Pinky Higgins

Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1930-1946)

Pinky Higgins was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1930 to 1946 for the Philadelphia Athletics, the Boston Red Sox, and the Detroit Tigers, a span of 17 seasons. In 1,802 career games, he hit .292 with 1,941 hits, 140 home runs, and 1,075 RBI. Pinky Higgins was a 3-time All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 16,600.

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 .292
HR 140
RBI 1,075
H 1,941
OPS .798
PIV 16,600
Position
Third Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 185 lb
Born
5/27/1909 in Red Oak, TX, USA
Died
3/21/1969 in Dallas, TX, USA
MLB Debut
1930-06-25
Last Game
1946-09-29
Awards
3× All-Star

Full name: Michael Franklin Higgins

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Career Batting Statistics

Pinky Higgins — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,802 6,636 930 1,941 374 51 140 1,075 61 800 590 .292 .370 .428 .798 16,600

Career AVG .292 vs. league average .271 across their career seasons — +8.1% above league average.

Career OBP .370 vs. league average .337 across their career seasons — +10.0% above league average.

Career SLG .428 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — +11.6% above league average.

Career OPS .798 vs. league average .720 across their career seasons — +10.8% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Pinky Higgins 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
1930 PHA AL 14 24 1 6 2 0 0 0 0 4 5 .250 — — — — 0.0
1933 PHA AL 152 567 85 178 34 12 13 99 2 61 53 .314 .270 (+16%) .329 (+16%) .377 (+29%) .707 (+23%) 2598.9
1934 PHA AL 144 543 89 179 37 6 16 90 9 56 70 .330 .278 (+19%) .340 (+15%) .392 (+29%) .733 (+23%) 2543.5
1935 PHA AL 133 524 69 155 32 4 23 94 6 42 62 .296 .279 (+6%) .342 (+2%) .399 (+26%) .742 (+15%) 1488.5
1936 PHA AL 146 550 89 159 32 2 12 80 7 67 61 .289 .283 (+2%) .349 (+5%) .404 (+4%) .753 (+4%) 590.6
1937 BOS AL 153 570 88 172 33 5 9 106 2 76 51 .302 .276 (+9%) .342 (+12%) .398 (+7%) .740 (+9%) 1308.1
1938 BOS AL 139 524 77 159 29 5 5 106 10 71 55 .303 .272 (+11%) .341 (+13%) .392 (+4%) .734 (+8%) 1067.6
1939 DET AL 132 489 57 135 23 2 8 76 7 56 41 .276 .274 (+1%) .342 (+3%) .393 (-3%) .735 (avg) 72.4
1940 DET AL 131 480 70 130 24 3 13 76 4 61 31 .271 .267 (+1%) .335 (+6%) .387 (+7%) .722 (+7%) 737.5
1941 DET AL 147 540 79 161 28 3 11 73 5 67 45 .298 .262 (+14%) .332 (+14%) .373 (+13%) .705 (+13%) 1586.6
1942 DET AL 143 499 65 133 34 2 11 79 3 72 21 .267 .253 (+5%) .323 (+12%) .349 (+17%) .672 (+15%) 1530.3
1943 DET AL 138 523 62 145 20 1 10 84 2 57 31 .277 .255 (+8%) .324 (+8%) .346 (+9%) .671 (+8%) 887.5
1944 DET AL 148 543 79 161 32 4 7 76 4 81 34 .297 .261 (+13%) .325 (+20%) .357 (+14%) .683 (+17%) 2122.1
1946 DET AL 18 60 2 13 3 1 0 8 0 5 6 .217 .256 (-16%) .328 (-16%) .358 (-16%) .687 (-16%) -159.8
1946 BOS AL 64 200 18 55 11 1 2 28 0 24 24 .275 .256 (+7%) .328 (+8%) .358 (+3%) .687 (+6%) -159.8
Career · 15 seasons 1,802 6,636 930 1,941 374 51 140 1,075 61 800 590 .292 — — — — 16,214

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

Pinky Higgins — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
14 48 3 13 4 1 1 8 5 3 .271

Playoff Batting by Year

Pinky Higgins — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1946 WS BOS 7 24 1 5 1 0 0 2 2 0 .208
1940 WS DET 7 24 2 8 3 1 1 6 3 3 .333

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1802 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Pinky Higgins — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home905328848698487580.299
Away897335044395853497.286

Last 10 Games — Batting

Pinky Higgins — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1946-09-29 BOSMINL 200000010
1946-09-28 BOSMINL 200000000
1946-09-27 BOSMINW 414001100
1946-09-25 BOSNYYW 310000011
1946-09-07 BOSPHAL 301100001
1946-09-02 BOSNYYW 400000002
1946-09-02 BOSNYYW 400000000
1946-09-01 BOSPHAW 400000001
1946-08-31 BOSPHAW 311000000
1946-08-30 BOSPHAW 401100200

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Pinky Higgins — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 2 0 0 0 0 0
3B 1768 0 1848 3258 356 288
SS 1 0 1 1 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Pinky Higgins — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1930 PHA 2B 2 0 0 0 0 0
1930 PHA 3B 5 0 2 6 0 0
1930 PHA SS 1 0 1 1 0 0
1933 PHA 3B 152 0 159 270 24 23
1934 PHA 3B 144 0 147 247 37 34
1935 PHA 3B 131 0 162 214 21 15
1936 PHA 3B 145 0 151 266 26 24
1937 BOS 3B 152 0 161 258 29 29
1938 BOS 3B 138 0 140 272 39 28
1939 DET 3B 130 0 140 241 36 22
1940 DET 3B 129 0 133 239 29 16
1941 DET 3B 145 0 153 304 26 14
1942 DET 3B 137 0 134 243 30 24
1943 DET 3B 138 0 156 253 26 22
1944 DET 3B 146 0 146 311 22 21
1946 DET 3B 17 0 12 25 2 2
1946 BOS 3B 59 0 52 109 9 14

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Pinky Higgins Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 2
Third Base 1768
Shortstop 1

Awards & Honors

Pinky Higgins — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1937 Baseball Magazine All-Star 3B
1936 TSN All-Star 3B
1935 Baseball Magazine All-Star 3B
1934 TSN All-Star 3B
1933 Baseball Magazine All-Star 3B

College History

Pinky Higgins — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
University of Texas at Austin Austin TX 1928, 1929, 1930

Award Voting History

Pinky Higgins — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1944 Most Valuable Player AL 19th 7.0 336 0
1943 Most Valuable Player AL 21th 8.0 336 0
1941 Most Valuable Player AL 27th 1.0 336 0
1935 Most Valuable Player AL 20th 3.0 80 0
1934 Most Valuable Player AL 17th 3.0 80 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Pinky Higgins (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Bob Watson
    .295 avg, 184 HR
  2. 95
    Marty McManus
    .289 avg, 120 HR
  3. 95
    Wally Joyner
    .289 avg, 204 HR
  4. 93
    Bob Elliott
    .289 avg, 170 HR
  5. 91
    Phil Cavarretta
    .293 avg, 95 HR
  6. 87
    George Kell HOF
    .306 avg, 78 HR

Compare Pinky Higgins

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Higgins's closest peers by position and era.

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Pinky Higgins: the record in brief

Pinky Higgins's major league career runs from a debut on June 25, 1930 to a final game on September 29, 1946. The season rows list, in order, the Philadelphia Athletics (1930 to 1936), the Boston Red Sox (1937 through 1946), and the Detroit Tigers (1939 to 1946). Higgins played primarily as a third baseman and batted and threw right-handed. Born on May 27, 1909, in Red Oak, TX, USA, Higgins was listed at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds. The bio records the death on March 21, 1969, in Dallas, TX, USA. On the record, Pinky Higgins was born Michael Franklin Higgins.

The batting record for Higgins: 1,802 games, 1,941 hits in 6,636 at bats, and a .292 average; the totals also include 140 homers, 1,075 RBI, and 61 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .370 and .428 give Higgins a career OPS of .798. Measured against the leagues Higgins played in, the .292 career average compares with a .271 league average over the same seasons, 8.1% above the league.

Frequently Asked Questions about Pinky Higgins

What years did Pinky Higgins play?
Pinky Higgins played in Major League Baseball from 1930 to 1946.
Was Pinky Higgins a pitcher?
No. Pinky Higgins was a position player (Third Baseman).
How many home runs did Pinky Higgins hit?
Pinky Higgins hit 140 career home runs with 1,941 hits.
What teams did Pinky Higgins play for?
Pinky Higgins played for 3 teams: the Philadelphia Athletics (1930, 1933–1936), the Boston Red Sox (1937–1938, 1946), and the Detroit Tigers (1939–1944, 1946).
Did Pinky Higgins win an MVP award?
No. Pinky Higgins did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Pinky Higgins win?
Pinky Higgins was selected to 3 All-Star Games.
What were Pinky Higgins's career stats?
In 1,802 games, Pinky Higgins had 1,941 hits, 140 home runs, 1,075 RBI, 930 runs, and 61 stolen bases, with a .292 batting average.
What position did Pinky Higgins play?
Pinky Higgins played primarily as a third baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Pinky Higgins and how much did he weigh?
Pinky Higgins was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 185 pounds.
How many home runs did Pinky Higgins hit each season?
Pinky Higgins's home runs by season: 0 in 1930, 13 in 1933, 16 in 1934, 23 in 1935, 12 in 1936, 9 in 1937, 5 in 1938, 8 in 1939, 13 in 1940, 11 in 1941, 11 in 1942, 10 in 1943, 7 in 1944, and 2 in 1946. His most in one season was 23, in 1935.
What was Pinky Higgins's career batting average?
Pinky Higgins batted .292 over his career, with 1,941 hits in 6,636 at bats.
How many RBI did Pinky Higgins have?
Pinky Higgins drove in 1,075 runs in his career.
Is Pinky Higgins in the Hall of Fame?
No. Pinky Higgins has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Pinky Higgins make?
Pinky Higgins was selected to 3 All-Star Games.