Billy Goodman
Born: 3/22/1926 in Concord, NC, USA
Died: 10/1/1984 in Sarasota, FL, USA
MLB Debut: 1947-04-19 | Final Game: 1962-09-30
Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 165 lbs
Full name: William Dale Goodman
Biography
Billy Goodman, born in 1926, was a versatile position player whose career spanned from 1947 to 1962. Known for his exceptional batting skills and adaptability on the field, Goodman played in a total of 1,623 games, accumulating 1,691 hits with a commendable batting average of .300. Throughout his career, he demonstrated a balanced offensive game, hitting 19 home runs and driving in 591 runs. Additionally, he showcased his speed on the bases, finishing his career with 37 stolen bases. Goodman was selected as an All-Star on two occasions, a testament to his talent and impact during the competitive era of Major League Baseball in the late 1940s through the early 1960s.
Goodman’s playing style was characterized by his contact hitting and ability to play multiple positions, which made him a valuable asset to the teams he represented. He spent significant time with the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox, contributing to their lineups with consistent performance and leadership. His career coincided with a transformative period in baseball, marked by the integration of the sport and the emergence of new playing strategies. Billy Goodman’s legacy is remembered not only for his on-field achievements but also for his contributions to the game during a pivotal time in baseball history.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1623 | 5644 | 807 | 1691 | 299 | 44 | 19 | 591 | 37 | 669 | 329 | 0.300 | 0.376 | 0.378 | 0.754 | 6908.5 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | BOS | AL | 12 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.182 | 0.0 |
| 1948 | BOS | AL | 127 | 445 | 65 | 138 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 66 | 5 | 74 | 44 | 0.310 | 1287.0 |
| 1949 | BOS | AL | 122 | 443 | 54 | 132 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 56 | 2 | 58 | 21 | 0.298 | 358.0 |
| 1950 | BOS | AL | 110 | 424 | 91 | 150 | 25 | 3 | 4 | 68 | 2 | 52 | 25 | 0.354 | 1671.5 |
| 1951 | BOS | AL | 141 | 546 | 92 | 162 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 7 | 79 | 37 | 0.297 | 851.8 |
| 1952 | BOS | AL | 138 | 513 | 79 | 157 | 27 | 3 | 4 | 56 | 8 | 48 | 23 | 0.306 | 1036.5 |
| 1953 | BOS | AL | 128 | 514 | 73 | 161 | 33 | 5 | 2 | 41 | 1 | 57 | 11 | 0.313 | 947.5 |
| 1954 | BOS | AL | 127 | 489 | 71 | 148 | 25 | 4 | 1 | 36 | 3 | 51 | 15 | 0.303 | 452.3 |
| 1955 | BOS | AL | 149 | 599 | 100 | 176 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 52 | 5 | 99 | 44 | 0.294 | 835.9 |
| 1956 | BOS | AL | 105 | 399 | 61 | 117 | 22 | 8 | 2 | 38 | 0 | 40 | 22 | 0.293 | 317.8 |
| 1957 | BAL | AL | 73 | 263 | 36 | 81 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 33 | 0 | 21 | 18 | 0.308 | 355.1 |
| 1957 | BOS | AL | 18 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.062 | 355.1 |
| 1958 | CHW | AL | 116 | 425 | 41 | 127 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 40 | 1 | 37 | 21 | 0.299 | -0.1 |
| 1959 | CHW | AL | 104 | 268 | 21 | 67 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 3 | 19 | 20 | 0.250 | -622.2 |
| 1960 | CHW | AL | 30 | 77 | 5 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 0.234 | -119.0 |
| 1961 | CHW | AL | 41 | 51 | 4 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0.255 | 5.3 |
| 1962 | HOU | NL | 82 | 161 | 12 | 41 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 11 | 0.255 | -468.7 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0.231 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | WS | CHA | 5 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0.231 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 406 | 37 | 3575 | 245 | 36 | 415 |
| 2B | 624 | 330 | 1475 | 1714 | 93 | 459 |
| 3B | 330 | 267 | 254 | 603 | 48 | 52 |
| OF | 111 | 18 | 203 | 12 | 5 | 3 |
| SS | 7 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | BOS | OF | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948 | BOS | 1B | 117 | 0 | 1101 | 69 | 8 | 118 |
| 1948 | BOS | 2B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948 | BOS | 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| 1949 | BOS | 1B | 117 | 0 | 1069 | 79 | 9 | 148 |
| 1950 | BOS | 1B | 21 | 0 | 193 | 12 | 1 | 15 |
| 1950 | BOS | 2B | 5 | 0 | 16 | 13 | 1 | 7 |
| 1950 | BOS | 3B | 27 | 0 | 29 | 58 | 6 | 4 |
| 1950 | BOS | SS | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 1950 | BOS | OF | 45 | 0 | 104 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 1951 | BOS | 1B | 62 | 0 | 554 | 29 | 3 | 61 |
| 1951 | BOS | 2B | 44 | 0 | 117 | 129 | 9 | 32 |
| 1951 | BOS | 3B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 1951 | BOS | OF | 38 | 0 | 70 | 9 | 2 | 2 |
| 1952 | BOS | 1B | 23 | 0 | 184 | 17 | 3 | 17 |
| 1952 | BOS | 2B | 103 | 0 | 284 | 340 | 16 | 95 |
| 1952 | BOS | 3B | 5 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 1952 | BOS | OF | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1953 | BOS | 1B | 20 | 0 | 151 | 13 | 6 | 18 |
| 1953 | BOS | 2B | 112 | 0 | 267 | 306 | 15 | 88 |
| 1954 | BOS | 1B | 27 | 22 | 195 | 16 | 3 | 26 |
| 1954 | BOS | 2B | 72 | 68 | 173 | 208 | 8 | 59 |
| 1954 | BOS | 3B | 12 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 2 | 5 |
| 1954 | BOS | OF | 13 | 12 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1955 | BOS | 1B | 5 | 5 | 47 | 5 | 1 | 3 |
| 1955 | BOS | 2B | 143 | 143 | 348 | 373 | 23 | 93 |
| 1955 | BOS | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1956 | BOS | 2B | 95 | 95 | 215 | 266 | 17 | 69 |
| 1957 | BAL | 1B | 8 | 7 | 56 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 1957 | BAL | 2B | 5 | 4 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 4 |
| 1957 | BAL | 3B | 54 | 49 | 54 | 93 | 6 | 9 |
| 1957 | BAL | SS | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1957 | BAL | OF | 9 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1958 | CHA | 1B | 3 | 3 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 1958 | CHA | 2B | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1958 | CHA | 3B | 111 | 108 | 67 | 204 | 13 | 16 |
| 1958 | CHA | SS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1959 | CHA | 2B | 3 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| 1959 | CHA | 3B | 74 | 67 | 57 | 135 | 10 | 10 |
| 1960 | CHA | 2B | 7 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 5 |
| 1960 | CHA | 3B | 20 | 16 | 17 | 38 | 1 | 2 |
| 1961 | CHA | 1B | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961 | CHA | 2B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961 | CHA | 3B | 7 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 1 |
| 1962 | HOU | 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1962 | HOU | 2B | 31 | 15 | 25 | 45 | 2 | 6 |
| 1962 | HOU | 3B | 17 | 10 | 11 | 22 | 7 | 2 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 406 |
| Second Base | 622 |
| Third Base | 330 |
| Shortstop | 7 |
| Left Field | 69 |
| Right Field | 42 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 19th | 6.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1953 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 21th | 5.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1952 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 16th | 18.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1951 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 18th | 21.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1950 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 2nd | 180.0 | 336 | 4 |
| 1948 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 27th | 4.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1948 | Rookie of the Year | ML | 4th | 3.0 | 48 | 3 |