Billy Herman
Second Baseman · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1931-1947)
Billy Herman was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1931 to 1947 for 4 teams, including the Chicago Cubs, a span of 17 seasons. In 1,922 career games, he hit .304 with 2,345 hits, 47 home runs, and 839 RBI. Billy Herman was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975 and was a 10-time All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 12,844.
- 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
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 180 lb
- Died
- 9/5/1992 in West Palm Beach, FL, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1931-08-29
- Last Game
- 1947-08-01
- Hall of Fame
- Inducted 1975 (BBWAA)
- Awards
- 10× All-Star
Full name: William Jennings Bryan Herman
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,922 | 7,707 | 1,163 | 2,345 | 486 | 82 | 47 | 839 | 67 | 737 | 428 | .304 | .367 | .407 | .774 | 12,844 |
Career AVG .304 vs. league average .270 across their career seasons — +12.9% above league average.
Career OBP .367 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — +9.1% above league average.
Career SLG .407 vs. league average .382 across their career seasons — +6.5% above league average.
Career OPS .774 vs. league average .718 across their career seasons — +7.8% above 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | CHN | NL | 25 | 98 | 14 | 32 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 13 | 6 | .327 | .276 (+18%) | .338 (+20%) | .388 (+2%) | .726 (+11%) | 220.9 |
| 1932 | CHN | NL | 154 | 656 | 102 | 206 | 42 | 7 | 1 | 51 | 14 | 40 | 33 | .314 | .275 (+14%) | .335 (+7%) | .391 (+3%) | .726 (+5%) | 651.1 |
| 1933 | CHN | NL | 153 | 619 | 82 | 173 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 5 | 45 | 34 | .279 | .270 (+4%) | .329 (+1%) | .377 (-9%) | .707 (-5%) | -388.2 |
| 1934 | CHN | NL | 113 | 456 | 79 | 138 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 42 | 6 | 34 | 31 | .303 | .278 (+9%) | .340 (+4%) | .392 (avg) | .733 (+2%) | 209.0 |
| 1935 | CHN | NL | 154 | 666 | 113 | 227 | 57 | 6 | 7 | 83 | 6 | 42 | 29 | .341 | .279 (+22%) | .342 (+12%) | .399 (+19%) | .742 (+16%) | 2099.8 |
| 1936 | CHN | NL | 153 | 632 | 101 | 211 | 57 | 7 | 5 | 93 | 5 | 59 | 30 | .334 | .283 (+18%) | .349 (+12%) | .404 (+16%) | .753 (+14%) | 1903.7 |
| 1937 | CHN | NL | 138 | 564 | 106 | 189 | 35 | 11 | 8 | 65 | 2 | 56 | 22 | .335 | .276 (+21%) | .342 (+16%) | .398 (+20%) | .740 (+18%) | 2117.1 |
| 1938 | CHN | NL | 152 | 624 | 86 | 173 | 34 | 7 | 1 | 56 | 3 | 59 | 31 | .277 | .272 (+2%) | .341 (avg) | .392 (-9%) | .734 (-5%) | -442.4 |
| 1939 | CHN | NL | 156 | 623 | 111 | 191 | 34 | 18 | 7 | 70 | 9 | 66 | 31 | .307 | .274 (+12%) | .342 (+10%) | .393 (+15%) | .735 (+13%) | 1662.3 |
| 1940 | CHN | NL | 135 | 558 | 77 | 163 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 57 | 1 | 47 | 30 | .292 | .267 (+9%) | .335 (+4%) | .387 (-3%) | .722 (avg) | 39.9 |
| 1941 | CHN | NL | 11 | 36 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 | .194 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1941 | BRO | NL | 133 | 536 | 77 | 156 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 41 | 1 | 58 | 38 | .291 | .262 (+11%) | .332 (+9%) | .373 (+2%) | .705 (+5%) | 0.0 |
| 1942 | BRO | NL | 155 | 571 | 76 | 146 | 34 | 2 | 2 | 65 | 6 | 72 | 52 | .256 | .253 (+1%) | .323 (+5%) | .349 (-5%) | .672 (avg) | 115.2 |
| 1943 | BRO | NL | 153 | 585 | 76 | 193 | 41 | 2 | 2 | 100 | 4 | 66 | 26 | .330 | .255 (+29%) | .324 (+22%) | .346 (+20%) | .671 (+21%) | 2560.4 |
| 1946 | BRO | NL | 47 | 184 | 24 | 53 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 28 | 2 | 26 | 10 | .288 | .256 (+12%) | .328 (+14%) | .358 (+5%) | .687 (+9%) | 330.9 |
| 1946 | BSN | NL | 75 | 252 | 32 | 77 | 23 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 1 | 43 | 13 | .306 | .256 (+19%) | .328 (+24%) | .358 (+23%) | .687 (+24%) | 330.9 |
| 1947 | PIT | NL | 15 | 47 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 7 | .213 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 17 seasons | 1,922 | 7,707 | 1,163 | 2,345 | 486 | 82 | 47 | 839 | 67 | 737 | 428 | .304 | — | — | — | — | 11,411 | ||
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
Playoff Batting by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1922 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 985 | 3851 | 612 | 1187 | 22 | 438 | .308 |
| Away | 937 | 3855 | 552 | 1158 | 25 | 410 | .300 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947-08-01 | PIT | NY1 | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-07-14 | PIT | NY1 | L | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1947-06-22 | PIT | PHI | L | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1947-06-21 | PIT | PHI | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-06-20 | PIT | PHI | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-06-19 | PIT | NY1 | W | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 1947-06-18 | PIT | NY1 | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-06-06 | PIT | PHI | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1947-05-11 | PIT | STL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1947-05-08 | PIT | BSN | L | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 27 | 0 | 214 | 10 | 2 | 14 |
| 2B | 1813 | 0 | 4780 | 5681 | 354 | 1177 |
| 3B | 71 | 0 | 90 | 132 | 9 | 11 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | CHN | 2B | 25 | 0 | 76 | 79 | 10 | 17 |
| 1932 | CHN | 2B | 154 | 0 | 401 | 527 | 38 | 102 |
| 1933 | CHN | 2B | 153 | 0 | 466 | 512 | 45 | 114 |
| 1934 | CHN | 2B | 111 | 0 | 278 | 385 | 17 | 64 |
| 1935 | CHN | 2B | 154 | 0 | 416 | 520 | 35 | 109 |
| 1936 | CHN | 2B | 153 | 0 | 457 | 492 | 24 | 110 |
| 1937 | CHN | 2B | 137 | 0 | 384 | 468 | 41 | 97 |
| 1938 | CHN | 2B | 151 | 0 | 404 | 517 | 18 | 111 |
| 1939 | CHN | 2B | 156 | 0 | 377 | 485 | 29 | 95 |
| 1940 | CHN | 2B | 135 | 0 | 366 | 448 | 22 | 94 |
| 1941 | CHN | 2B | 11 | 0 | 33 | 20 | 6 | 5 |
| 1941 | BRO | 2B | 133 | 0 | 297 | 354 | 20 | 64 |
| 1942 | BRO | 1B | 3 | 0 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 1942 | BRO | 2B | 153 | 0 | 383 | 402 | 22 | 97 |
| 1943 | BRO | 2B | 117 | 0 | 291 | 322 | 18 | 69 |
| 1943 | BRO | 3B | 37 | 0 | 54 | 68 | 3 | 2 |
| 1946 | BRO | 2B | 16 | 0 | 42 | 36 | 0 | 5 |
| 1946 | BRO | 3B | 29 | 0 | 31 | 55 | 5 | 8 |
| 1946 | BSN | 1B | 22 | 0 | 179 | 6 | 1 | 12 |
| 1946 | BSN | 2B | 44 | 0 | 95 | 101 | 9 | 22 |
| 1946 | BSN | 3B | 5 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| 1947 | PIT | 1B | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947 | PIT | 2B | 10 | 0 | 14 | 13 | 0 | 2 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 27 |
| Second Base | 1812 |
| Third Base | 75 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1943 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
| 1943 | TSN All-Star | 2B |
| 1940 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
| 1938 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
| 1937 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
| 1936 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
| 1935 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
| 1932 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 2B |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 4th | 140.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1941 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 11th | 27.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1939 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 31th | 1.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1937 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 9th | 19.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1936 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 3rd | 37.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1935 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 4th | 38.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1932 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 9th | 16.0 | 80 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Billy Herman (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Billy Herman
Billy Herman: the record in brief
August 29, 1931 and August 1, 1947 bracket Billy Herman's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Herman played for the Chicago Cubs (1931 through 1941), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1941 to 1946), the Boston Braves (1946), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1947). Born on July 7, 1909, in New Albany, IN, USA, Herman is listed as a second baseman and both batted and threw right-handed. Herman's listed size is 180 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame. The bio records the death on September 5, 1992, in West Palm Beach, FL, USA. Herman's full given name, per the bio, is William Jennings Bryan Herman.
Herman collected 2,345 hits in 7,707 at bats across 1,922 games, good for a .304 batting average, along with 47 homers, 839 RBI, and 67 stolen bases. Herman's career OPS of .774 combines a .367 on-base mark with .407 slugging. Herman's .304 average ran 12.9% above the .270 that the league posted over the same seasons. No season topped the 227 hits of 1935.
Frequently Asked Questions about Billy Herman
- What years did Billy Herman play?
- Billy Herman played in Major League Baseball from 1931 to 1947.
- Was Billy Herman a pitcher?
- No. Billy Herman was a position player (Second Baseman).
- How many home runs did Billy Herman hit?
- Billy Herman hit 47 career home runs with 2,345 hits.
- Is Billy Herman in the Hall of Fame?
- Yes. Billy Herman was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975.
- What teams did Billy Herman play for?
- Billy Herman played for 4 teams: the Chicago Cubs (1931–1941), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1941–1943, 1946), the Boston Braves (1946), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1947).
- Did Billy Herman win an MVP award?
- No. Billy Herman did not win the MVP award.
- What awards did Billy Herman win?
- Billy Herman was selected to 10 All-Star Games.
- What were Billy Herman's career stats?
- In 1,922 games, Billy Herman had 2,345 hits, 47 home runs, 839 RBI, 1,163 runs, and 67 stolen bases, with a .304 batting average.
- What position did Billy Herman play?
- Billy Herman played primarily as a second baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Billy Herman and how much did he weigh?
- Billy Herman was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 180 pounds.
- How many home runs did Billy Herman hit each season?
- Billy Herman's home runs by season: 0 in 1931, 1 in 1932, 0 in 1933, 3 in 1934, 7 in 1935, 5 in 1936, 8 in 1937, 1 in 1938, 7 in 1939, 5 in 1940, 3 in 1941, 2 in 1942, 2 in 1943, 3 in 1946, and 0 in 1947. His most in one season was 8, in 1937.
- What was Billy Herman's career batting average?
- Billy Herman batted .304 over his career, with 2,345 hits in 7,707 at bats.
- How many RBI did Billy Herman have?
- Billy Herman drove in 839 runs in his career.
- How many All-Star Games did Billy Herman make?
- Billy Herman was selected to 10 All-Star Games.