Bill Greason
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1954)
Bill Greason was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball in 1954 for the Birmingham Black Barons and the St. Louis Cardinals. Across 11 career appearances, he went 3-3 with a 4.62 ERA and 36 strikeouts. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 1541.7.
- W (Wins):
- Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
- ERA (Earned Run Average):
- Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
- SO (Strikeouts):
- For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
- WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
- Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.
Data updated
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'10" / 170 lb
- MLB Debut
- 1954-05-31
- Last Game
- 1954-06-20
Full name: William Henry Greason
Negro Leagues Career Statistics
Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | BBB | NAL | 3 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 46.2 | 53 | 20 | 22 | 34 | 3.86 | 4.10 (+6%) | 1541.7 |
| 1954 | SLN | NL | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 13.50 | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 2 seasons | 3 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 50.2 | 61 | 26 | 26 | 36 | 4.62 | — | 1,542 | ||
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.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .267 | .421 | .333 | .754 | 0 |
Career AVG .267 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .421 vs. league average .337 across their career seasons — +25.0% above league average.
Career SLG .333 vs. league average .384 across their career seasons — 13.3% below league average.
Career OPS .754 vs. league average .721 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | BBB | NAL | 9 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .286 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1954 | SLN | NL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 2 seasons | 12 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .267 | — | — | — | — | 0 | ||
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 (79 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 24 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 6 | .412 |
| Away | 17 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .071 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 22 | 112.2 | 99 | 16 | 30 | 48 | 1.28 |
| Away | 16 | 72.2 | 66 | 24 | 17 | 18 | 2.97 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954-06-20 | STL | NY1 | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1954-06-06 | STL | PHI | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1954-05-31 | STL | CHC | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-29 | BIR | IN9 | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-21 | BIR | KCM | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-17 | BIR | CAG | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-07 | BIR | BLG | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-07-29 | BIR | MEM | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-07-24 | BIR | MEM | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-07-17 | BIR | PH5 | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954-06-20 | STL | NY1 | — | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1954-06-06 | STL | PHI | — | 0.0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1954-05-31 | STL | CHC | L | 3.0 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1949-08-29 | BIR | IN9 | — | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-21 | BIR | KCM | L | 9.0 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-17 | BIR | CAG | L | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-07 | BIR | BLG | L | 6.0 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 1949-07-29 | BIR | MEM | — | 2.1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-07-24 | BIR | MEM | L | 5.0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-07-17 | BIR | PH5 | W | 7.0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 11 |
Bill Greason: the record in brief
Bill Greason appears in the season tables from 1948, when the club was a Negro Leagues team; the bio's debut date, May 31, 1954, marks the first game in the American or National League era of the record, and the final game as June 20, 1954. By club, Greason's seasons break down as the Birmingham Black Barons (1948) and the St. Louis Cardinals (1954). At 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, Greason is listed as a pitcher. Greason threw and hit right-handed, per the bio block. Greason was born on September 3, 1924, in Atlanta, GA, USA. Bill Greason was the playing name; the full given name is William Henry.
Across 11 games (7 starts), Greason recorded 3 wins against 3 losses with a 4.62 ERA. Also on Greason's record: 36 strikeouts. Against a 4.01 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.62 mark was 15.2% worse. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.86 in 1948, when the league's was 4.10.
Frequently Asked Questions about Bill Greason
- Was Bill Greason a pitcher?
- Yes. Bill Greason pitched in the major leagues, recording 3 wins and 36 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Bill Greason hit?
- Bill Greason hit 0 career home runs with 4 hits.
- What teams did Bill Greason play for?
- Bill Greason played for 2 teams: the Birmingham Black Barons (1948) and the St. Louis Cardinals (1954).
- What were Bill Greason's career stats?
- In 11 games, Bill Greason went 3-3 with a 4.62 ERA, 36 strikeouts, 50.2 innings pitched, and 1 saves.
- What position did Bill Greason play?
- Bill Greason played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Bill Greason and how much did he weigh?
- Bill Greason was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 170 pounds.
- What was Bill Greason's career ERA?
- Bill Greason finished with a 4.62 career ERA, going 3-3 with 36 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Bill Greason have?
- Bill Greason recorded 36 career strikeouts.
- Is Bill Greason in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Bill Greason has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.