Guy Bush
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1923-1945)
Guy Bush was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1923 to 1945 for 5 teams, including the Chicago Cubs, a span of 23 seasons. Across 542 career appearances, he went 176-136 with a 3.86 ERA, 850 strikeouts, and 34 saves. He also batted .161 with 0 home runs.
- W (Wins):
- Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
- ERA (Earned Run Average):
- Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
- SO (Strikeouts):
- For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
- WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
- Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.
Data updated
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'0" / 175 lb
- Died
- 7/2/1985 in Shannon, MS, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1923-09-17
- Last Game
- 1945-05-26
Full name: Guy Terrell Bush
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | CHN | NL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 | — | 0.0 |
| 1924 | CHN | NL | 2 | 5 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 80.2 | 91 | 36 | 24 | 36 | 4.02 | 4.13 (+3%) | -567.6 |
| 1925 | CHN | NL | 6 | 13 | 42 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 182.0 | 213 | 87 | 52 | 76 | 4.30 | 4.55 (+5%) | -878.7 |
| 1926 | CHN | NL | 13 | 9 | 35 | 16 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 157.1 | 149 | 50 | 42 | 32 | 2.86 | 4.11 (+30%) | 1376.8 |
| 1927 | CHN | NL | 10 | 10 | 36 | 22 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 193.1 | 177 | 65 | 79 | 62 | 3.03 | 4.08 (+26%) | 569.3 |
| 1928 | CHN | NL | 15 | 6 | 42 | 24 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 204.1 | 229 | 87 | 86 | 61 | 3.83 | 4.13 (+7%) | -1713.6 |
| 1929 | CHN | NL | 18 | 7 | 50 | 29 | 18 | 2 | 8 | 270.2 | 277 | 110 | 107 | 82 | 3.66 | 4.60 (+20%) | -925.3 |
| 1930 | CHN | NL | 15 | 10 | 46 | 25 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 225.0 | 291 | 155 | 86 | 75 | 6.20 | 4.80 (-29%) | -3291.3 |
| 1931 | CHN | NL | 16 | 8 | 39 | 24 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 180.1 | 190 | 90 | 66 | 54 | 4.49 | 4.10 (-10%) | -993.2 |
| 1932 | CHN | NL | 19 | 11 | 40 | 30 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 238.2 | 262 | 85 | 70 | 73 | 3.21 | 4.13 (+22%) | -385.6 |
| 1933 | CHN | NL | 20 | 12 | 41 | 32 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 259.0 | 261 | 79 | 68 | 84 | 2.75 | 3.86 (+29%) | 2342.9 |
| 1934 | CHN | NL | 18 | 10 | 40 | 27 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 209.1 | 213 | 89 | 54 | 75 | 3.83 | 4.29 (+11%) | 370.2 |
| 1935 | PIT | NL | 11 | 11 | 41 | 25 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 204.1 | 237 | 98 | 40 | 42 | 4.32 | 4.35 (+1%) | -565.6 |
| 1936 | PIT | NL | 1 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 34.2 | 49 | 23 | 11 | 10 | 5.97 | 4.59 (-30%) | -234.8 |
| 1936 | BSN | NL | 4 | 5 | 15 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 90.1 | 98 | 34 | 20 | 28 | 3.39 | 4.59 (+26%) | 2065.4 |
| 1937 | BSN | NL | 8 | 15 | 32 | 20 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 180.2 | 201 | 71 | 48 | 56 | 3.54 | 4.34 (+18%) | 1798.1 |
| 1938 | SLN | NL | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4.50 | — | 0.0 |
| 1945 | CIN | NL | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8.31 | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 18 seasons | 176 | 136 | 542 | 308 | 151 | 16 | 34 | 2,722.0 | 2,950 | 1,166 | 859 | 850 | 3.86 | — | -1,033 | ||
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 Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 544 | 888 | 57 | 143 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 52 | 3 | 50 | 162 | .161 | .207 | .179 | .386 | -6,087 |
Career AVG .161 vs. league average .280 across their career seasons — 42.5% below league average.
Career OBP .207 vs. league average .343 across their career seasons — 39.8% below league average.
Career SLG .179 vs. league average .395 across their career seasons — 54.7% below league average.
Career OPS .386 vs. league average .738 across their career seasons — 47.8% below 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | CHN | NL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1924 | CHN | NL | 16 | 26 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .154 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1925 | CHN | NL | 42 | 57 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .193 | .288 (-33%) | .349 (-37%) | .407 (-53%) | .756 (-45%) | -425.1 |
| 1926 | CHN | NL | 35 | 48 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .167 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1927 | CHN | NL | 36 | 65 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | .123 | .282 (-56%) | .344 (-60%) | .392 (-65%) | .736 (-63%) | -664.3 |
| 1928 | CHN | NL | 42 | 73 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 18 | .082 | .280 (-71%) | .342 (-69%) | .395 (-79%) | .737 (-74%) | -881.6 |
| 1929 | CHN | NL | 50 | 91 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 19 | .165 | .289 (-43%) | .353 (-46%) | .415 (-60%) | .769 (-54%) | -818.8 |
| 1930 | CHN | NL | 46 | 78 | 7 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 19 | .282 | .293 (-4%) | .354 (-6%) | .429 (-28%) | .784 (-18%) | -226.4 |
| 1931 | CHN | NL | 39 | 57 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 11 | .123 | .276 (-56%) | .338 (-43%) | .388 (-64%) | .726 (-54%) | -491.2 |
| 1932 | CHN | NL | 40 | 84 | 6 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 12 | .179 | .275 (-35%) | .335 (-36%) | .391 (-42%) | .726 (-39%) | -535.1 |
| 1933 | CHN | NL | 41 | 88 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 16 | .125 | .270 (-54%) | .329 (-40%) | .377 (-55%) | .707 (-48%) | -661.8 |
| 1934 | CHN | NL | 41 | 70 | 4 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 13 | .229 | .278 (-18%) | .340 (-27%) | .392 (-38%) | .733 (-33%) | -369.1 |
| 1935 | PIT | NL | 41 | 63 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 7 | .127 | .279 (-55%) | .342 (-31%) | .399 (-64%) | .742 (-49%) | -490.6 |
| 1936 | PIT | NL | 16 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1936 | BSN | NL | 15 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | .120 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1937 | BSN | NL | 33 | 54 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 16 | .111 | .276 (-60%) | .342 (-50%) | .398 (-67%) | .740 (-59%) | -523.3 |
| 1938 | SLN | NL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1945 | CIN | NL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 18 seasons | 544 | 888 | 57 | 143 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 52 | 3 | 50 | 162 | .161 | — | — | — | — | -6,087 | ||
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 (1086 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 282 | 459 | 30 | 73 | 0 | 30 | .159 |
| Away | 262 | 430 | 27 | 70 | 0 | 24 | .163 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 281 | 1457.2 | 1537 | 585 | 437 | 491 | 3.61 |
| Away | 261 | 1263.1 | 1412 | 577 | 423 | 364 | 4.11 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945-05-26 | CIN | NY1 | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-05-13 | CIN | BRO | — | 1.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-04-22 | CIN | STL | SV | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-04-22 | CIN | STL | — | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1938-05-05 | STL | BSN | — | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1938-05-01 | STL | CHC | — | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1938-04-25 | STL | CIN | — | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1938-04-22 | STL | CHC | SV | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1938-04-21 | STL | PIT | L | 0.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1938-04-19 | STL | PIT | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | CHN | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1924 | CHN | P | 16 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| 1925 | CHN | P | 42 | 0 | 2 | 61 | 4 | 3 |
| 1926 | CHN | P | 35 | 0 | 4 | 39 | 2 | 1 |
| 1927 | CHN | P | 36 | 0 | 9 | 41 | 1 | 4 |
| 1928 | CHN | P | 42 | 0 | 5 | 46 | 2 | 2 |
| 1929 | CHN | P | 50 | 0 | 10 | 60 | 1 | 6 |
| 1930 | CHN | P | 46 | 0 | 21 | 46 | 1 | 3 |
| 1931 | CHN | P | 39 | 0 | 10 | 55 | 4 | 7 |
| 1932 | CHN | P | 40 | 0 | 22 | 50 | 3 | 1 |
| 1933 | CHN | P | 41 | 0 | 18 | 72 | 1 | 2 |
| 1934 | CHN | P | 40 | 0 | 13 | 46 | 1 | 3 |
| 1935 | PIT | P | 41 | 0 | 9 | 41 | 0 | 2 |
| 1936 | PIT | P | 16 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| 1936 | BSN | P | 15 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 0 | 1 |
| 1937 | BSN | P | 32 | 0 | 8 | 45 | 0 | 1 |
| 1938 | SLN | P | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945 | CIN | P | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 542 |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tupelo Military Institute | Tupelo | MS | 1921, 1922 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 12th | 11.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1932 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 23th | 1.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1929 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 10th | 16.0 | 80 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Guy Bush (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Guy Bush: the record in brief
The profile opens with Guy Bush's first major league game on September 17, 1923; the last one listed came on May 26, 1945. Bush played for the Chicago Cubs (1923 to 1934), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1935 through 1936), the Boston Bees (1936 to 1937), the St. Louis Cardinals (1938), and the Cincinnati Reds (1945). Bush played primarily as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. Born on August 23, 1901, in Aberdeen, MS, USA, Bush was listed at 6'0" and 175 pounds. Bush died on July 2, 1985, in Shannon, MS, USA. The given name on file is Guy Terrell Bush.
Bush's career pitching line is 176 wins, 136 losses and a 3.86 ERA over 542 appearances. Bush had 850 strikeouts, 151 complete games, 16 shutouts, and 34 saves. That 3.86 ERA compares with a 4.24 league average across the same seasons, 9.1% better. The best win total was 20, in 1933. 1933 was Bush's sharpest full season, a 2.75 ERA against the league's 3.86.
Frequently Asked Questions about Guy Bush
- What years did Guy Bush play?
- Guy Bush played in Major League Baseball from 1923 to 1945.
- Was Guy Bush a pitcher?
- Yes. Guy Bush pitched in the major leagues, recording 176 wins and 850 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Guy Bush hit?
- Guy Bush hit 0 career home runs with 143 hits.
- What was Guy Bush's career batting average?
- Guy Bush batted .161 over his career, with 143 hits in 888 at bats.
- How many RBI did Guy Bush have?
- Guy Bush drove in 52 runs in his career.
- What was Guy Bush's career ERA?
- Guy Bush finished with a 3.86 career ERA, going 176-136 with 850 strikeouts.