Oscar Grimes
Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1938-1946)
Oscar Grimes was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1946 for the Cleveland Guardians, the New York Yankees, and the Philadelphia Athletics, a span of 9 seasons. In 602 career games, he hit .256 with 469 hits, 18 home runs, and 200 RBI. Oscar Grimes was an All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 2,574.
- 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
- Third Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 178 lb
- Died
- 5/19/1993 in Westlake, OH, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1938-09-28
- Last Game
- 1946-09-25
- Awards
- All-Star
Full name: Oscar Ray Grimes
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 602 | 1,832 | 235 | 469 | 73 | 24 | 18 | 200 | 30 | 297 | 303 | .256 | .363 | .352 | .715 | 2,574 |
Career AVG .256 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .363 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — +9.5% above league average.
Career SLG .352 vs. league average .368 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OPS .715 vs. league average .700 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | CLE | AL | 4 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .200 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1939 | CLE | AL | 119 | 364 | 51 | 98 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 56 | 8 | 56 | 61 | .269 | .274 (-2%) | .342 (+8%) | .393 (-2%) | .735 (+2%) | 295.4 |
| 1940 | CLE | AL | 11 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1941 | CLE | AL | 77 | 244 | 28 | 58 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 4 | 39 | 47 | .238 | .262 (-9%) | .332 (+4%) | .373 (-7%) | .705 (-2%) | 8.3 |
| 1942 | CLE | AL | 51 | 84 | 10 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 17 | .179 | .253 (-30%) | .323 (-11%) | .349 (-42%) | .672 (-27%) | -306.6 |
| 1943 | NYA | AL | 9 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | .150 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1944 | NYA | AL | 116 | 387 | 44 | 108 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 46 | 6 | 59 | 57 | .279 | .261 (+7%) | .325 (+16%) | .357 (+13%) | .683 (+14%) | 1171.0 |
| 1945 | NYA | AL | 142 | 480 | 64 | 127 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 45 | 7 | 97 | 73 | .265 | .260 (+1%) | .328 (+20%) | .354 (+1%) | .683 (+10%) | 1431.7 |
| 1946 | NYA | AL | 14 | 39 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .205 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1946 | PHA | AL | 59 | 191 | 28 | 50 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 2 | 27 | 29 | .262 | .256 (+2%) | .328 (+8%) | .358 (-15%) | .687 (-4%) | 0.0 |
| Career · 10 seasons | 602 | 1,832 | 235 | 469 | 73 | 24 | 18 | 200 | 30 | 297 | 303 | .256 | — | — | — | — | 2,600 | ||
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 (602 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 305 | 925 | 125 | 234 | 8 | 98 | .253 |
| Away | 297 | 907 | 110 | 235 | 10 | 101 | .259 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946-09-25 | PHA | MIN | L | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1946-09-25 | PHA | MIN | L | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1946-09-23 | PHA | NYY | L | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1946-09-22 | PHA | NYY | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1946-09-22 | PHA | NYY | L | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1946-09-19 | PHA | DET | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1946-09-15 | PHA | CLE | W | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1946-09-13 | PHA | CHW | L | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1946-09-13 | PHA | CHW | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1946-09-08 | PHA | BOS | W | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 113 | 0 | 929 | 52 | 8 | 95 |
| 2B | 135 | 0 | 288 | 297 | 24 | 71 |
| 3B | 257 | 0 | 281 | 521 | 51 | 50 |
| SS | 72 | 0 | 122 | 151 | 28 | 35 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | CLE | 1B | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1938 | CLE | 2B | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1939 | CLE | 1B | 43 | 0 | 341 | 17 | 4 | 36 |
| 1939 | CLE | 2B | 48 | 0 | 102 | 109 | 7 | 21 |
| 1939 | CLE | 3B | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939 | CLE | SS | 37 | 0 | 58 | 66 | 11 | 18 |
| 1940 | CLE | 1B | 4 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 1940 | CLE | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941 | CLE | 1B | 62 | 0 | 544 | 31 | 3 | 53 |
| 1941 | CLE | 2B | 13 | 0 | 28 | 31 | 2 | 7 |
| 1941 | CLE | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942 | CLE | 1B | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942 | CLE | 2B | 24 | 0 | 46 | 39 | 5 | 10 |
| 1942 | CLE | 3B | 8 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| 1942 | CLE | SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1943 | NYA | 1B | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 1943 | NYA | SS | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 3 |
| 1944 | NYA | 3B | 97 | 0 | 105 | 189 | 17 | 14 |
| 1944 | NYA | SS | 20 | 0 | 35 | 57 | 7 | 10 |
| 1945 | NYA | 1B | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945 | NYA | 3B | 141 | 0 | 162 | 296 | 31 | 35 |
| 1946 | NYA | 2B | 5 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 2 |
| 1946 | NYA | SS | 7 | 0 | 20 | 14 | 4 | 3 |
| 1946 | PHA | 2B | 43 | 0 | 98 | 105 | 9 | 30 |
| 1946 | PHA | 3B | 6 | 0 | 6 | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| 1946 | PHA | SS | 4 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 113 |
| Second Base | 136 |
| Third Base | 257 |
| Shortstop | 71 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Oscar Grimes (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Oscar Grimes: the record in brief
September 28, 1938 and September 25, 1946 bracket Oscar Grimes's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The season rows list, in order, the Cleveland Indians (1938 to 1942), the New York Yankees (1943 to 1946), and the Philadelphia Athletics (1946). Grimes played primarily as a third baseman and batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on April 13, 1915, in Minerva, OH, USA and a listed size of 178 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame. Grimes's death is recorded on May 19, 1993, in Westlake, OH, USA. On the record, Oscar Grimes was born Oscar Ray Grimes.
The batting record for Grimes: 602 games, 469 hits in 1,832 at bats, and a .256 average, plus 18 home runs, 200 runs batted in, and 30 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .363 and the slugging percentage .352, for an OPS of .715. Grimes hit .256 while the league hit .263 over the same span, a figure close to average.
Frequently Asked Questions about Oscar Grimes
- What years did Oscar Grimes play?
- Oscar Grimes played in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1946.
- Was Oscar Grimes a pitcher?
- No. Oscar Grimes was a position player (Third Baseman).
- How many home runs did Oscar Grimes hit?
- Oscar Grimes hit 18 career home runs with 469 hits.
- What was Oscar Grimes's career batting average?
- Oscar Grimes batted .256 over his career, with 469 hits in 1,832 at bats.
- How many RBI did Oscar Grimes have?
- Oscar Grimes drove in 200 runs in his career.
- Is Oscar Grimes in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Oscar Grimes has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.