Bob Elliott

Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1939-1953)

Bob Elliott was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1939 to 1953 for 5 teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 15 seasons. In 1,978 career games, he hit .289 with 2,061 hits, 170 home runs, and 1,195 RBI. Bob Elliott was a 7-time All-Star and an MVP. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 22,824.

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

AVG .289
HR 170
RBI 1,195
H 2,061
OPS .815
PIV 22,824
Position
Third Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 185 lb
Born
11/26/1916 in San Francisco, CA, USA
Died
5/4/1966 in San Diego, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1939-09-02
Last Game
1953-09-16
Awards
7× All-Star · MVP

Full name: Robert Irving Elliott

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Career Batting Statistics

Bob Elliott — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,978 7,141 1,064 2,061 382 94 170 1,195 60 967 604 .289 .375 .440 .815 22,824

Career AVG .289 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — +10.3% above league average.

Career OBP .375 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — +12.3% above league average.

Career SLG .440 vs. league average .374 across their career seasons — +17.8% above league average.

Career OPS .815 vs. league average .707 across their career seasons — +15.2% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob Elliott Stats, Bio & Career Records
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 PIT NL 32 129 18 43 10 3 3 19 0 9 4 .333 .274 (+22%) .342 (+10%) .393 (+34%) .735 (+23%) 459.1
1940 PIT NL 148 551 88 161 34 11 5 64 13 45 28 .292 .267 (+9%) .335 (+4%) .387 (+9%) .722 (+6%) 613.2
1941 PIT NL 141 527 74 144 24 10 3 76 6 64 52 .273 .262 (+4%) .332 (+6%) .373 (avg) .705 (+3%) 378.7
1942 PIT NL 143 560 75 166 26 7 9 89 2 52 35 .296 .253 (+17%) .323 (+11%) .349 (+19%) .672 (+15%) 1573.2
1943 PIT NL 156 581 82 183 30 12 7 101 4 56 24 .315 .255 (+23%) .324 (+16%) .346 (+28%) .671 (+22%) 2417.6
1944 PIT NL 143 538 85 160 28 16 10 108 9 75 42 .297 .261 (+14%) .325 (+18%) .357 (+30%) .683 (+24%) 2551.1
1945 PIT NL 144 541 80 157 36 6 8 108 5 64 38 .290 .260 (+11%) .328 (+11%) .354 (+19%) .683 (+16%) 1646.5
1946 PIT NL 140 486 50 128 25 3 5 68 6 64 44 .263 .256 (+3%) .328 (+7%) .358 (avg) .687 (+3%) 429.1
1947 BSN NL 150 555 93 176 35 5 22 113 3 87 60 .317 .262 (+21%) .336 (+22%) .376 (+37%) .712 (+30%) 3534.2
1948 BSN NL 151 540 99 153 24 5 23 100 6 131 57 .283 .263 (+7%) .340 (+24%) .379 (+25%) .719 (+25%) 3300.6
1949 BSN NL 139 482 77 135 29 5 17 76 0 90 38 .280 .262 (+7%) .343 (+15%) .384 (+22%) .727 (+19%) 2003.8
1950 BSN NL 142 531 94 162 28 5 24 107 2 68 67 .305 .265 (+15%) .346 (+12%) .401 (+28%) .747 (+20%) 2234.6
1951 BSN NL 136 480 73 137 29 2 15 70 2 65 56 .285 .260 (+9%) .336 (+10%) .385 (+16%) .721 (+13%) 1345.6
1952 NY1 NL 98 272 33 62 6 2 10 35 1 36 20 .228 .252 (-10%) .326 (-1%) .369 (+1%) .696 (avg) 40.6
1953 SLA AL 48 160 19 40 7 1 5 29 0 30 18 .250 .264 (-5%) .335 (+10%) .397 (+1%) .733 (+5%) 206.1
1953 CHA AL 67 208 24 54 11 1 4 32 1 31 21 .260 .264 (-2%) .335 (+7%) .397 (-4%) .733 (+1%) 206.1
Career · 16 seasons 1,978 7,141 1,064 2,061 382 94 170 1,195 60 967 604 .289 — — — — 22,940

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

Bob Elliott — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
6 21 4 7 0 0 2 5 2 2 .333

Playoff Batting by Year

Bob Elliott — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1948 WS BSN 6 21 4 7 0 0 2 5 2 2 .333

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1978 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Bob Elliott — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home9913491523104663601.300
Away98736515421016107602.278

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bob Elliott — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1953-09-16 CHWMINL 200000000
1953-09-15 CHWBOSW 311000000
1953-09-14 CHWBOSW 100000000
1953-09-13 CHWBOSL 201000010
1953-09-09 CHWNYYL 100000001
1953-09-07 CHWDETL 300000012
1953-09-05 CHWCLEL 400000001
1953-09-04 CHWCLEL 000000000
1953-09-03 CHWMINL 100000000
1953-08-30 CHWNYYL 100000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bob Elliott — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 2 0 0 0 0 0
3B 1365 0 1448 2744 236 252
OF 537 0 1070 44 24 7
SS 2 0 1 2 1 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bob Elliott — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1939 PIT OF 30 0 88 1 2 0
1940 PIT OF 147 0 302 12 7 0
1941 PIT OF 139 0 281 9 9 2
1942 PIT 3B 142 0 173 285 36 22
1942 PIT OF 1 0 3 1 0 0
1943 PIT 2B 2 0 0 0 0 0
1943 PIT 3B 151 0 149 294 24 34
1943 PIT SS 1 0 1 2 1 0
1944 PIT 3B 140 0 169 285 27 22
1944 PIT SS 1 0 0 0 0 0
1945 PIT 3B 81 0 94 178 21 18
1945 PIT OF 61 0 125 7 2 0
1946 PIT 3B 43 0 44 82 6 5
1946 PIT OF 92 0 188 8 1 5
1947 BSN 3B 148 0 129 302 20 25
1948 BSN 3B 150 0 146 298 26 18
1949 BSN 3B 130 0 141 300 17 27
1950 BSN 3B 137 0 141 256 20 26
1951 BSN 3B 127 0 138 242 24 31
1952 NY1 3B 13 0 19 25 2 3
1952 NY1 OF 65 0 83 6 2 0
1953 SLA 3B 45 0 51 93 7 12
1953 CHA 3B 58 0 54 104 6 9
1953 CHA OF 2 0 0 0 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bob Elliott Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 2
Third Base 1362
Shortstop 2
Left Field 65
Center Field 64
Right Field 412

Awards & Honors

Bob Elliott — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1950 Baseball Magazine All-Star 3B
1948 TSN All-Star 3B
1947 Baseball Magazine All-Star 3B
1947 Most Valuable Player
1944 Baseball Magazine All-Star 3B
1944 TSN All-Star 3B

Award Voting History

Bob Elliott — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1950 Most Valuable Player NL 24th 8.0 336 0
1948 Most Valuable Player NL 13th 33.0 336 0
1947 Most Valuable Player NL 1st 205.0 336 9
1945 Most Valuable Player NL 16th 15.0 336 0
1944 Most Valuable Player NL 10th 57.0 336 0
1943 Most Valuable Player NL 8th 52.0 336 0
1942 Most Valuable Player NL 9th 39.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Bob Elliott (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Bobby Doerr HOF
    .288 avg, 223 HR
  2. 90
    Pinky Higgins
    .292 avg, 140 HR
  3. 88
    Keith Hernandez
    .296 avg, 162 HR
  4. 86
    Tony Lazzeri HOF
    .292 avg, 178 HR
  5. 83
    Phil Cavarretta
    .293 avg, 95 HR
  6. 81
    Marty McManus
    .289 avg, 120 HR

Compare Bob Elliott

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Elliott's closest peers by position and era.

vs Warren Spahn
vs Joe DiMaggio
vs Johnny Mize
vs Duke Snider
vs Charlie Gehringer
vs Ron Santo

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Bob Elliott: the record in brief

Bob Elliott played a first major league game on September 2, 1939 and a last one on September 16, 1953. The season rows list, in order, the Pittsburgh Pirates (1939 to 1946), the Boston Braves (1947 through 1951), the New York Giants (1952), the St. Louis Browns (1953), and the Chicago White Sox (1953). The bio lists Elliott as a third baseman who batted and threw right-handed. Elliott is listed at 185 pounds on a 6-foot-0 frame. The birth record reads November 26, 1916, in San Francisco, CA, USA. Elliott's death is recorded on May 4, 1966, in San Diego, CA, USA. The given name on file is Robert Irving Elliott.

The batting record for Elliott: 1,978 games, 2,061 hits in 7,141 at bats, and a .289 average, along with 170 home runs, 1,195 RBI, and 60 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .375 and .440 give Elliott a career OPS of .815.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob Elliott

What years did Bob Elliott play?
Bob Elliott played in Major League Baseball from 1939 to 1953.
Was Bob Elliott a pitcher?
No. Bob Elliott was a position player (Third Baseman).
How many home runs did Bob Elliott hit?
Bob Elliott hit 170 career home runs with 2061 hits.
What was Bob Elliott's career batting average?
Bob Elliott batted .289 over his career, with 2,061 hits in 7,141 at bats.
How many RBI did Bob Elliott have?
Bob Elliott drove in 1,195 runs in his career.
Did Bob Elliott win an MVP?
Yes. Bob Elliott won the Most Valuable Player award 1 time.