Fred Chapman
Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1939-1941)
Fred Chapman was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1939 to 1941 for the Philadelphia Athletics, a span of 3 seasons. In 76 career games, he hit .193 with 36 hits and 9 RBI.
- 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
- 6'1" / 185 lb
- Died
- 3/27/1997 in Kannapolis, NC, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1939-09-15
- Last Game
- 1941-09-23
Full name: William Fred Chapman
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 76 | 187 | 12 | 36 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 11 | 28 | .193 | .237 | .219 | .457 | -1,090 |
Career AVG .193 vs. league average .268 across their career seasons — 28.1% below league average.
Career OBP .237 vs. league average .337 across their career seasons — 29.5% below league average.
Career SLG .219 vs. league average .385 across their career seasons — 43.0% below league average.
Career OPS .457 vs. league average .721 across their career seasons — 36.7% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | PHA | AL | 15 | 49 | 5 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .286 | — | — | — | — | -106.3 |
| 1940 | PHA | AL | 26 | 69 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 10 | .159 | .267 (-40%) | .335 (-32%) | .387 (-55%) | .722 (-45%) | -484.8 |
| 1941 | PHA | AL | 35 | 69 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 15 | .159 | .262 (-39%) | .332 (-38%) | .373 (-53%) | .705 (-46%) | -498.8 |
| Career · 3 seasons | 76 | 187 | 12 | 36 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 11 | 28 | .193 | — | — | — | — | -1,090 | ||
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 (76 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 31 | 55 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | .145 |
| Away | 45 | 132 | 9 | 28 | 0 | 9 | .212 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941-09-23 | PHA | NYY | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-09-21 | PHA | MIN | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1941-09-21 | PHA | MIN | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-09-14 | PHA | SLA | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-09-06 | PHA | MIN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-08-27 | PHA | CLE | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1941-08-26 | PHA | DET | W | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1941-08-26 | PHA | DET | W | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1941-08-24 | PHA | DET | L | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941-08-23 | PHA | SLA | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Second Base | 1 |
| Third Base | 2 |
| Shortstop | 68 |
Fred Chapman: the record in brief
Fred Chapman played a first major league game on September 15, 1939 and a last one on September 23, 1941. Chapman spent the whole of the career shown here with one club, the Philadelphia Athletics. The bio lists Chapman as a shortstop who batted and threw right-handed. Height and weight on file: 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds. The birth record reads July 17, 1916, in Liberty, SC, USA. Chapman died on March 27, 1997, in Kannapolis, NC, USA. The given name on file is William Fred Chapman.
Chapman collected 36 hits in 187 at bats across 76 games, good for a .193 batting average, along with 9 runs batted in. Chapman got on base at a .237 rate and slugged .219 (.457 OPS). Chapman's .193 average ran 28.1% below the .268 that the league posted over the same seasons. By OPS the gap is 36.7% below league average (.457 against .721). No season topped the 14 hits of 1939. The best average in the busiest seasons was .286, in 1939.
Frequently Asked Questions about Fred Chapman
- What years did Fred Chapman play?
- Fred Chapman played in Major League Baseball from 1939 to 1941.
- Was Fred Chapman a pitcher?
- No. Fred Chapman was a position player (Shortstop).
- How many home runs did Fred Chapman hit?
- Fred Chapman hit 0 career home runs with 36 hits.
- What was Fred Chapman's career batting average?
- Fred Chapman batted .193 over his career, with 36 hits in 187 at bats.
- How many RBI did Fred Chapman have?
- Fred Chapman drove in 9 runs in his career.
- Is Fred Chapman in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Fred Chapman has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.