Joe Greene

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Joe Greene was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball for 5 teams, including the Atlanta Black Crackers. In 252 career games, he hit .273 with 212 hits, 18 home runs, and 141 RBI. Joe Greene was a 2-time All-Star. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 2,397.

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

AVG .273
HR 18
RBI 141
H 212
OPS .819
PIV 2,397
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 190 lb
Born
10/17/1911 in Stone Mountain, GA, USA
Died
7/19/1989 in Stone Mountain, GA, USA
Awards
2× All-Star

Full name: James Elbert Greene

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Joe Greene — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1053.0 897.0 202.0 289.0 50.0 23.0 38.0 158.0 146.0 24.0 21.0 .322 .418 .556 .974

Pitching

Joe Greene — Pitching
W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
0 0 1 0 1 0 1.2 2 3 0 0 4 0 0.00 3.60

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

Joe Greene — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1937 62.0 55.0 5.0 15.0 5.0 0 0 10.0 6.0 6.0 2.0 .273 .344 .364 .708
Listed seasons · 1 62 55 5 15 5 0 0 10 6 6 2 .273 — — —

Career Batting Statistics

Joe Greene — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
252 777 148 212 37 20 18 141 15 127 12 .273 .377 .441 .819 2,397

Career AVG .273 vs. league average .266 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .377 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — +12.4% above league average.

Career SLG .441 vs. league average .377 across their career seasons — +17.0% above league average.

Career OPS .819 vs. league average .713 across their career seasons — +14.8% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Greene Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1932 BCA NSL 10 33 2 4 0 0 0 1 1 4 0 .121 — — — — 0.0
1936 HG NN2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1.000 — — — — 0.0
1936 CAG IND 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1938 BCA NAL 29 88 15 26 4 4 0 10 0 12 8 .295 .272 (+8%) .341 (+15%) .392 (+10%) .734 (+12%) 200.0
1939 KCM NAL 32 105 11 24 3 2 2 11 0 11 0 .229 .274 (-17%) .342 (-12%) .393 (-10%) .735 (-11%) -227.6
1940 KCM NAL 28 91 26 24 7 4 2 22 5 15 0 .264 .267 (-1%) .335 (+10%) .387 (+28%) .722 (+19%) 282.9
1941 KCM NAL 33 105 18 30 5 6 0 27 0 12 2 .286 .262 (+9%) .332 (+8%) .373 (+20%) .705 (+14%) 215.9
1942 KCM NAL 34 118 24 34 9 1 6 28 3 13 0 .288 .253 (+14%) .323 (+11%) .349 (+53%) .672 (+33%) 576.5
1943 KCM NAL 2 8 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .125 — — — — 0.0
1946 KCM NAL 26 71 14 21 2 1 2 12 1 22 1 .296 .256 (+15%) .328 (+41%) .358 (+22%) .687 (+31%) 476.2
1947 KCM NAL 42 116 30 38 6 1 4 24 5 29 1 .328 .262 (+25%) .336 (+39%) .376 (+33%) .712 (+36%) 872.9
1948 CBE NAL 14 38 8 9 1 0 2 5 0 9 0 .237 — — — — 0.0
Career · 12 seasons 252 777 148 212 37 20 18 141 15 127 12 .273 — — — — 2,397

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 Pitching Statistics

Joe Greene — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.2 2 2 0 4 0 10.80 0.0

Career ERA 10.80 vs. league average 3.97 across their career seasons — 171.9% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Greene — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1947 KCM NAL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.2 2 2 4 0 10.80 — 0.0
Career · 1 season 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.2 2 2 4 0 10.80 — 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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Joe Greene — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
10 37 10 13 5 0 1 7 4 0 .351

Playoff Batting by Year

Joe Greene — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1946 NWS KCM 1 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
1942 NWS KCM 4 16 6 8 2 0 1 6 3 0 .500
1939 ALC KCM 5 17 3 4 3 0 0 1 1 0 .235

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (296 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Joe Greene — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home166372981211676.325
Away12821651711239.329

Pitching — Home / Away

Joe Greene — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Away20.00000—

Last 10 Games — Batting

Joe Greene — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1948-09-05 CVBCAGW 000000000
1948-09-01 CVBKCML 101000000
1948-08-30 CVBKCML 000000000
1948-08-25 CVBCAGL 311000010
1948-08-08 CVBBIRL 200000000
1948-08-08 CVBBIRL 200000000
1948-08-01 CVBMEML 000000000
1948-07-30 CVBIN9L 000000000
1948-07-22 CVBBIRL 100000000
1948-07-18 CVBBIRL 000000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Joe Greene — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 8 5 53 1 3 1
C 218 198 1229 174 32 11
OF 16 15 15 2 0 0
P 1 0 0 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Joe Greene — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1932 BCA 1B 3 3 19 1 0 0
1932 BCA C 8 7 26 9 8 1
1936 HG C 1 0 1 0 0 0
1936 CAG C 1 1 7 1 0 0
1938 BCA 1B 4 2 33 0 3 1
1938 BCA C 25 21 117 20 3 2
1939 KCM C 31 29 196 24 4 2
1939 KCM OF 1 1 1 0 0 0
1940 KCM 1B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1940 KCM C 27 26 163 14 1 0
1941 KCM C 30 27 183 20 3 0
1942 KCM C 34 29 206 28 3 1
1943 KCM C 2 2 11 2 1 0
1946 KCM C 23 22 136 31 2 4
1946 KCM OF 2 2 2 0 0 0
1947 KCM C 29 27 146 21 6 1
1947 KCM OF 8 8 7 2 0 0
1947 KCM P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1948 CBE C 7 7 37 4 1 0
1948 CBE OF 5 4 5 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Joe Greene Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 1
Catcher 218
First Base 8
Left Field 9
Right Field 7

Joe Greene: the record in brief

Joe Greene's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1932 to 1948. By club, Greene's seasons break down as the Atlanta Black Crackers (1932 through 1938), the Homestead Grays (1936), the Chicago American Giants (1936), the Kansas City Monarchs (1939 through 1947), and the Cleveland Buckeyes (1948). At 5'11" and 190 pounds, Greene is listed as a catcher. Greene batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is October 17, 1911, in Stone Mountain, GA, USA. Greene died on July 19, 1989, in Stone Mountain, GA, USA. Joe Greene was the playing name; the full given name is James Elbert.

The batting record for Greene: 252 games, 212 hits in 777 at bats, and a .273 average, plus 18 home runs and 141 runs batted in. The on-base percentage is .377 and the slugging percentage .441, for an OPS of .819. The .273 career average is close to the .266 the league hit across the same seasons.

Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Greene

Was Joe Greene a pitcher?
No. Joe Greene was a position player (Catcher), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
How many home runs did Joe Greene hit?
Joe Greene hit 18 career home runs with 212 hits.
What was Joe Greene's career batting average?
Joe Greene batted .273 over his career, with 212 hits in 777 at bats.
How many RBI did Joe Greene have?
Joe Greene drove in 141 runs in his career.
What was Joe Greene's career ERA?
Joe Greene finished with a 10.80 career ERA, going 0-0 with 0 strikeouts.
Is Joe Greene in the Hall of Fame?
No. Joe Greene has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.