73 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 47 | 1 | 30 | 12 | .267 | .260 (+3%) | .336 (+5%) | .385 (+3%) | .721 (+4%) | 220.6 |
| 1952 | BOS | AL | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 15 seasons | 1,646 | 6,029 | 861 | 1,779 | 385 | 66 | 68 | 789 | 51 | 796 | 309 | .295 | — | — | — | — | 17,260 | ||
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 (1645 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 812 | 2837 | 378 | 815 | 18 | 342 | .287 |
| Away | 833 | 3188 | 480 | 960 | 48 | 444 | .301 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952-08-24 | BOS | SLA | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1952-08-07 | BOS | PHA | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1952-08-05 | BOS | PHA | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1952-07-27 | BOS | SLA | W | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1951-09-28 | BOS | NYY | L | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1951-09-28 | BOS | NYY | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1951-09-27 | BOS | MIN | L | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1951-09-26 | BOS | MIN | L | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1951-09-21 | BOS | NYY | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1951-09-18 | BOS | CLE | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 16 | 0 | 79 | 9 | 1 | 6 |
| 2B | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 3B | 57 | 0 | 47 | 104 | 6 | 18 |
| C | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| SS | 1539 | 0 | 3132 | 4760 | 223 | 1180 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | CLE | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939 | CLE | SS | 53 | 0 | 103 | 184 | 14 | 31 |
| 1940 | CLE | SS | 155 | 0 | 277 | 454 | 24 | 116 |
| 1941 | CLE | SS | 147 | 0 | 296 | 444 | 26 | 97 |
| 1942 | CLE | SS | 146 | 0 | 281 | 426 | 26 | 107 |
| 1943 | CLE | C | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1943 | CLE | SS | 152 | 0 | 328 | 488 | 25 | 122 |
| 1944 | CLE | C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1944 | CLE | SS | 149 | 0 | 339 | 516 | 19 | 134 |
| 1945 | CLE | SS | 97 | 0 | 217 | 289 | 9 | 73 |
| 1946 | CLE | SS | 139 | 0 | 315 | 405 | 22 | 94 |
| 1947 | CLE | SS | 148 | 0 | 305 | 475 | 14 | 120 |
| 1948 | CLE | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948 | CLE | SS | 151 | 0 | 297 | 483 | 20 | 119 |
| 1949 | CLE | 1B | 6 | 0 | 41 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 1949 | CLE | 2B | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1949 | CLE | 3B | 38 | 0 | 34 | 76 | 4 | 13 |
| 1949 | CLE | SS | 88 | 0 | 176 | 272 | 8 | 78 |
| 1950 | CLE | 1B | 8 | 0 | 34 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 1950 | CLE | 2B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1950 | CLE | 3B | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1950 | CLE | SS | 61 | 0 | 118 | 170 | 4 | 44 |
| 1951 | BOS | 1B | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1951 | BOS | 3B | 15 | 0 | 10 | 27 | 2 | 5 |
| 1951 | BOS | SS | 52 | 0 | 80 | 153 | 12 | 45 |
| 1952 | BOS | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1952 | BOS | SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 3 |
| First Base | 16 |
| Second Base | 3 |
| Third Base | 57 |
| Shortstop | 1539 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | SS |
| 1948 | Most Valuable Player | |
| 1948 | TSN All-Star | SS |
| 1948 | TSN Major League Player of the Year | |
| 1948 | TSN Player of the Year | |
| 1947 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | SS |
| 1947 | TSN All-Star | SS |
| 1946 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | SS |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | Champaign | IL | 1937 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 14th | 10.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1948 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 1st | 324.0 | 336 | 22 |
| 1947 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 3rd | 168.0 | 336 | 1 |
| 1946 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 10th | 37.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1945 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 8th | 70.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1944 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 6th | 84.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1943 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 10th | 40.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1942 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 10th | 34.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1941 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 17th | 10.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1940 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 5th | 119.0 | 336 | 1 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Lou Boudreau (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Lou Boudreau
Lou Boudreau: the record in brief
The profile opens with Lou Boudreau's first major league game on September 9, 1938; the last one listed came on August 24, 1952. Boudreau played for the Cleveland Indians (1938 through 1950) and the Boston Red Sox (1951 through 1952). Boudreau played primarily as a shortstop and batted and threw right-handed. Born on July 17, 1917, in Harvey, IL, USA, Boudreau was listed at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds. Boudreau died on August 10, 2001, in Olympia Fields, IL, USA. Lou Boudreau was the playing name; the full given name is Louis.
Boudreau finished with 1,779 hits from 6,029 at bats in 1,646 games, which works out to .295, along with 68 home runs, 789 RBI, and 51 stolen bases. Boudreau's career OPS of .795 combines a .380 on-base mark with .415 slugging. Measured against the leagues Boudreau played in, the .295 career average compares with a .262 league average over the same seasons, 12.5% above the league.
Frequently Asked Questions about Lou Boudreau
- What years did Lou Boudreau play?
- Lou Boudreau played in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1952.
- Was Lou Boudreau a pitcher?
- No. Lou Boudreau was a position player (Shortstop).
- How many home runs did Lou Boudreau hit?
- Lou Boudreau hit 68 career home runs with 1,779 hits.
- Is Lou Boudreau in the Hall of Fame?
- Yes. Lou Boudreau was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970.
- What teams did Lou Boudreau play for?
- Lou Boudreau played for 2 teams: the Cleveland Indians (1938–1950) and the Boston Red Sox (1951–1952).
- How many MVP awards did Lou Boudreau win?
- Lou Boudreau won 1 MVP award, in 1948.
- What awards did Lou Boudreau win?
- Lou Boudreau won the MVP award (1948). He was selected to 8 All-Star Games.
- What were Lou Boudreau's career stats?
- In 1,646 games, Lou Boudreau had 1,779 hits, 68 home runs, 789 RBI, 861 runs, and 51 stolen bases, with a .295 batting average.
- What position did Lou Boudreau play?
- Lou Boudreau played primarily as a shortstop, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Lou Boudreau and how much did he weigh?
- Lou Boudreau was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 185 pounds.
- How many home runs did Lou Boudreau hit each season?
- Lou Boudreau's home runs by season: 0 in 1938, 0 in 1939, 9 in 1940, 10 in 1941, 2 in 1942, 3 in 1943, 3 in 1944, 3 in 1945, 6 in 1946, 4 in 1947, 18 in 1948, 4 in 1949, 1 in 1950, 5 in 1951, and 0 in 1952. His most in one season was 18, in 1948.
- What was Lou Boudreau's career batting average?
- Lou Boudreau batted .295 over his career, with 1,779 hits in 6,029 at bats.
- How many RBI did Lou Boudreau have?
- Lou Boudreau drove in 789 runs in his career.
- How many All-Star Games did Lou Boudreau make?
- Lou Boudreau was selected to 8 All-Star Games.