John Hines

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

John Hines was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago American Giants. In 357 career games, he hit .279 with 328 hits, 7 home runs, and 182 RBI. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020.

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 .279
HR 7
RBI 182
H 328
OPS .708
PIV -582
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'6" / 158 lb
Born
2/4/1901 in Birmingham, AL, USA
Died
4/15/1988 in Chicago, IL, USA

Full name: John Elbert Hines

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

John Hines — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
142.0 126.0 17.0 38.0 2.0 2.0 0 15.0 9.0 9.0 5.0 .302 .346 .349 .695

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

John Hines — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1935 5.0 5.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000
Listed seasons · 1 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — —

Career Batting Statistics

John Hines — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
357 1,177 164 328 59 15 7 182 26 93 7 .279 .336 .372 .708 -582

Career AVG .279 vs. league average .284 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .336 vs. league average .346 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .372 vs. league average .401 across their career seasons — 7.1% below league average.

Career OPS .708 vs. league average .746 across their career seasons — 5.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Hines 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
1924 CAG NNL 37 111 20 41 8 2 0 24 2 12 1 .369 .283 (+30%) .345 (+26%) .389 (+23%) .734 (+24%) 495.2
1925 CAG NNL 71 236 29 55 12 3 2 29 1 16 0 .233 .288 (-19%) .349 (-19%) .407 (-18%) .756 (-19%) -767.8
1926 CAG NNL 51 162 27 49 7 2 2 30 3 15 4 .302 .279 (+8%) .345 (+6%) .390 (+4%) .735 (+5%) 155.1
1927 CAG NNL 55 199 26 50 10 1 1 27 9 17 0 .251 .282 (-11%) .344 (-10%) .392 (-17%) .736 (-14%) -437.4
1928 CAG NNL 67 203 35 58 9 3 2 34 6 12 2 .286 .280 (+2%) .342 (avg) .395 (-2%) .737 (-1%) -13.0
1929 CAG NNL 4 11 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 .091 — — — — 0.0
1930 CAG NNL 6 24 2 5 2 0 0 1 0 3 0 .208 — — — — 0.0
1932 CAG NSL 34 115 13 33 4 2 0 15 4 9 0 .287 .275 (+4%) .335 (+3%) .391 (-9%) .726 (-4%) -54.6
1934 CAG NN2 32 116 12 36 6 2 0 21 1 8 0 .310 .278 (+12%) .340 (+4%) .392 (+1%) .733 (+2%) 40.4
Career · 9 seasons 357 1,177 164 328 59 15 7 182 26 93 7 .279 — — — — -582

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

John Hines — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
30 112 16 34 2 2 0 13 9 10 .304

Playoff Batting by Year

John Hines — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1934 NLC CAG 2 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .167
1932 NSC CAG 2 8 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .250
1928 NNC CAG 7 29 6 10 2 0 0 4 2 0 .345
1926 NNC CAG 8 31 4 10 0 0 0 2 2 1 .323
1926 NWS CAG 11 38 5 11 0 2 0 7 3 8 .289

Game Log & Splits

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

Batting — Home / Away

John Hines — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Away141200.500

Last 1 Games — Batting

John Hines — Last 1 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1924-08-18 CAGDT1W 412000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

John Hines — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 2 1 8 0 0 0
2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
C 154 113 543 104 17 13
OF 194 136 227 12 5 2
SS 2 0 0 1 1 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

John Hines — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1924 CAG C 24 21 106 21 4 3
1924 CAG OF 12 8 10 1 1 0
1925 CAG C 26 0 0 0 0 0
1925 CAG OF 43 0 0 0 0 0
1925 CAG SS 1 0 0 0 0 0
1926 CAG 1B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1926 CAG C 13 11 60 15 2 4
1926 CAG OF 33 29 51 3 1 0
1927 CAG C 1 1 0 0 0 0
1927 CAG OF 54 54 74 5 3 1
1928 CAG C 43 38 176 34 9 4
1928 CAG OF 25 18 43 1 0 0
1929 CAG C 4 2 10 2 0 0
1930 CAG 2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1930 CAG C 2 2 19 2 0 0
1930 CAG OF 4 4 9 0 0 0
1930 CAG SS 1 0 0 1 1 0
1932 CAG C 32 29 133 25 2 2
1932 CAG OF 2 2 8 2 0 0
1934 CAG 1B 1 1 7 0 0 0
1934 CAG C 9 9 39 5 0 0
1934 CAG OF 21 21 32 0 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

John Hines Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 154
First Base 2
Second Base 1
Shortstop 2
Left Field 26
Center Field 29
Right Field 139

Most Similar Players

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

  1. 98
    Tom O'Brien
    .278 avg, 10 HR
  2. 96
    Fred Brickell
    .281 avg, 6 HR
  3. 93
    Estel Crabtree
    .281 avg, 13 HR
  4. 87
    Hal Peck
    .279 avg, 15 HR
  5. 87
    Lou Novikoff
    .282 avg, 15 HR
  6. 86
    Jose Tabata
    .275 avg, 17 HR

John Hines: the record in brief

John Hines's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1924 to 1934. Hines spent the whole of the career shown here with one club, the Chicago American Giants. Hines, born on February 4, 1901, in Birmingham, AL, USA, is listed as a catcher and batted and threw right-handed. Hines's listed size is 158 pounds on a 5-foot-6 frame. Hines's death is recorded on April 15, 1988, in Chicago, IL, USA. The bio lists the given name John Elbert.

The batting record for Hines: 357 games, 328 hits in 1,177 at bats, and a .279 average, along with 7 homers, 182 runs batted in, and 26 stolen bases. Hines's career OPS of .708 combines a .336 on-base mark with .372 slugging. Hines hit .279 while the league hit .284 over the same span, a figure close to average. The OPS comparison is .708 to a league .746, 5.1% below average. Hines collected a career-high 58 hits in 1928. 1928 brought the most runs batted in, 34.

Frequently Asked Questions about John Hines

Was John Hines a pitcher?
No. John Hines was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did John Hines hit?
John Hines hit 7 career home runs with 328 hits.
What teams did John Hines play for?
John Hines played for one team, the Chicago American Giants (1924–1930, 1932, 1934).
What were John Hines's career stats?
In 357 games, John Hines had 328 hits, 7 home runs, 182 RBI, 164 runs, and 26 stolen bases, with a .279 batting average.
What position did John Hines play?
John Hines played primarily as a catcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was John Hines and how much did he weigh?
John Hines was listed at 5 feet 6 inches and 158 pounds.
How many home runs did John Hines hit each season?
John Hines's home runs by season: 0 in 1924, 2 in 1925, 2 in 1926, 1 in 1927, 2 in 1928, 0 in 1929, 0 in 1930, 0 in 1932, and 0 in 1934. His most in one season was 2, in 1925, 1926, and 1928.
What was John Hines's career batting average?
John Hines batted .279 over his career, with 328 hits in 1,177 at bats.
How many RBI did John Hines have?
John Hines drove in 182 runs in his career.
Is John Hines in the Hall of Fame?
No. John Hines has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.