Walt Dropo
First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1949-1961)
Walt Dropo was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1949 to 1961 for 5 teams, including the Boston Red Sox, a span of 13 seasons. In 1,288 career games, he hit .270 with 1,113 hits, 152 home runs, and 704 RBI. Walt Dropo was an All-Star and a Rookie of the Year. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 4,059.
- 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
- First Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'5" / 220 lb
- Died
- 12/17/2010 in Peabody, MA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1949-04-19
- Last Game
- 1961-05-17
- Awards
- All-Star · Rookie of the Year
Full name: Walter Dropo
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,288 | 4,124 | 478 | 1,113 | 168 | 22 | 152 | 704 | 5 | 328 | 582 | .270 | .326 | .432 | .757 | 4,059 |
Career AVG .270 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .326 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .432 vs. league average .391 across their career seasons — +10.4% above league average.
Career OPS .757 vs. league average .723 across their career seasons — near 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | BOS | AL | 11 | 41 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | .146 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1950 | BOS | AL | 136 | 559 | 101 | 180 | 28 | 8 | 34 | 144 | 0 | 45 | 75 | .322 | .265 (+21%) | .346 (+9%) | .401 (+45%) | .747 (+28%) | 3070.0 |
| 1951 | BOS | AL | 99 | 360 | 37 | 86 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 57 | 0 | 38 | 52 | .239 | .260 (-8%) | .336 (-7%) | .385 (-4%) | .721 (-6%) | -344.0 |
| 1952 | BOS | AL | 37 | 132 | 13 | 35 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 27 | 0 | 11 | 22 | .265 | .252 (+5%) | .326 (+1%) | .369 (+27%) | .696 (+15%) | 293.6 |
| 1952 | DET | AL | 115 | 459 | 56 | 128 | 17 | 3 | 23 | 70 | 2 | 26 | 63 | .279 | .252 (+10%) | .326 (-2%) | .369 (+30%) | .696 (+15%) | 293.6 |
| 1953 | DET | AL | 152 | 606 | 61 | 150 | 30 | 3 | 13 | 96 | 2 | 29 | 69 | .248 | .264 (-6%) | .335 (-14%) | .397 (-7%) | .733 (-10%) | -1107.1 |
| 1954 | DET | AL | 107 | 320 | 27 | 90 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 44 | 0 | 24 | 41 | .281 | .261 (+8%) | .333 (-2%) | .390 (-4%) | .723 (-3%) | -180.9 |
| 1955 | CHA | AL | 141 | 453 | 55 | 127 | 15 | 2 | 19 | 79 | 0 | 42 | 71 | .280 | .258 (+8%) | .332 (+3%) | .393 (+14%) | .726 (+9%) | 799.6 |
| 1956 | CHA | AL | 125 | 361 | 42 | 96 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 52 | 1 | 37 | 51 | .266 | .258 (+3%) | .331 (+1%) | .397 (-6%) | .728 (-3%) | -152.0 |
| 1957 | CHA | AL | 93 | 223 | 24 | 57 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 49 | 0 | 16 | 40 | .256 | .257 (-1%) | .323 (-7%) | .391 (+12%) | .715 (+3%) | 77.2 |
| 1958 | CHA | AL | 28 | 52 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 11 | .192 | .257 (-25%) | .324 (-17%) | .394 (-17%) | .719 (-17%) | -143.5 |
| 1958 | CIN | NL | 63 | 162 | 18 | 47 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 31 | 0 | 12 | 31 | .290 | .257 (+12%) | .324 (+3%) | .394 (+24%) | .719 (+14%) | -143.5 |
| 1959 | CIN | NL | 26 | 39 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | .103 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1959 | BAL | AL | 62 | 151 | 17 | 42 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 21 | 0 | 12 | 20 | .278 | .256 (+8%) | .323 (+2%) | .392 (+17%) | .715 (+10%) | 0.0 |
| 1960 | BAL | AL | 79 | 179 | 16 | 48 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 0 | 20 | 19 | .268 | .255 (+5%) | .323 (+6%) | .387 (-2%) | .711 (+2%) | 94.5 |
| 1961 | BAL | AL | 14 | 27 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | .259 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 16 seasons | 1,288 | 4,124 | 478 | 1,113 | 168 | 22 | 152 | 704 | 5 | 328 | 582 | .270 | — | — | — | — | 2,558 | ||
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 (1288 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 644 | 2067 | 265 | 571 | 91 | 388 | .276 |
| Away | 644 | 2056 | 213 | 542 | 61 | 316 | .264 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961-05-17 | BAL | DET | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1961-05-15 | BAL | DET | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1961-05-14 | BAL | CLE | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1961-05-14 | BAL | CLE | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-05-13 | BAL | CLE | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-05-10 | BAL | MIN | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1961-05-09 | BAL | MIN | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1961-05-07 | BAL | KC1 | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-05-04 | BAL | LAA | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961-04-30 | BAL | DET | L | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 1174 | 500 | 9173 | 672 | 84 | 968 |
| 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | BOS | 1B | 11 | 0 | 103 | 4 | 0 | 13 |
| 1950 | BOS | 1B | 134 | 0 | 1142 | 77 | 15 | 147 |
| 1951 | BOS | 1B | 93 | 0 | 878 | 63 | 12 | 91 |
| 1952 | BOS | 1B | 35 | 0 | 319 | 21 | 2 | 31 |
| 1952 | DET | 1B | 115 | 0 | 1005 | 78 | 12 | 104 |
| 1953 | DET | 1B | 150 | 0 | 1260 | 127 | 14 | 121 |
| 1954 | DET | 1B | 95 | 79 | 681 | 54 | 3 | 60 |
| 1955 | CHA | 1B | 140 | 120 | 1101 | 62 | 6 | 104 |
| 1956 | CHA | 1B | 117 | 91 | 855 | 50 | 6 | 95 |
| 1957 | CHA | 1B | 69 | 50 | 483 | 39 | 7 | 49 |
| 1958 | CHA | 1B | 16 | 12 | 98 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 1958 | CIN | 1B | 43 | 37 | 300 | 27 | 0 | 31 |
| 1959 | CIN | 1B | 23 | 9 | 103 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 1959 | BAL | 1B | 54 | 37 | 386 | 18 | 4 | 42 |
| 1959 | BAL | 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1960 | BAL | 1B | 67 | 56 | 397 | 27 | 3 | 50 |
| 1960 | BAL | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961 | BAL | 1B | 12 | 9 | 62 | 6 | 0 | 11 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 1174 |
| Third Base | 3 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 1B |
| 1950 | Rookie of the Year | |
| 1950 | TSN All-Star | 1B |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Connecticut | Storrs | CT | 1943, 1946 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 26th | 5.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1950 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 6th | 75.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1950 | Rookie of the Year | AL | 1st | 15.0 | 24 | 15 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Walt Dropo (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Walt Dropo
Walt Dropo: the record in brief
Walt Dropo's major league career runs from a debut on April 19, 1949 to a final game on May 17, 1961. The team column moves through the Boston Red Sox (1949 through 1952), the Detroit Tigers (1952 through 1954), the Chicago White Sox (1955 to 1958), the Cincinnati Redlegs (1958 through 1959), and the Baltimore Orioles (1959 through 1961). Dropo is listed as a first baseman at 6 feet, 5 inches and 220 pounds. The bio says Dropo threw and hit right-handed. Dropo was born on January 30, 1923, in Moosup, CT, USA. Dropo died on December 17, 2010, in Peabody, MA, USA. Walt Dropo was the playing name; the full given name is Walter.
Dropo finished with 1,113 hits from 4,124 at bats in 1,288 games, which works out to .270, along with 152 homers and 704 runs batted in. Dropo's career OPS of .757 combines a .326 on-base mark with .432 slugging.
Frequently Asked Questions about Walt Dropo
- What years did Walt Dropo play?
- Walt Dropo played in Major League Baseball from 1949 to 1961.
- Was Walt Dropo a pitcher?
- No. Walt Dropo was a position player (First Baseman).
- How many home runs did Walt Dropo hit?
- Walt Dropo hit 152 career home runs with 1113 hits.
- What was Walt Dropo's career batting average?
- Walt Dropo batted .270 over his career, with 1,113 hits in 4,124 at bats.
- How many RBI did Walt Dropo have?
- Walt Dropo drove in 704 runs in his career.
- Is Walt Dropo in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Walt Dropo has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.