Bug Holliday

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1889-1898)

Bug Holliday was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1889 to 1898 for the Cincinnati Red Stockings and the Cincinnati Reds, a span of 10 seasons. In 930 career games, he hit .312 with 1,141 hits, 65 home runs, and 621 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 11,447.

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 .312
HR 65
RBI 621
H 1,141
OPS .826
PIV 11,447
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 151 lb
Born
2/8/1867 in St. Louis, MO, USA
Died
2/15/1910 in Cincinnati, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1889-04-17
Last Game
1898-06-30

Full name: James Wear Holliday

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Batting Statistics

Bug Holliday — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
930 3,658 735 1,141 162 72 65 621 252 360 226 .312 .377 .449 .826 11,447

Career AVG .312 vs. league average .273 across their career seasons — +14.1% above league average.

Career OBP .377 vs. league average .344 across their career seasons — +9.5% above league average.

Career SLG .449 vs. league average .368 across their career seasons — +22.0% above league average.

Career OPS .826 vs. league average .712 across their career seasons — +16.0% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bug Holliday 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
1889 CN2 AA 135 563 107 181 28 7 19 104 46 43 59 .321 .263 (+22%) .334 (+11%) .357 (+39%) .691 (+26%) 2663.2
1890 CIN NL 131 518 93 140 18 14 4 75 50 49 36 .270 .260 (+4%) .336 (+1%) .351 (+9%) .687 (+5%) 443.4
1891 CIN NL 111 442 74 141 21 10 9 84 30 37 28 .319 .254 (+26%) .331 (+13%) .343 (+38%) .675 (+26%) 1957.8
1892 CIN NL 152 602 114 177 23 16 13 91 43 57 39 .294 .244 (+20%) .316 (+12%) .327 (+37%) .644 (+25%) 2628.7
1893 CIN NL 126 500 108 155 24 10 5 89 32 73 22 .310 .279 (+11%) .356 (+13%) .379 (+13%) .735 (+13%) 1436.2
1894 CIN NL 123 521 126 196 24 8 13 123 33 41 20 .376 .309 (+22%) .379 (+12%) .435 (+21%) .814 (+17%) 1971.2
1895 CIN NL 32 127 25 38 9 2 0 20 6 10 3 .299 .296 (+1%) .361 (-3%) .399 (avg) .761 (-1%) -46.8
1896 CIN NL 29 84 17 27 4 0 0 8 1 9 4 .321 .290 (+11%) .354 (+11%) .387 (-5%) .741 (+3%) 74.7
1897 CIN NL 61 195 50 61 9 4 2 20 6 27 6 .313 .291 (+7%) .354 (+13%) .387 (+11%) .741 (+12%) 482.4
1898 CIN NL 30 106 21 25 2 1 0 7 5 14 9 .236 .270 (-13%) .333 (-3%) .347 (-21%) .680 (-12%) -163.7
Career · 10 seasons 930 3,658 735 1,141 162 72 65 621 252 360 226 .312 — — — — 11,447

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.

Career Pitching Statistics

Bug Holliday — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 2 0 0 0 0 5.0 17 5 0 3 0 9.00 0.0

Career ERA 9.00 vs. league average 3.78 across their career seasons — 138.1% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bug Holliday — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1892 CIN NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4.0 13 5 1 0 11.25 — 0.0
1896 CIN NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 4 0 2 0 0.00 — 0.0
Career · 2 seasons 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 5.0 17 5 3 0 9.00 — 0

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

Bug Holliday — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Bug Holliday — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1885 WS CHN 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (30 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bug Holliday — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1969142006.290
Away11377501.135

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bug Holliday — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1898-06-30 CINPHIL 401000010
1898-06-29 CINPHIW 000000000
1898-06-24 CINWSNL 502000000
1898-06-09 CINBSNL 000000000
1898-06-07 CINBSNL 100000001
1898-06-02 CINNY1L 500000001
1898-06-01 CINBROL 400000001
1898-05-31 CINBROW 500000001
1898-05-30 CINBROW 400000000
1898-05-30 CINBROW 511000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bug Holliday — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 10 0 73 4 2 3
2B 3 0 4 5 1 1
OF 893 0 1695 125 128 32
P 2 0 0 1 0 0
SS 5 0 6 16 5 1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bug Holliday — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1889 CN2 OF 135 0 234 29 22 6
1890 CIN OF 131 0 253 20 15 5
1891 CIN OF 111 0 186 13 13 3
1892 CIN OF 152 0 271 20 21 6
1892 CIN P 1 0 0 1 0 0
1893 CIN 1B 1 0 15 0 0 1
1893 CIN OF 125 0 270 14 17 4
1894 CIN 1B 1 0 8 0 1 0
1894 CIN OF 121 0 248 22 26 6
1895 CIN OF 32 0 60 3 4 1
1896 CIN 1B 5 0 27 2 1 2
1896 CIN OF 16 0 36 1 3 0
1896 CIN P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1896 CIN SS 1 0 1 3 2 0
1897 CIN 1B 3 0 23 2 0 0
1897 CIN 2B 3 0 4 5 1 1
1897 CIN OF 42 0 76 2 5 0
1897 CIN SS 4 0 5 13 3 1
1898 CIN OF 28 0 61 1 2 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bug Holliday Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 2
First Base 10
Second Base 3
Shortstop 5
Left Field 211
Center Field 598
Right Field 92

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Bug Holliday (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Benny Kauff
    .311 avg, 49 HR
  2. 89
    Clint Thomas
    .303 avg, 65 HR
  3. 78
    Johnny Mostil
    .301 avg, 23 HR
  4. 74
    Mike Donlin
    .333 avg, 51 HR
  5. 74
    Tip O'Neill
    .326 avg, 52 HR
  6. 73
    George Harper
    .303 avg, 91 HR

Bug Holliday: the record in brief

Bug Holliday played a first major league game on April 17, 1889 and a last one on June 30, 1898. The team column moves through the Cincinnati Red Stockings (1889) and the Cincinnati Reds (1890 to 1898). Holliday played primarily as an outfielder and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on February 8, 1867, in St. Louis, MO, USA and a listed size of 5 feet, 11 inches and 151 pounds. Holliday died on February 15, 1910, in Cincinnati, OH, USA. On the record, Bug Holliday was born James Wear Holliday.

Holliday collected 1,141 hits in 3,658 at bats across 930 games, good for a .312 batting average, plus 65 homers, 621 runs batted in, and 252 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .377 clip and slugging .449, Holliday finished with a .826 OPS. Measured against the leagues Holliday played in, the .312 career average compares with a .273 league average over the same seasons, 14.1% above the league.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bug Holliday

What years did Bug Holliday play?
Bug Holliday played in Major League Baseball from 1889 to 1898.
Was Bug Holliday a pitcher?
No. Bug Holliday was a position player (Outfielder), though he did pitch in 2 career games.
How many home runs did Bug Holliday hit?
Bug Holliday hit 65 career home runs with 1141 hits.
What was Bug Holliday's career batting average?
Bug Holliday batted .312 over his career, with 1,141 hits in 3,658 at bats.
How many RBI did Bug Holliday have?
Bug Holliday drove in 621 runs in his career.
What was Bug Holliday's career ERA?
Bug Holliday finished with a 9.00 career ERA, going 0-0 with 0 strikeouts.