Larry Gardner

Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1908-1924)

Larry Gardner was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1908 to 1924 for the Boston Red Sox, the Philadelphia Athletics, and the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 17 seasons. In 1,923 career games, he hit .289 with 1,931 hits, 27 home runs, and 934 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 11,779.

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 27
RBI 934
H 1,931
OPS .739
PIV 11,779
Position
Third Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
5'8" / 165 lb
Born
5/13/1886 in Enosburg Falls, VT, USA
Died
3/11/1976 in St. George, VT, USA
MLB Debut
1908-06-25
Last Game
1924-09-06

Full name: William Lawrence Gardner

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Career Batting Statistics

Larry Gardner — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,923 6,688 867 1,931 301 129 27 934 165 654 434 .289 .355 .384 .739 11,779

Career AVG .289 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — +9.6% above league average.

Career OBP .355 vs. league average .327 across their career seasons — +8.5% above league average.

Career SLG .384 vs. league average .352 across their career seasons — +9.3% above league average.

Career OPS .739 vs. league average .679 across their career seasons — +8.9% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Larry Gardner 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
1908 BOS AL 3 10 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 .300 — — — — 0.0
1909 BOS AL 19 37 7 11 1 2 0 5 1 4 6 .297 — — — — 0.0
1910 BOS AL 113 413 56 117 12 10 2 36 8 41 52 .283 .249 (+13%) .317 (+11%) .326 (+15%) .644 (+13%) 982.6
1911 BOS AL 138 492 80 140 17 8 4 44 27 64 57 .285 .266 (+7%) .336 (+11%) .356 (+5%) .693 (+8%) 955.9
1912 BOS AL 143 517 88 163 24 18 3 86 25 56 36 .315 .268 (+17%) .335 (+14%) .358 (+25%) .694 (+20%) 1993.8
1913 BOS AL 131 473 64 133 17 10 0 63 18 47 34 .281 .259 (+8%) .325 (+7%) .345 (+4%) .670 (+5%) 506.2
1914 BOS AL 155 553 50 143 23 19 3 68 16 35 39 .259 .255 (+1%) .322 (-6%) .339 (+14%) .661 (+4%) 110.9
1915 BOS AL 127 430 51 111 14 6 1 55 11 39 24 .258 .250 (+3%) .318 (+3%) .332 (-2%) .651 (avg) 60.5
1916 BOS AL 148 493 47 152 19 7 2 62 12 48 27 .308 .248 (+24%) .314 (+18%) .326 (+19%) .640 (+19%) 1767.3
1917 BOS AL 146 501 53 133 23 7 1 61 16 54 37 .265 .248 (+7%) .312 (+9%) .323 (+7%) .635 (+8%) 810.4
1918 PHA AL 127 463 50 132 22 6 1 52 9 43 22 .285 .255 (+12%) .318 (+8%) .326 (+12%) .645 (+10%) 849.9
1919 CLE AL 139 524 67 157 29 7 2 79 7 39 29 .300 .262 (+14%) .322 (+9%) .347 (+13%) .670 (+11%) 1081.0
1920 CLE AL 154 597 72 185 31 11 3 118 3 53 25 .310 .271 (+14%) .331 (+11%) .363 (+14%) .694 (+12%) 1464.5
1921 CLE AL 153 586 101 187 32 14 3 120 3 65 16 .319 .286 (+11%) .344 (+13%) .395 (+11%) .739 (+12%) 1584.6
1922 CLE AL 137 470 74 134 31 3 2 68 9 49 21 .285 .285 (avg) .345 (+3%) .397 (-5%) .743 (-2%) -59.8
1923 CLE AL 52 79 4 20 5 1 0 12 0 12 7 .253 .282 (-11%) .344 (+2%) .390 (-12%) .734 (-6%) -52.3
1924 CLE AL 38 50 3 10 0 0 0 4 0 5 1 .200 .283 (-30%) .345 (-21%) .389 (-49%) .734 (-36%) -276.4
Career · 17 seasons 1,923 6,688 867 1,931 301 129 27 934 165 654 434 .289 — — — — 11,779

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

Larry Gardner — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
25 86 9 17 3 2 3 13 4 8 .198

Playoff Batting by Year

Larry Gardner — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1920 WS CLE 7 24 1 5 1 0 0 2 1 1 .208
1916 WS BOS 5 17 2 3 0 0 2 6 0 2 .176
1915 WS BOS 5 17 2 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 .235
1912 WS BOS 8 28 4 5 2 1 1 5 2 5 .179

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1930 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Larry Gardner — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home9993360456100218520.298
Away93133384129329428.279

Last 10 Games — Batting

Larry Gardner — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1924-09-06 CLEDETL 100000000
1924-08-28 CLECHWL 100000001
1924-08-16 CLEPHAL 100000000
1924-08-12 CLEMINL 100000000
1924-08-08 CLENYYW 100000000
1924-08-03 CLEBOSW 100000000
1924-08-01 CLEPHAL 100000000
1924-07-30 CLEPHAW 101000200
1924-07-20 CLENYYL 100000000
1924-07-15 CLEMINL 100000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Larry Gardner — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 181 113 382 527 47 60
3B 1656 7 1789 3408 287 246
SS 5 1 6 4 1 1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Larry Gardner — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1908 BOS 3B 3 2 2 2 3 0
1909 BOS 3B 8 5 4 12 4 0
1909 BOS SS 5 1 6 4 1 1
1910 BOS 2B 113 113 222 320 32 28
1911 BOS 2B 62 0 152 195 13 31
1911 BOS 3B 72 0 92 161 10 3
1912 BOS 3B 143 0 167 296 35 16
1913 BOS 3B 130 0 126 220 21 13
1914 BOS 3B 153 0 187 312 31 18
1915 BOS 3B 127 0 134 227 26 16
1916 BOS 3B 147 0 149 278 21 24
1917 BOS 3B 146 0 148 315 31 18
1918 PHA 3B 127 0 158 291 17 33
1919 CLE 3B 139 0 143 291 25 23
1920 CLE 3B 154 0 156 362 13 32
1921 CLE 3B 152 0 179 335 27 23
1922 CLE 3B 128 0 133 259 20 24
1923 CLE 3B 19 0 10 41 2 2
1924 CLE 2B 6 0 8 12 2 1
1924 CLE 3B 8 0 1 6 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Larry Gardner Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 182
Third Base 1660
Shortstop 6
Right Field 1

Awards & Honors

Larry Gardner — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1921 Baseball Magazine All-Star 3B
1920 Baseball Magazine All-Star 3B
1916 Baseball Magazine All-Star 3B
1912 Baseball Magazine All-Star 3B

College History

Larry Gardner — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
University of Vermont Burlington VT 1906, 1907, 1908

Award Voting History

Larry Gardner — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1912 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%.

Career Spans

Larry Gardner (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Del Pratt
    .292 avg, 43 HR
  2. 95
    Jimmy Collins HOF
    .294 avg, 65 HR
  3. 94
    Wally Pipp
    .281 avg, 90 HR
  4. 89
    Larry Doyle
    .290 avg, 74 HR
  5. 86
    Willie Kamm
    .281 avg, 29 HR
  6. 83
    Jimmy Williams
    .275 avg, 49 HR

Larry Gardner: the record in brief

June 25, 1908 and September 6, 1924 bracket Larry Gardner's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The team column moves through the Boston Red Sox (1908 to 1917), the Philadelphia Athletics (1918), and the Cleveland Indians (1919 through 1924). Gardner played primarily as a third baseman and hit left-handed while throwing right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on May 13, 1886, in Enosburg Falls, VT, USA and a listed size of 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds. The bio records the death on March 11, 1976, in St. George, VT, USA. On the record, Larry Gardner was born William Lawrence Gardner.

The batting record for Gardner: 1,923 games, 1,931 hits in 6,688 at bats, and a .289 average; the totals also include 27 home runs, 934 runs batted in, and 165 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .355 and .384 give Gardner a career OPS of .739. The league as a whole hit .263 across Gardner's seasons, which puts the .289 career mark 9.6% above average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Larry Gardner

What years did Larry Gardner play?
Larry Gardner played in Major League Baseball from 1908 to 1924.
Was Larry Gardner a pitcher?
No. Larry Gardner was a position player (Third Baseman).
How many home runs did Larry Gardner hit?
Larry Gardner hit 27 career home runs with 1,931 hits.
What teams did Larry Gardner play for?
Larry Gardner played for 3 teams: the Boston Red Sox (1908–1917), the Philadelphia Athletics (1918), and the Cleveland Indians (1919–1924).
What were Larry Gardner's career stats?
In 1,923 games, Larry Gardner had 1,931 hits, 27 home runs, 934 RBI, 867 runs, and 165 stolen bases, with a .289 batting average.
What position did Larry Gardner play?
Larry Gardner played primarily as a third baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Larry Gardner and how much did he weigh?
Larry Gardner was listed at 5 feet 8 inches and 165 pounds.
How many home runs did Larry Gardner hit each season?
Larry Gardner's home runs by season: 0 in 1908, 0 in 1909, 2 in 1910, 4 in 1911, 3 in 1912, 0 in 1913, 3 in 1914, 1 in 1915, 2 in 1916, 1 in 1917, 1 in 1918, 2 in 1919, 3 in 1920, 3 in 1921, 2 in 1922, 0 in 1923, and 0 in 1924. His most in one season was 4, in 1911.
What was Larry Gardner's career batting average?
Larry Gardner batted .289 over his career, with 1,931 hits in 6,688 at bats.
How many RBI did Larry Gardner have?
Larry Gardner drove in 934 runs in his career.
Is Larry Gardner in the Hall of Fame?
No. Larry Gardner has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.