Bill Bruton

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1953-1964)

Bill Bruton was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1953 to 1964 for the Milwaukee Braves and the Detroit Tigers, a span of 12 seasons. In 1,610 career games, he hit .273 with 1,651 hits, 94 home runs, and 545 RBI. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 458.

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 .273
HR 94
RBI 545
H 1,651
OPS .720
PIV 458
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 169 lb
Born
11/9/1925 in Panola, AL, USA
Died
12/5/1995 in Marshallton, DE, USA
MLB Debut
1953-04-13
Last Game
1964-10-02

Full name: William Haron Bruton

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Bill Bruton — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
2.0 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000

Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Bill Bruton — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1949 2.0 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
Listed seasons · 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — —

Career Batting Statistics

Bill Bruton — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,610 6,056 937 1,651 241 102 94 545 207 482 793 .273 .328 .393 .720 458

Career AVG .273 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — +6.3% above league average.

Career OBP .328 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .393 vs. league average .390 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .720 vs. league average .715 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill Bruton 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
1953 ML1 NL 151 613 82 153 18 14 1 41 26 44 100 .250 .264 (-6%) .335 (-9%) .397 (-17%) .733 (-13%) -1374.7
1954 ML1 NL 142 567 89 161 20 7 4 30 34 40 78 .284 .261 (+9%) .333 (+1%) .390 (-6%) .723 (-3%) -261.3
1955 ML1 NL 149 636 106 175 30 12 9 47 25 43 72 .275 .258 (+6%) .332 (-2%) .393 (+2%) .726 (avg) -79.2
1956 ML1 NL 147 525 73 143 23 15 8 56 8 26 63 .272 .258 (+5%) .331 (-8%) .397 (+5%) .728 (-1%) -326.2
1957 ML1 NL 79 306 41 85 16 9 5 30 11 19 35 .278 .257 (+8%) .323 (-2%) .391 (+12%) .715 (+6%) 155.7
1958 ML1 NL 100 325 47 91 11 3 3 28 4 27 37 .280 .257 (+9%) .324 (+3%) .394 (-9%) .719 (-3%) -139.5
1959 ML1 NL 133 478 72 138 22 6 6 41 13 35 54 .289 .256 (+12%) .323 (+4%) .392 (+1%) .715 (+3%) 235.6
1960 ML1 NL 151 629 112 180 27 13 12 54 22 41 97 .286 .255 (+12%) .323 (+2%) .387 (+10%) .711 (+6%) 638.9
1961 DET AL 160 596 99 153 15 5 17 63 22 61 66 .257 .258 (-1%) .328 (avg) .399 (-4%) .727 (-2%) -165.3
1962 DET AL 147 561 90 156 27 5 16 74 14 55 67 .278 .257 (+8%) .326 (+6%) .393 (+9%) .719 (+8%) 899.9
1963 DET AL 145 524 84 134 21 8 8 48 14 59 70 .256 .246 (+4%) .308 (+7%) .371 (avg) .680 (+3%) 406.6
1964 DET AL 106 296 42 82 11 5 5 33 14 32 54 .277 .250 (+11%) .312 (+11%) .377 (+5%) .690 (+8%) 467.6
Career · 12 seasons 1,610 6,056 937 1,651 241 102 94 545 207 482 793 .273 — — — — 458

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

Bill Bruton — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
7 17 2 7 0 0 1 2 5 5 .412

Playoff Batting by Year

Bill Bruton — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1958 WS ML1 7 17 2 7 0 0 1 2 5 5 .412

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1609 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bill Bruton — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home804290845980539260.277
Away805314047884555284.269

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bill Bruton — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1964-10-02 DETBALL 300000001
1964-10-01 DETNYYW 501000002
1964-10-01 DETNYYW 412000001
1964-09-30 DETNYYL 501000100
1964-09-30 DETNYYL 010000010
1964-09-27 DETBOSW 322001110
1964-09-26 DETBOSW 101000200
1964-09-23 DETBALW 000000010
1964-09-20 DETCLEL 100000001
1964-09-20 DETCLEW 422101111

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bill Bruton — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 1561 1301 3905 105 77 32

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bill Bruton — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1953 ML1 OF 150 0 397 15 9 5
1954 ML1 OF 141 129 350 14 7 3
1955 ML1 OF 149 145 412 17 14 6
1956 ML1 OF 145 138 391 10 13 1
1957 ML1 OF 79 76 206 5 4 2
1958 ML1 OF 96 85 203 6 5 0
1959 ML1 OF 133 114 309 6 3 2
1960 ML1 OF 149 145 351 10 5 3
1961 DET OF 155 141 410 4 5 2
1962 DET OF 145 134 394 5 7 2
1963 DET OF 138 127 339 6 3 3
1964 DET OF 81 67 143 7 2 3

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bill Bruton Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Left Field 10
Center Field 1548
Right Field 1

Award Voting History

Bill Bruton — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1953 Rookie of the Year NL 4th 2.0 24 2

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Bill Bruton (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Frank Schulte
    .270 avg, 92 HR
  2. 97
    Dave Martinez
    .276 avg, 91 HR
  3. 91
    Al Cowens
    .270 avg, 108 HR
  4. 90
    George Wood
    .273 avg, 68 HR
  5. 90
    Jim Piersall
    .272 avg, 104 HR
  6. 88
    Brian McRae
    .261 avg, 103 HR

Bill Bruton: the record in brief

Between the debut on April 13, 1953 and the final game on October 2, 1964, Bill Bruton built the record summarized on this page. Bruton played for the Milwaukee Braves (1953 to 1960) and the Detroit Tigers (1961 through 1964). Bruton, born on November 9, 1925, in Panola, AL, USA, is listed as an outfielder and threw right-handed and batted left-handed. Bruton's listed size is 169 pounds on a 6-foot-0 frame. The bio records the death on December 5, 1995, in Marshallton, DE, USA. The given name on file is William Haron Bruton.

Bruton finished with 1,651 hits from 6,056 at bats in 1,610 games, which works out to .273, adding 94 home runs, 545 runs batted in, and 207 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .328 and .393 give Bruton a career OPS of .720. Set against a .256 league average for the same years, Bruton's .273 average sits 6.3% above it. The single-season home run high is 17, set in 1961.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bill Bruton

What years did Bill Bruton play?
Bill Bruton played in Major League Baseball from 1953 to 1964.
Was Bill Bruton a pitcher?
No. Bill Bruton was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Bill Bruton hit?
Bill Bruton hit 94 career home runs with 1651 hits.
What was Bill Bruton's career batting average?
Bill Bruton batted .273 over his career, with 1,651 hits in 6,056 at bats.
How many RBI did Bill Bruton have?
Bill Bruton drove in 545 runs in his career.
Is Bill Bruton in the Hall of Fame?
No. Bill Bruton has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.