Billy Gilbert
Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1901-1909)
Billy Gilbert was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1901 to 1909 for 4 teams, including the Milwaukee Brewers, a span of 9 seasons. In 850 career games, he hit .247 with 695 hits, 4 home runs, and 237 RBI.
- 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
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'4" / 153 lb
- Died
- 8/8/1927 in New York, NY, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1901-04-25
- Last Game
- 1909-06-27
Full name: William Oliver Gilbert
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 850 | 2,816 | 375 | 695 | 72 | 17 | 4 | 237 | 167 | 270 | 229 | .247 | .328 | .289 | .617 | -398 |
Career AVG .247 vs. league average .253 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .328 vs. league average .310 across their career seasons — +5.8% above league average.
Career SLG .289 vs. league average .328 across their career seasons — 11.9% below league average.
Career OPS .617 vs. league average .638 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | MLA | AL | 127 | 492 | 77 | 133 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 43 | 19 | 31 | 40 | .270 | .271 (-1%) | .326 (-2%) | .359 (-9%) | .686 (-6%) | -402.8 |
| 1902 | BLA | AL | 129 | 445 | 74 | 109 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 38 | 38 | 45 | 32 | .245 | .266 (-8%) | .321 (+2%) | .343 (-13%) | .665 (-6%) | -243.1 |
| 1903 | NY1 | NL | 128 | 413 | 62 | 104 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 37 | 41 | 28 | .252 | .261 (-4%) | .316 (+10%) | .345 (-19%) | .662 (-5%) | -6.7 |
| 1904 | NY1 | NL | 146 | 478 | 57 | 121 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 54 | 33 | 46 | 32 | .253 | .246 (+3%) | .300 (+13%) | .321 (-7%) | .622 (+3%) | 581.3 |
| 1905 | NY1 | NL | 115 | 376 | 45 | 93 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 11 | 41 | 44 | .247 | .248 (avg) | .307 (+8%) | .322 (-9%) | .629 (-1%) | 115.4 |
| 1906 | NY1 | NL | 104 | 307 | 44 | 71 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 22 | 42 | 32 | .231 | .247 (-7%) | .307 (+11%) | .315 (-18%) | .622 (-4%) | 78.0 |
| 1908 | SLN | NL | 89 | 276 | 12 | 59 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 20 | 20 | .214 | .240 (-11%) | .298 (-8%) | .306 (-22%) | .605 (-15%) | -520.1 |
| 1909 | SLN | NL | 12 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | .172 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 8 seasons | 850 | 2,816 | 375 | 695 | 72 | 17 | 4 | 237 | 167 | 270 | 229 | .247 | — | — | — | — | -398 | ||
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 (852 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 422 | 1365 | 181 | 338 | 1 | 109 | .248 |
| Away | 430 | 1459 | 194 | 356 | 3 | 102 | .244 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909-06-27 | STL | PIT | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1909-06-27 | STL | PIT | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1909-06-14 | STL | PHI | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1909-06-13 | STL | PHI | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1909-06-12 | STL | PHI | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1909-06-11 | STL | PHI | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1909-06-09 | STL | BRO | W | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1909-06-08 | STL | BRO | W | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1909-06-07 | STL | BRO | L | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1909-06-06 | STL | NY1 | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2B | 715 | 454 | 1647 | 2200 | 237 | 253 |
| SS | 129 | 0 | 349 | 410 | 78 | 72 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | MLA | 2B | 127 | 0 | 319 | 395 | 49 | 66 |
| 1902 | BLA | SS | 129 | 0 | 349 | 410 | 78 | 72 |
| 1903 | NY1 | 2B | 128 | 0 | 314 | 366 | 47 | 42 |
| 1904 | NY1 | 2B | 146 | 146 | 305 | 466 | 44 | 48 |
| 1905 | NY1 | 2B | 115 | 114 | 245 | 367 | 34 | 41 |
| 1906 | NY1 | 2B | 98 | 96 | 223 | 324 | 35 | 32 |
| 1908 | SLN | 2B | 89 | 88 | 222 | 254 | 24 | 23 |
| 1909 | SLN | 2B | 12 | 10 | 19 | 28 | 4 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Second Base | 716 |
| Shortstop | 129 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Billy Gilbert (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Billy Gilbert: the record in brief
April 25, 1901 and June 27, 1909 bracket Billy Gilbert's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The season rows list, in order, the Milwaukee Brewers (1901), the Baltimore Orioles (1902), the New York Giants (1903 through 1906), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1908 to 1909). Gilbert, born on June 21, 1876, in Tullytown, PA, USA, is listed as a second baseman and both batted and threw right-handed. Size on record: 153 pounds on a 5-foot-4 frame. Gilbert died on August 8, 1927, in New York, NY, USA. Billy Gilbert was the playing name; the full given name is William Oliver.
Gilbert collected 695 hits in 2,816 at bats across 850 games, good for a .247 batting average, plus 4 home runs, 237 runs batted in, and 167 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .328 and .289 give Gilbert a career OPS of .617. Gilbert hit .247 while the league hit .253 over the same span, a figure close to average. 1901 produced Gilbert's most hits, 133 of them for the Milwaukee Brewers. 1904 brought the most runs batted in, 54.
Frequently Asked Questions about Billy Gilbert
- What years did Billy Gilbert play?
- Billy Gilbert played in Major League Baseball from 1901 to 1909.
- Was Billy Gilbert a pitcher?
- No. Billy Gilbert was a position player (Second Baseman).
- How many home runs did Billy Gilbert hit?
- Billy Gilbert hit 4 career home runs with 695 hits.
- What was Billy Gilbert's career batting average?
- Billy Gilbert batted .247 over his career, with 695 hits in 2,816 at bats.
- How many RBI did Billy Gilbert have?
- Billy Gilbert drove in 237 runs in his career.
- Is Billy Gilbert in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Billy Gilbert has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.