Sam Crawford
Outfielder · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1899-1917)
Sam Crawford was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1899 to 1917 for the Cincinnati Reds and the Detroit Tigers, a span of 19 seasons. In 2,517 career games, he hit .309 with 2,961 hits, 97 home runs, and 1,519 RBI. Sam Crawford was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1957. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 41,381.
- 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
- Outfielder
- Bats / Throws
- L / L
- Height / Weight
- 6'0" / 190 lb
- Died
- 6/15/1968 in Hollywood, CA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1899-09-10
- Last Game
- 1917-09-16
- Hall of Fame
- Inducted 1957 (BBWAA)
Full name: Samuel Earl Crawford
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,517 | 9,570 | 1,391 | 2,961 | 458 | 309 | 97 | 1,519 | 366 | 760 | 580 | .309 | .362 | .452 | .814 | 41,381 |
Career AVG .309 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — +21.0% above league average.
Career OBP .362 vs. league average .318 across their career seasons — +13.7% above league average.
Career SLG .452 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — +35.3% above league average.
Career OPS .814 vs. league average .652 across their career seasons — +24.8% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1899 | CIN | NL | 31 | 127 | 25 | 39 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 10 | .307 | .282 (+9%) | .343 (-7%) | .366 (+27%) | .710 (+10%) | 117.2 |
| 1900 | CIN | NL | 101 | 389 | 68 | 101 | 15 | 15 | 7 | 59 | 14 | 28 | 35 | .260 | .279 (-7%) | .338 (-7%) | .366 (+17%) | .705 (+5%) | 209.9 |
| 1901 | CIN | NL | 131 | 515 | 91 | 170 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 104 | 13 | 37 | 45 | .330 | .271 (+21%) | .326 (+16%) | .359 (+46%) | .686 (+32%) | 2978.2 |
| 1902 | CIN | NL | 140 | 555 | 92 | 185 | 18 | 22 | 3 | 78 | 16 | 47 | 40 | .333 | .266 (+25%) | .321 (+20%) | .343 (+34%) | .665 (+27%) | 2812.3 |
| 1903 | DET | AL | 137 | 550 | 88 | 184 | 23 | 25 | 4 | 89 | 18 | 25 | 46 | .335 | .261 (+28%) | .316 (+15%) | .345 (+41%) | .662 (+29%) | 2700.2 |
| 1904 | DET | AL | 150 | 562 | 49 | 143 | 22 | 16 | 2 | 73 | 20 | 44 | 58 | .254 | .246 (+3%) | .300 (+3%) | .321 (+12%) | .622 (+8%) | 650.5 |
| 1905 | DET | AL | 154 | 575 | 73 | 171 | 38 | 10 | 6 | 75 | 22 | 50 | 31 | .297 | .248 (+20%) | .307 (+16%) | .322 (+33%) | .629 (+25%) | 2518.4 |
| 1906 | DET | AL | 145 | 563 | 65 | 166 | 25 | 16 | 2 | 66 | 24 | 38 | 20 | .295 | .247 (+19%) | .307 (+11%) | .315 (+29%) | .622 (+20%) | 1818.5 |
| 1907 | DET | AL | 144 | 582 | 102 | 188 | 34 | 17 | 4 | 81 | 18 | 37 | 29 | .323 | .245 (+32%) | .304 (+20%) | .308 (+49%) | .613 (+35%) | 3295.6 |
| 1908 | DET | AL | 152 | 591 | 102 | 184 | 33 | 16 | 7 | 80 | 15 | 37 | 28 | .311 | .240 (+29%) | .298 (+19%) | .306 (+49%) | .605 (+34%) | 3266.0 |
| 1909 | DET | AL | 156 | 589 | 83 | 185 | 35 | 14 | 6 | 97 | 30 | 47 | 32 | .314 | .244 (+29%) | .306 (+19%) | .312 (+45%) | .618 (+32%) | 3183.7 |
| 1910 | DET | AL | 154 | 588 | 83 | 170 | 26 | 19 | 5 | 120 | 20 | 37 | 34 | .289 | .249 (+16%) | .317 (+5%) | .326 (+30%) | .644 (+17%) | 1556.3 |
| 1911 | DET | AL | 146 | 574 | 109 | 217 | 36 | 14 | 7 | 115 | 37 | 61 | 36 | .378 | .266 (+42%) | .336 (+30%) | .356 (+47%) | .693 (+39%) | 4459.1 |
| 1912 | DET | AL | 149 | 581 | 81 | 189 | 30 | 21 | 4 | 109 | 41 | 42 | 32 | .325 | .268 (+21%) | .335 (+11%) | .358 (+31%) | .694 (+21%) | 2230.9 |
| 1913 | DET | AL | 153 | 609 | 78 | 193 | 32 | 23 | 9 | 83 | 13 | 52 | 28 | .317 | .259 (+22%) | .325 (+14%) | .345 (+42%) | .670 (+28%) | 3040.0 |
| 1914 | DET | AL | 157 | 582 | 74 | 183 | 22 | 26 | 8 | 104 | 25 | 69 | 31 | .314 | .255 (+23%) | .322 (+20%) | .339 (+42%) | .661 (+32%) | 3422.1 |
| 1915 | DET | AL | 156 | 612 | 81 | 183 | 31 | 19 | 4 | 112 | 24 | 66 | 29 | .299 | .250 (+19%) | .318 (+15%) | .332 (+30%) | .651 (+23%) | 2515.3 |
| 1916 | DET | AL | 100 | 322 | 41 | 92 | 11 | 13 | 0 | 42 | 10 | 37 | 10 | .286 | .248 (+15%) | .314 (+14%) | .326 (+23%) | .640 (+19%) | 1015.5 |
| 1917 | DET | AL | 61 | 104 | 6 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 6 | .173 | .248 (-30%) | .312 (-35%) | .323 (-17%) | .635 (-26%) | -409.3 |
| Career · 19 seasons | 2,517 | 9,570 | 1,391 | 2,961 | 458 | 309 | 97 | 1,519 | 366 | 760 | 580 | .309 | — | — | — | — | 41,381 | ||
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
Playoff Batting by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (2517 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 1251 | 4623 | 698 | 1469 | 40 | 783 | .318 |
| Away | 1266 | 4956 | 693 | 1491 | 57 | 777 | .301 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1917-09-16 | DET | CLE | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-09-15 | DET | CHW | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-08-25 | DET | PHA | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-08-24 | DET | PHA | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-08-21 | DET | NYY | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-08-18 | DET | MIN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-08-14 | DET | SLA | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-08-13 | DET | SLA | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1917-07-22 | DET | NYY | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1917-07-21 | DET | NYY | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 151 | 111 | 1476 | 91 | 33 | 58 |
| OF | 2299 | 941 | 3626 | 268 | 143 | 59 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1899 | CIN | OF | 31 | 0 | 56 | 9 | 2 | 2 |
| 1900 | CIN | OF | 95 | 0 | 237 | 18 | 14 | 2 |
| 1901 | CIN | OF | 127 | 0 | 209 | 20 | 19 | 6 |
| 1902 | CIN | OF | 140 | 0 | 208 | 24 | 17 | 5 |
| 1903 | DET | OF | 137 | 0 | 225 | 16 | 10 | 3 |
| 1904 | DET | OF | 150 | 150 | 230 | 18 | 7 | 8 |
| 1905 | DET | 1B | 51 | 51 | 478 | 41 | 11 | 22 |
| 1905 | DET | OF | 103 | 103 | 152 | 18 | 2 | 3 |
| 1906 | DET | 1B | 32 | 27 | 287 | 17 | 2 | 10 |
| 1906 | DET | OF | 116 | 116 | 171 | 19 | 3 | 2 |
| 1907 | DET | 1B | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1907 | DET | OF | 144 | 144 | 311 | 22 | 12 | 2 |
| 1908 | DET | 1B | 17 | 16 | 176 | 13 | 6 | 12 |
| 1908 | DET | OF | 134 | 135 | 252 | 9 | 8 | 2 |
| 1909 | DET | 1B | 18 | 16 | 189 | 10 | 6 | 2 |
| 1909 | DET | OF | 139 | 140 | 297 | 7 | 11 | 2 |
| 1910 | DET | 1B | 1 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1910 | DET | OF | 153 | 153 | 223 | 10 | 9 | 2 |
| 1911 | DET | OF | 146 | 0 | 181 | 16 | 5 | 3 |
| 1912 | DET | OF | 149 | 0 | 169 | 16 | 3 | 5 |
| 1913 | DET | 1B | 13 | 0 | 156 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| 1913 | DET | OF | 140 | 0 | 201 | 14 | 8 | 5 |
| 1914 | DET | OF | 157 | 0 | 193 | 18 | 5 | 4 |
| 1915 | DET | OF | 156 | 0 | 219 | 8 | 6 | 1 |
| 1916 | DET | 1B | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1916 | DET | OF | 79 | 0 | 85 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| 1917 | DET | 1B | 15 | 0 | 158 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 1917 | DET | OF | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 152 |
| Left Field | 138 |
| Center Field | 480 |
| Right Field | 1686 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1915 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | RF |
| 1911 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | LF |
| 1909 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | LF |
| 1908 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | CF |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1914 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 2nd | 35.0 | 64 | 0 |
| 1913 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 14th | 5.0 | 64 | 0 |
| 1912 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 14th | 4.0 | 64 | 0 |
| 1911 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 14th | 4.0 | 64 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Sam Crawford (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Sam Crawford
See Sam Crawford in Another Era
Sam Crawford: the record in brief
Sam Crawford's major league career runs from a debut on September 10, 1899 to a final game on September 16, 1917. By club, Crawford's seasons break down as the Cincinnati Reds (1899 to 1902) and the Detroit Tigers (1903 to 1917). Crawford played primarily as an outfielder and threw and hit left-handed. Born on April 18, 1880, in Wahoo, NE, USA, Crawford was listed at 6 feet, 0 inches and 190 pounds. Crawford's death is recorded on June 15, 1968, in Hollywood, CA, USA. Crawford's full given name, per the bio, is Samuel Earl Crawford.
Crawford's career batting table shows 2,517 games, 9,570 at bats and 2,961 hits, a .309 average; the totals also include 97 home runs, 1,519 RBI, and 366 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .362 and the slugging percentage .452, for an OPS of .814. The league as a whole hit .256 across Crawford's seasons, which puts the .309 career mark 21.0% above average. In OPS terms, Crawford's .814 stands 24.8% above the league's .652.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sam Crawford
- What years did Sam Crawford play?
- Sam Crawford played in Major League Baseball from 1899 to 1917.
- Was Sam Crawford a pitcher?
- No. Sam Crawford was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Sam Crawford hit?
- Sam Crawford hit 97 career home runs with 2961 hits.
- Is Sam Crawford in the Hall of Fame?
- Yes. Sam Crawford was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1957.
- What was Sam Crawford's career batting average?
- Sam Crawford batted .309 over his career, with 2,961 hits in 9,570 at bats.
- How many RBI did Sam Crawford have?
- Sam Crawford drove in 1,519 runs in his career.