Doc Gessler
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1903-1911)
Doc Gessler was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1903 to 1911 for 5 teams, including the Detroit Tigers, a span of 9 seasons. In 880 career games, he hit .280 with 831 hits, 14 home runs, and 363 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 9,863.
- 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
- 5'10" / 180 lb
- Died
- 12/26/1924 in Allegheny County, PA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1903-04-22
- Last Game
- 1911-10-07
Full name: Henry Homer Gessler
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 880 | 2,969 | 370 | 831 | 127 | 50 | 14 | 363 | 142 | 333 | 367 | .280 | .370 | .370 | .741 | 9,863 |
Career AVG .280 vs. league average .251 across their career seasons — +11.7% above league average.
Career OBP .370 vs. league average .312 across their career seasons — +18.8% above league average.
Career SLG .370 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — +13.7% above league average.
Career OPS .741 vs. league average .637 across their career seasons — +16.2% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1903 | DET | AL | 29 | 105 | 9 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 23 | .238 | .261 (-9%) | .316 (-14%) | .345 (+5%) | .662 (-4%) | -108.9 |
| 1903 | BRO | NL | 49 | 154 | 20 | 38 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 9 | 17 | 34 | .247 | .261 (-6%) | .316 (+16%) | .345 (-2%) | .662 (+6%) | -108.9 |
| 1904 | BRO | NL | 104 | 341 | 41 | 99 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 28 | 13 | 30 | 44 | .290 | .246 (+18%) | .300 (+18%) | .321 (+19%) | .622 (+19%) | 1144.3 |
| 1905 | BRO | NL | 126 | 431 | 44 | 125 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 46 | 26 | 38 | 56 | .290 | .248 (+17%) | .307 (+19%) | .322 (+14%) | .629 (+17%) | 1480.8 |
| 1906 | BRO | NL | 9 | 33 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | .242 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1906 | CHN | NL | 34 | 83 | 8 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 12 | .253 | .247 (+2%) | .307 (+15%) | .315 (-8%) | .622 (+3%) | 0.0 |
| 1908 | BOS | AL | 128 | 435 | 55 | 134 | 13 | 14 | 3 | 63 | 19 | 51 | 47 | .308 | .240 (+28%) | .298 (+32%) | .306 (+38%) | .605 (+35%) | 2836.5 |
| 1909 | BOS | AL | 111 | 396 | 57 | 115 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 16 | 31 | 53 | .290 | .244 (+19%) | .306 (+16%) | .312 (+14%) | .618 (+15%) | 1069.7 |
| 1909 | WS1 | AL | 17 | 54 | 10 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 2 | .241 | .244 (-1%) | .306 (+32%) | .312 (+1%) | .618 (+16%) | 1069.7 |
| 1910 | WS1 | AL | 145 | 487 | 58 | 126 | 17 | 12 | 2 | 50 | 18 | 62 | 54 | .259 | .249 (+4%) | .317 (+14%) | .326 (+9%) | .644 (+11%) | 1250.1 |
| 1911 | WS1 | AL | 128 | 450 | 65 | 127 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 78 | 29 | 74 | 40 | .282 | .266 (+6%) | .336 (+21%) | .356 (+5%) | .693 (+12%) | 1588.0 |
| Career · 11 seasons | 880 | 2,969 | 370 | 831 | 127 | 50 | 14 | 363 | 142 | 333 | 367 | .280 | — | — | — | — | 10,221 | ||
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 (880 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 422 | 1404 | 184 | 404 | 9 | 198 | .288 |
| Away | 458 | 1567 | 186 | 427 | 5 | 178 | .272 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911-10-07 | MIN | BOS | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1911-10-06 | MIN | BOS | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1911-10-05 | MIN | BOS | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1911-09-29 | MIN | DET | L | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1911-09-28 | MIN | DET | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1911-09-27 | MIN | DET | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1911-09-26 | MIN | CLE | W | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1911-09-25 | MIN | CLE | L | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1911-09-23 | MIN | CLE | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1911-09-22 | MIN | CHW | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 120 | 118 | 1107 | 89 | 36 | 58 |
| 2B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| OF | 713 | 499 | 915 | 95 | 59 | 15 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1903 | DET | OF | 28 | 0 | 36 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1903 | BRO | OF | 43 | 0 | 56 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 1904 | BRO | 1B | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1904 | BRO | 2B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1904 | BRO | OF | 88 | 84 | 170 | 15 | 16 | 2 |
| 1905 | BRO | 1B | 107 | 107 | 998 | 77 | 30 | 54 |
| 1905 | BRO | OF | 12 | 10 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 1906 | BRO | 1B | 9 | 9 | 79 | 9 | 5 | 4 |
| 1906 | CHN | 1B | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1906 | CHN | OF | 21 | 18 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1908 | BOS | OF | 126 | 124 | 162 | 8 | 9 | 4 |
| 1909 | BOS | OF | 109 | 105 | 135 | 18 | 11 | 1 |
| 1909 | WS1 | 1B | 1 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1909 | WS1 | OF | 16 | 16 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1910 | WS1 | OF | 144 | 142 | 161 | 23 | 9 | 3 |
| 1911 | WS1 | 1B | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1911 | WS1 | OF | 126 | 0 | 130 | 19 | 9 | 2 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 120 |
| Second Base | 1 |
| Left Field | 18 |
| Center Field | 95 |
| Right Field | 602 |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington and Jefferson College | Washington | PA | 1901 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Doc Gessler (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Doc Gessler: the record in brief
April 22, 1903 and October 7, 1911 bracket Doc Gessler's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The team column moves through the Detroit Tigers (1903), the Brooklyn Superbas (1903 through 1906), the Chicago Cubs (1906), the Boston Red Sox (1908 to 1909), and the Washington Senators (1909 through 1911). Listed as an outfielder, Gessler batted and threw left-handed. Gessler is listed at 180 pounds on a 5-foot-10 frame. Gessler was born on December 23, 1880, in Greensburg, PA, USA. The bio records the death on December 26, 1924, in Allegheny County, PA, USA. Doc Gessler was the playing name; the full given name is Henry Homer.
The batting record for Gessler: 880 games, 831 hits in 2,969 at bats, and a .280 average, adding 14 homers, 363 runs batted in, and 142 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .370 and the slugging percentage .370, for an OPS of .741. Gessler's .280 average ran 11.7% above the .251 that the league posted over the same seasons.
Frequently Asked Questions about Doc Gessler
- What years did Doc Gessler play?
- Doc Gessler played in Major League Baseball from 1903 to 1911.
- Was Doc Gessler a pitcher?
- No. Doc Gessler was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Doc Gessler hit?
- Doc Gessler hit 14 career home runs with 831 hits.
- What was Doc Gessler's career batting average?
- Doc Gessler batted .280 over his career, with 831 hits in 2,969 at bats.
- How many RBI did Doc Gessler have?
- Doc Gessler drove in 363 runs in his career.
- Is Doc Gessler in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Doc Gessler has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.