Woodie Held

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1954-1969)

Woodie Held was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1969 for 7 teams, including the New York Yankees, a span of 16 seasons. In 1,390 career games, he hit .240 with 963 hits, 179 home runs, and 559 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 6,492.

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 .240
HR 179
RBI 559
H 963
OPS .753
PIV 6,492
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 167 lb
Born
3/25/1932 in Sacramento, CA, USA
Died
6/11/2009 in DuBois, WY, USA
MLB Debut
1954-09-05
Last Game
1969-09-28

Full name: Woodson George Held

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Career Batting Statistics

Woodie Held — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,390 4,019 524 963 150 22 179 559 14 508 944 .240 .331 .421 .753 6,492

Career AVG .240 vs. league average .251 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .331 vs. league average .317 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .421 vs. league average .378 across their career seasons — +11.5% above league average.

Career OPS .753 vs. league average .695 across their career seasons — +8.2% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Woodie Held 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
1954 NYA AL 4 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1957 NYA AL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1957 KC1 AL 92 326 48 78 14 3 20 50 4 37 81 .239 .257 (-7%) .323 (-1%) .391 (+24%) .715 (+13%) 0.0
1958 KC1 AL 47 131 13 28 2 0 4 16 0 10 28 .214 .257 (-17%) .324 (-15%) .394 (-19%) .719 (-17%) -360.5
1958 CLE AL 67 144 12 28 4 1 3 17 1 15 36 .194 .257 (-25%) .324 (-12%) .394 (-24%) .719 (-19%) -360.5
1959 CLE AL 143 525 82 132 19 3 29 71 1 46 118 .251 .256 (-2%) .323 (-3%) .392 (+19%) .715 (+9%) 793.1
1960 CLE AL 109 376 45 97 15 1 21 67 0 44 73 .258 .255 (+1%) .323 (+6%) .387 (+21%) .711 (+14%) 1041.6
1961 CLE AL 146 509 67 136 23 5 23 78 0 69 111 .267 .258 (+3%) .328 (+8%) .399 (+17%) .727 (+13%) 1369.9
1962 CLE AL 139 466 55 116 12 2 19 58 5 73 107 .249 .257 (-3%) .326 (+11%) .393 (+3%) .719 (+7%) 916.6
1963 CLE AL 133 416 61 103 19 4 17 61 2 61 96 .248 .246 (+1%) .308 (+14%) .371 (+17%) .680 (+16%) 1375.2
1964 CLE AL 118 364 50 86 13 0 18 49 1 43 88 .236 .250 (-6%) .312 (+5%) .377 (+11%) .690 (+8%) 658.3
1965 WS2 AL 122 332 46 82 16 2 16 54 0 49 74 .247 .245 (+1%) .310 (+11%) .371 (+22%) .682 (+17%) 1095.6
1966 BAL AL 56 82 6 17 3 1 1 7 0 12 30 .207 .248 (-17%) .309 (avg) .376 (-19%) .685 (-11%) -105.4
1967 BAL AL 26 41 4 6 3 0 1 6 0 6 12 .146 — — — — 0.0
1967 CAL AL 58 141 15 31 3 0 4 17 0 18 41 .220 .242 (-9%) .306 (+3%) .357 (-9%) .663 (-3%) 0.0
1968 CAL AL 33 45 4 5 1 0 0 0 0 5 15 .111 — — — — -253.3
1968 CHA AL 40 54 5 9 1 0 0 2 0 5 14 .167 .236 (-30%) .298 (-18%) .340 (-46%) .638 (-33%) -253.3
1969 CHA AL 56 63 9 9 2 0 3 6 0 13 19 .143 .248 (-42%) .320 (-7%) .369 (-14%) .689 (-11%) -76.4
Career · 18 seasons 1,390 4,019 524 963 150 22 179 559 14 508 944 .240 — — — — 5,841

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 (1390 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Woodie Held — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home677191424544681235.233
Away713210628051798323.245

Last 10 Games — Batting

Woodie Held — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1969-09-28 CHWKCRL 100000001
1969-09-23 CHWOAKL 100000000
1969-09-20 CHWKCRL 000000000
1969-09-08 CHWMILL 000000000
1969-09-02 CHWBALW 000000000
1969-08-31 CHWCLEW 000000010
1969-08-30 CHWCLEW 101000100
1969-08-20 CHWTEXL 100000000
1969-08-19 CHWTEXL 100000000
1969-08-17 CHWNYYL 100000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Woodie Held — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 179 148 324 423 19 93
3B 132 102 101 233 12 22
OF 448 323 796 28 15 8
SS 539 505 902 1472 98 337

Season-by-Season Fielding

Woodie Held — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1954 NYA 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1954 NYA SS 4 0 2 3 0 1
1957 KC1 OF 92 92 266 12 1 2
1958 KC1 3B 4 2 4 9 0 1
1958 KC1 OF 41 32 75 1 0 0
1958 KC1 SS 1 0 1 3 0 0
1958 CLE 3B 4 2 4 5 0 0
1958 CLE OF 43 25 82 3 3 1
1958 CLE SS 14 12 12 34 4 5
1959 CLE 2B 3 0 0 1 0 0
1959 CLE 3B 40 36 33 87 2 8
1959 CLE OF 6 3 7 0 0 0
1959 CLE SS 103 100 177 277 18 43
1960 CLE SS 109 108 208 345 19 87
1961 CLE SS 144 143 258 393 27 90
1962 CLE 3B 5 4 6 6 0 1
1962 CLE OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1962 CLE SS 133 129 221 371 27 101
1963 CLE 2B 96 88 188 251 8 50
1963 CLE 3B 3 1 2 4 3 0
1963 CLE OF 35 27 51 3 1 2
1963 CLE SS 5 0 2 2 1 1
1964 CLE 2B 52 45 96 128 8 35
1964 CLE 3B 30 27 29 53 4 5
1964 CLE OF 41 30 58 1 2 0
1965 WS2 2B 4 0 2 1 0 0
1965 WS2 3B 5 4 6 9 0 3
1965 WS2 OF 106 81 175 5 7 2
1965 WS2 SS 2 0 0 0 1 0
1966 BAL 2B 5 5 12 9 2 1
1966 BAL 3B 3 1 0 2 0 0
1966 BAL OF 10 8 10 1 0 0
1966 BAL SS 3 1 1 6 0 0
1967 BAL 2B 9 8 18 19 1 6
1967 BAL 3B 5 0 1 3 1 0
1967 BAL OF 2 1 3 0 0 0
1967 CAL 2B 3 1 2 6 0 1
1967 CAL 3B 19 18 10 37 1 3
1967 CAL OF 17 8 20 0 1 0
1967 CAL SS 13 9 12 27 0 7
1968 CAL 2B 5 1 4 5 0 0
1968 CAL 3B 5 2 2 6 0 1
1968 CAL OF 3 1 2 0 0 0
1968 CAL SS 5 3 6 7 1 1
1968 CHA 2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1968 CHA 3B 5 3 2 3 1 0
1968 CHA OF 33 7 30 2 0 1
1969 CHA 2B 1 0 2 2 0 0
1969 CHA 3B 3 2 2 9 0 0
1969 CHA OF 18 8 17 0 0 0
1969 CHA SS 3 0 2 4 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Woodie Held Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 178
Third Base 132
Shortstop 539
Left Field 113
Center Field 277
Right Field 112

Award Voting History

Woodie Held — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1957 Most Valuable Player AL 19th 4.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Woodie Held (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Justin Smoak
    .229 avg, 196 HR
  2. 96
    Bill Melton
    .253 avg, 160 HR
  3. 96
    Ryan McMahon
    .237 avg, 155 HR
  4. 95
    Eric Hinske
    .249 avg, 137 HR
  5. 95
    Ed Sprague
    .247 avg, 152 HR
  6. 94
    Willy Adames
    .243 avg, 201 HR

Woodie Held: the record in brief

According to the bio, Woodie Held debuted on September 5, 1954 and played a final game on September 28, 1969. The team column moves through the New York Yankees (1954 to 1957), the Kansas City Athletics (1957 to 1958), the Cleveland Indians (1958 to 1964), the Washington Senators (1965), the Baltimore Orioles (1966 to 1967), the California Angels (1967 through 1968), and the Chicago White Sox (1968 through 1969). Held, born on March 25, 1932, in Sacramento, CA, USA, is listed as a shortstop and threw and hit right-handed. Size on record: 5'10" and 167 pounds. Held's death is recorded on June 11, 2009, in DuBois, WY, USA. Held's full given name, per the bio, is Woodson George Held.

Held's career batting table shows 1,390 games, 4,019 at bats and 963 hits, a .240 average, along with 179 homers and 559 RBI. On-base and slugging figures of .331 and .421 give Held a career OPS of .753. Against a .251 league average for those years, Held's .240 average was near the norm.

Frequently Asked Questions about Woodie Held

What years did Woodie Held play?
Woodie Held played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1969.
Was Woodie Held a pitcher?
No. Woodie Held was a position player (Shortstop).
How many home runs did Woodie Held hit?
Woodie Held hit 179 career home runs with 963 hits.
What teams did Woodie Held play for?
Woodie Held played for 7 teams: the New York Yankees (1954, 1957), the Kansas City Athletics (1957–1958), the Cleveland Indians (1958–1964), the Washington Senators (1965), the Baltimore Orioles (1966–1967), the California Angels (1967–1968), and the Chicago White Sox (1968–1969).
What were Woodie Held's career stats?
In 1,390 games, Woodie Held had 963 hits, 179 home runs, 559 RBI, 524 runs, and 14 stolen bases, with a .240 batting average.
What position did Woodie Held play?
Woodie Held played primarily as a shortstop, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Woodie Held and how much did he weigh?
Woodie Held was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 167 pounds.
How many home runs did Woodie Held hit each season?
Woodie Held's home runs by season: 0 in 1954, 20 in 1957, 7 in 1958, 29 in 1959, 21 in 1960, 23 in 1961, 19 in 1962, 17 in 1963, 18 in 1964, 16 in 1965, 1 in 1966, 5 in 1967, 0 in 1968, and 3 in 1969. His most in one season was 29, in 1959.
What was Woodie Held's career batting average?
Woodie Held batted .240 over his career, with 963 hits in 4,019 at bats.
How many RBI did Woodie Held have?
Woodie Held drove in 559 runs in his career.
Is Woodie Held in the Hall of Fame?
No. Woodie Held has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.