Billy Goodman
Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1947-1962)
Billy Goodman was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1947 to 1962 for 4 teams, including the Boston Red Sox, a span of 16 seasons. In 1,623 career games, he hit .300 with 1,691 hits, 19 home runs, and 591 RBI. Billy Goodman was a 2-time All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 7,137.
- 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" / 165 lb
- Died
- 10/1/1984 in Sarasota, FL, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1947-04-19
- Last Game
- 1962-09-30
- Awards
- 2× All-Star
Full name: William Dale Goodman
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,623 | 5,644 | 807 | 1,691 | 299 | 44 | 19 | 591 | 37 | 669 | 329 | .300 | .376 | .378 | .754 | 7,137 |
Career AVG .300 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — +15.4% above league average.
Career OBP .376 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — +13.2% above league average.
Career SLG .378 vs. league average .389 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OPS .754 vs. league average .722 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | BOS | AL | 12 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .182 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1948 | BOS | AL | 127 | 445 | 65 | 138 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 66 | 5 | 74 | 44 | .310 | .263 (+18%) | .340 (+22%) | .379 (+2%) | .719 (+11%) | 1342.6 |
| 1949 | BOS | AL | 122 | 443 | 54 | 132 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 56 | 2 | 58 | 21 | .298 | .262 (+13%) | .343 (+11%) | .384 (-5%) | .727 (+2%) | 358.0 |
| 1950 | BOS | AL | 110 | 424 | 91 | 150 | 25 | 3 | 4 | 68 | 2 | 52 | 25 | .354 | .265 (+33%) | .346 (+23%) | .401 (+13%) | .747 (+18%) | 1671.5 |
| 1951 | BOS | AL | 141 | 546 | 92 | 162 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 7 | 79 | 37 | .297 | .260 (+14%) | .336 (+15%) | .385 (-3%) | .721 (+5%) | 851.8 |
| 1952 | BOS | AL | 138 | 513 | 79 | 157 | 27 | 3 | 4 | 56 | 8 | 48 | 23 | .306 | .252 (+21%) | .326 (+13%) | .369 (+7%) | .696 (+10%) | 1036.5 |
| 1953 | BOS | AL | 128 | 514 | 73 | 161 | 33 | 5 | 2 | 41 | 1 | 57 | 11 | .313 | .264 (+19%) | .335 (+14%) | .397 (+3%) | .733 (+8%) | 947.5 |
| 1954 | BOS | AL | 127 | 489 | 71 | 148 | 25 | 4 | 1 | 36 | 3 | 51 | 15 | .303 | .261 (+16%) | .333 (+11%) | .390 (-4%) | .723 (+3%) | 452.3 |
| 1955 | BOS | AL | 149 | 599 | 100 | 176 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 52 | 5 | 99 | 44 | .294 | .258 (+14%) | .332 (+19%) | .393 (-11%) | .726 (+3%) | 835.9 |
| 1956 | BOS | AL | 105 | 399 | 61 | 117 | 22 | 8 | 2 | 38 | 0 | 40 | 22 | .293 | .258 (+14%) | .331 (+7%) | .397 (+2%) | .728 (+4%) | 317.8 |
| 1957 | BOS | AL | 18 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .062 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1957 | BAL | AL | 73 | 263 | 36 | 81 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 33 | 0 | 21 | 18 | .308 | .257 (+20%) | .323 (+12%) | .391 (+3%) | .715 (+7%) | 0.0 |
| 1958 | CHA | AL | 116 | 425 | 41 | 127 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 40 | 1 | 37 | 21 | .299 | .257 (+16%) | .324 (+9%) | .394 (-9%) | .719 (-1%) | -0.1 |
| 1959 | CHA | AL | 104 | 268 | 21 | 67 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 3 | 19 | 20 | .250 | .256 (-3%) | .323 (-6%) | .392 (-18%) | .715 (-13%) | -517.4 |
| 1960 | CHA | AL | 30 | 77 | 5 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 8 | .234 | .255 (-8%) | .323 (+4%) | .387 (-26%) | .711 (-12%) | -112.4 |
| 1961 | CHA | AL | 41 | 51 | 4 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 6 | .255 | .258 (-1%) | .328 (+3%) | .399 (-2%) | .727 (+1%) | 5.3 |
| 1962 | HOU | NL | 82 | 161 | 12 | 41 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 11 | .255 | .257 (-1%) | .326 (-6%) | .393 (-26%) | .719 (-17%) | -406.9 |
| Career · 17 seasons | 1,623 | 5,644 | 807 | 1,691 | 299 | 44 | 19 | 591 | 37 | 669 | 329 | .300 | — | — | — | — | 6,782 | ||
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 (1622 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 772 | 2620 | 437 | 838 | 7 | 315 | .320 |
| Away | 850 | 3022 | 368 | 853 | 12 | 274 | .282 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962-09-30 | HOU | SFG | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1962-09-29 | HOU | SFG | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1962-09-22 | HOU | SFG | W | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1962-09-21 | HOU | SFG | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1962-09-20 | HOU | NYN | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1962-09-16 | HOU | ATL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1962-09-12 | HOU | LAD | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1962-09-08 | HOU | NYN | W | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1962-09-08 | HOU | NYN | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1962-09-06 | HOU | PIT | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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 | OF | 45 | 0 | 104 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 1950 | BOS | SS | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 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 | OF | 9 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1957 | BAL | SS | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 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
Circle size = games played at each 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 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Billy Goodman (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Billy Goodman: the record in brief
Billy Goodman's major league career runs from a debut on April 19, 1947 to a final game on September 30, 1962. The season rows list, in order, the Boston Red Sox (1947 through 1957), the Baltimore Orioles (1957), the Chicago White Sox (1958 through 1961), and the Houston Colt .45's (1962). Born on March 22, 1926, in Concord, NC, USA, Goodman is listed as a second baseman and hit left-handed while throwing right-handed. Size on record: 165 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame. The bio records the death on October 1, 1984, in Sarasota, FL, USA. The bio lists the given name William Dale.
Goodman's career batting table shows 1,623 games, 5,644 at bats and 1,691 hits, a .300 average, along with 19 homers, 591 RBI, and 37 stolen bases. Goodman's career OPS of .754 combines a .376 on-base mark with .378 slugging. Over the seasons Goodman played, league hitters batted .260; the .300 career figure is 15.4% above that. The hits column peaks at 176, in 1955.
Frequently Asked Questions about Billy Goodman
- What years did Billy Goodman play?
- Billy Goodman played in Major League Baseball from 1947 to 1962.
- Was Billy Goodman a pitcher?
- No. Billy Goodman was a position player (Second Baseman).
- How many home runs did Billy Goodman hit?
- Billy Goodman hit 19 career home runs with 1,691 hits.
- What teams did Billy Goodman play for?
- Billy Goodman played for 4 teams: the Boston Red Sox (1947–1957), the Baltimore Orioles (1957), the Chicago White Sox (1958–1961), and the Houston Colt .45's (1962).
- Did Billy Goodman win an MVP award?
- No. Billy Goodman did not win the MVP award.
- What awards did Billy Goodman win?
- Billy Goodman was selected to 2 All-Star Games.
- What were Billy Goodman's career stats?
- In 1,623 games, Billy Goodman had 1,691 hits, 19 home runs, 591 RBI, 807 runs, and 37 stolen bases, with a .300 batting average.
- What position did Billy Goodman play?
- Billy Goodman played primarily as a second baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Billy Goodman and how much did he weigh?
- Billy Goodman was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 165 pounds.
- How many home runs did Billy Goodman hit each season?
- Billy Goodman's home runs by season: 0 in 1947, 1 in 1948, 0 in 1949, 4 in 1950, 0 in 1951, 4 in 1952, 2 in 1953, 1 in 1954, 0 in 1955, 2 in 1956, 3 in 1957, 0 in 1958, 1 in 1959, 0 in 1960, 1 in 1961, and 0 in 1962. His most in one season was 4, in 1950 and 1952.
- What was Billy Goodman's career batting average?
- Billy Goodman batted .300 over his career, with 1,691 hits in 5,644 at bats.
- How many RBI did Billy Goodman have?
- Billy Goodman drove in 591 runs in his career.
- Is Billy Goodman in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Billy Goodman has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- How many All-Star Games did Billy Goodman make?
- Billy Goodman was selected to 2 All-Star Games.