Charlie Gehringer
Second Baseman · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1924-1942)
Charlie Gehringer was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1924 to 1942 for the Detroit Tigers, a span of 19 seasons. In 2,323 career games, he hit .320 with 2,839 hits, 184 home runs, and 1,427 RBI. Charlie Gehringer was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949 and was a 6-time All-Star and an MVP. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 39,288.
- 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
- Second Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- L / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 180 lb
- Died
- 1/21/1993 in Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1924-09-22
- Last Game
- 1942-09-27
- Hall of Fame
- Inducted 1949 (BBWAA)
- Awards
- 6× All-Star · MVP
Full name: Charles Leonard Gehringer
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,323 | 8,860 | 1,774 | 2,839 | 574 | 146 | 184 | 1,427 | 181 | 1,186 | 372 | .320 | .404 | .480 | .884 | 39,288 |
Career AVG .320 vs. league average .278 across their career seasons — +15.4% above league average.
Career OBP .404 vs. league average .342 across their career seasons — +18.1% above league average.
Career SLG .480 vs. league average .394 across their career seasons — +22.1% above league average.
Career OPS .884 vs. league average .735 across their career seasons — +20.2% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | DET | AL | 5 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .462 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1925 | DET | AL | 8 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .167 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1926 | DET | AL | 123 | 459 | 62 | 127 | 19 | 17 | 1 | 48 | 9 | 30 | 42 | .277 | .279 (-1%) | .345 (-7%) | .390 (+2%) | .735 (-2%) | -295.8 |
| 1927 | DET | AL | 133 | 508 | 110 | 161 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 61 | 17 | 52 | 31 | .317 | .282 (+12%) | .344 (+11%) | .392 (+12%) | .736 (+12%) | 1240.0 |
| 1928 | DET | AL | 154 | 603 | 108 | 193 | 29 | 16 | 6 | 74 | 15 | 69 | 22 | .320 | .280 (+14%) | .342 (+15%) | .395 (+14%) | .737 (+15%) | 1995.0 |
| 1929 | DET | AL | 155 | 634 | 131 | 215 | 45 | 19 | 13 | 106 | 27 | 64 | 19 | .339 | .289 (+17%) | .353 (+15%) | .415 (+28%) | .769 (+22%) | 2950.8 |
| 1930 | DET | AL | 154 | 610 | 144 | 201 | 47 | 15 | 16 | 98 | 19 | 69 | 17 | .330 | .293 (+12%) | .354 (+14%) | .429 (+24%) | .784 (+20%) | 2690.8 |
| 1931 | DET | AL | 101 | 383 | 67 | 119 | 24 | 5 | 4 | 53 | 13 | 29 | 15 | .311 | .276 (+12%) | .338 (+6%) | .388 (+11%) | .726 (+9%) | 600.7 |
| 1932 | DET | AL | 152 | 618 | 112 | 184 | 44 | 11 | 19 | 107 | 9 | 68 | 34 | .298 | .275 (+8%) | .335 (+10%) | .391 (+27%) | .726 (+19%) | 2423.9 |
| 1933 | DET | AL | 155 | 628 | 103 | 204 | 42 | 6 | 12 | 105 | 5 | 68 | 27 | .325 | .270 (+20%) | .329 (+19%) | .377 (+24%) | .707 (+22%) | 2902.8 |
| 1934 | DET | AL | 154 | 601 | 134 | 214 | 50 | 7 | 11 | 127 | 11 | 99 | 25 | .356 | .278 (+28%) | .340 (+32%) | .392 (+32%) | .733 (+32%) | 4433.1 |
| 1935 | DET | AL | 150 | 610 | 123 | 201 | 32 | 8 | 19 | 108 | 11 | 79 | 16 | .330 | .279 (+18%) | .342 (+19%) | .399 (+26%) | .742 (+23%) | 3095.0 |
| 1936 | DET | AL | 154 | 641 | 144 | 227 | 60 | 12 | 15 | 116 | 4 | 83 | 13 | .354 | .283 (+25%) | .349 (+23%) | .404 (+37%) | .753 (+31%) | 4335.2 |
| 1937 | DET | AL | 144 | 564 | 133 | 209 | 40 | 1 | 14 | 96 | 11 | 90 | 25 | .371 | .276 (+34%) | .342 (+34%) | .398 (+30%) | .740 (+32%) | 4198.3 |
| 1938 | DET | AL | 152 | 568 | 133 | 174 | 32 | 5 | 20 | 107 | 14 | 113 | 21 | .306 | .272 (+12%) | .341 (+24%) | .392 (+24%) | .734 (+24%) | 3334.3 |
| 1939 | DET | AL | 118 | 406 | 86 | 132 | 29 | 6 | 16 | 86 | 4 | 68 | 16 | .325 | .274 (+19%) | .342 (+24%) | .393 (+38%) | .735 (+32%) | 2696.2 |
| 1940 | DET | AL | 139 | 515 | 108 | 161 | 33 | 3 | 10 | 81 | 10 | 101 | 17 | .313 | .267 (+17%) | .335 (+28%) | .387 (+15%) | .722 (+21%) | 2693.7 |
| 1941 | DET | AL | 127 | 436 | 65 | 96 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 46 | 1 | 95 | 26 | .220 | .262 (-16%) | .332 (+9%) | .373 (-19%) | .705 (-6%) | -62.6 |
| 1942 | DET | AL | 45 | 45 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 4 | .267 | — | — | — | — | 56.1 |
| Career · 19 seasons | 2,323 | 8,860 | 1,774 | 2,839 | 574 | 146 | 184 | 1,427 | 181 | 1,186 | 372 | .320 | — | — | — | — | 39,288 | ||
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 (2323 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 1176 | 4386 | 949 | 1417 | 92 | 763 | .323 |
| Away | 1147 | 4473 | 826 | 1422 | 92 | 680 | .318 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942-09-27 | DET | CLE | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942-09-26 | DET | CLE | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942-09-20 | DET | CLE | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1942-09-17 | DET | NYY | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942-09-16 | DET | NYY | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942-09-14 | DET | MIN | L | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942-09-13 | DET | MIN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942-09-12 | DET | PHA | W | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942-09-11 | DET | PHA | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942-09-08 | DET | SLA | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 9 | 0 | 68 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| 2B | 2206 | 0 | 5369 | 7068 | 309 | 1444 |
| 3B | 6 | 0 | 9 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | DET | 2B | 5 | 0 | 12 | 17 | 1 | 2 |
| 1925 | DET | 2B | 6 | 0 | 8 | 20 | 0 | 5 |
| 1926 | DET | 2B | 112 | 0 | 255 | 323 | 16 | 56 |
| 1926 | DET | 3B | 6 | 0 | 9 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 1927 | DET | 2B | 121 | 0 | 304 | 438 | 27 | 84 |
| 1928 | DET | 2B | 154 | 0 | 377 | 507 | 35 | 101 |
| 1929 | DET | 2B | 154 | 0 | 404 | 501 | 23 | 93 |
| 1930 | DET | 2B | 154 | 0 | 399 | 501 | 19 | 97 |
| 1931 | DET | 1B | 9 | 0 | 68 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| 1931 | DET | 2B | 78 | 0 | 224 | 236 | 10 | 54 |
| 1932 | DET | 2B | 152 | 0 | 396 | 495 | 30 | 110 |
| 1933 | DET | 2B | 155 | 0 | 358 | 542 | 17 | 111 |
| 1934 | DET | 2B | 154 | 0 | 355 | 516 | 17 | 100 |
| 1935 | DET | 2B | 149 | 0 | 349 | 489 | 13 | 99 |
| 1936 | DET | 2B | 154 | 0 | 397 | 524 | 25 | 116 |
| 1937 | DET | 2B | 142 | 0 | 331 | 485 | 12 | 102 |
| 1938 | DET | 2B | 152 | 0 | 393 | 455 | 21 | 115 |
| 1939 | DET | 2B | 107 | 0 | 245 | 312 | 13 | 67 |
| 1940 | DET | 2B | 138 | 0 | 276 | 374 | 19 | 72 |
| 1941 | DET | 2B | 116 | 0 | 279 | 324 | 11 | 59 |
| 1942 | DET | 2B | 3 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 9 |
| Second Base | 2205 |
| Third Base | 6 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
| 1938 | TSN All-Star | 2B |
| 1937 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
| 1937 | Most Valuable Player | |
| 1937 | TSN All-Star | 2B |
| 1937 | TSN Guide MVP | |
| 1936 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
| 1936 | TSN All-Star | 2B |
| 1935 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
| 1935 | TSN All-Star | 2B |
| 1934 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
| 1934 | TSN All-Star | 2B |
| 1933 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
| 1933 | TSN All-Star | 2B |
| 1932 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
| 1930 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
| 1929 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 23th | 3.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1939 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 14th | 21.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1938 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 10th | 27.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1937 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 1st | 78.0 | 80 | 6 |
| 1936 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 4th | 39.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1935 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 6th | 26.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1934 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 2nd | 65.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1933 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 6th | 32.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1932 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 9th | 13.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1931 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 17th | 4.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1928 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 8th | 12.0 | 64 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Charlie Gehringer (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Charlie Gehringer
See Charlie Gehringer in Another Era
Charlie Gehringer: the record in brief
The profile opens with Charlie Gehringer's first major league game on September 22, 1924; the last one listed came on September 27, 1942. Gehringer's only club in the season tables is the Detroit Tigers. Gehringer played primarily as a second baseman and hit left-handed while throwing right-handed. Born on May 11, 1903, in Fowlerville, MI, USA, Gehringer was listed at 180 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame. Gehringer's death is recorded on January 21, 1993, in Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA. On the record, Charlie Gehringer was born Charles Leonard Gehringer.
Gehringer's career batting table shows 2,323 games, 8,860 at bats and 2,839 hits, a .320 average, adding 184 home runs, 1,427 runs batted in, and 181 stolen bases. Gehringer got on base at a .404 rate and slugged .480 (.884 OPS). The league as a whole hit .278 across Gehringer's seasons, which puts the .320 career mark 15.4% above average. No season beat the 20 home runs Gehringer hit in 1938. No season topped the 227 hits of 1936.
Frequently Asked Questions about Charlie Gehringer
- What years did Charlie Gehringer play?
- Charlie Gehringer played in Major League Baseball from 1924 to 1942.
- Was Charlie Gehringer a pitcher?
- No. Charlie Gehringer was a position player (Second Baseman).
- How many home runs did Charlie Gehringer hit?
- Charlie Gehringer hit 184 career home runs with 2,839 hits.
- Is Charlie Gehringer in the Hall of Fame?
- Yes. Charlie Gehringer was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949.
- What teams did Charlie Gehringer play for?
- Charlie Gehringer played for one team, the Detroit Tigers (1924–1942).
- How many MVP awards did Charlie Gehringer win?
- Charlie Gehringer won 1 MVP award, in 1937.
- What awards did Charlie Gehringer win?
- Charlie Gehringer won the MVP award (1937). He was selected to 6 All-Star Games.
- What were Charlie Gehringer's career stats?
- In 2,323 games, Charlie Gehringer had 2,839 hits, 184 home runs, 1,427 RBI, 1,774 runs, and 181 stolen bases, with a .320 batting average.
- What position did Charlie Gehringer play?
- Charlie Gehringer played primarily as a second baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Charlie Gehringer and how much did he weigh?
- Charlie Gehringer was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 180 pounds.
- How many home runs did Charlie Gehringer hit each season?
- Charlie Gehringer's home runs by season: 0 in 1924, 0 in 1925, 1 in 1926, 4 in 1927, 6 in 1928, 13 in 1929, 16 in 1930, 4 in 1931, 19 in 1932, 12 in 1933, 11 in 1934, 19 in 1935, 15 in 1936, 14 in 1937, 20 in 1938, 16 in 1939, 10 in 1940, 3 in 1941, and 1 in 1942. His most in one season was 20, in 1938.
- What was Charlie Gehringer's career batting average?
- Charlie Gehringer batted .320 over his career, with 2,839 hits in 8,860 at bats.
- How many RBI did Charlie Gehringer have?
- Charlie Gehringer drove in 1,427 runs in his career.
- How many All-Star Games did Charlie Gehringer make?
- Charlie Gehringer was selected to 6 All-Star Games.