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.

Bill Bruton

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	804	2908	459	805	39	260	.277
Away	805	3140	478	845	55	284	.269

Last 10 Games — Batting

Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO
1964-10-02	DET	BAL	L	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
1964-10-01	DET	NYY	W	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	2
1964-10-01	DET	NYY	W	4	1	2	0	0	0	0	1
1964-09-30	DET	NYY	L	5	0	1	0	0	1	0	0
1964-09-30	DET	NYY	L	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
1964-09-27	DET	BOS	W	3	2	2	0	1	1	1	0
1964-09-26	DET	BOS	W	1	0	1	0	0	2	0	0
1964-09-23	DET	BAL	W	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1964-09-20	DET	CLE	L	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
1964-09-20	DET	CLE	W	4	2	2	1	1	1	1	1

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
OF	1561	1301	3905	105	77	32

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.

Position	Games
Left Field	10
Center Field	1548
Right Field	1

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.

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.