Roy Johnson

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1929-1938)

Roy Johnson was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1929 to 1938 for 4 teams, including the Detroit Tigers, a span of 10 seasons. In 1,155 career games, he hit .296 with 1,292 hits, 58 home runs, and 556 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 8,509.

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 .296
HR 58
RBI 556
H 1,292
OPS .806
PIV 8,509
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
5'9" / 175 lb
Born
2/23/1903 in Pryor, OK, USA
Died
9/10/1973 in Tacoma, WA, USA
MLB Debut
1929-04-18
Last Game
1938-04-27

Full name: Roy Cleveland Johnson

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Career Batting Statistics

Roy Johnson — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,155 4,359 717 1,292 275 83 58 556 135 489 380 .296 .369 .437 .806 8,509

Career AVG .296 vs. league average .280 across their career seasons — +5.9% above league average.

Career OBP .369 vs. league average .343 across their career seasons — +7.5% above league average.

Career SLG .437 vs. league average .400 across their career seasons — +9.5% above league average.

Career OPS .806 vs. league average .743 across their career seasons — +8.6% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Roy Johnson (b. 1903) 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
1929 DET AL 148 640 128 201 45 14 10 69 20 67 60 .314 .289 (+9%) .353 (+7%) .415 (+14%) .769 (+11%) 1469.8
1930 DET AL 125 462 84 127 30 13 2 35 17 40 46 .275 .293 (-6%) .354 (-6%) .429 (-5%) .784 (-5%) -508.4
1931 DET AL 151 621 107 173 37 19 8 55 33 72 51 .279 .276 (+1%) .338 (+5%) .388 (+13%) .726 (+9%) 1120.8
1932 DET AL 49 195 33 49 14 2 3 22 7 20 26 .251 .275 (-9%) .335 (-3%) .391 (avg) .726 (-2%) -62.0
1932 BOS AL 94 349 70 104 24 4 11 47 13 44 41 .298 .275 (+8%) .335 (+13%) .391 (+24%) .726 (+19%) -62.0
1933 BOS AL 133 483 88 151 30 7 10 95 13 55 36 .313 .270 (+16%) .329 (+17%) .377 (+23%) .707 (+21%) 2051.7
1934 BOS AL 143 569 85 182 43 10 7 119 11 54 36 .320 .278 (+15%) .340 (+11%) .392 (+19%) .733 (+15%) 1747.3
1935 BOS AL 145 553 70 174 33 9 3 66 11 74 34 .315 .279 (+12%) .342 (+16%) .399 (+6%) .742 (+11%) 1457.4
1936 NYA AL 63 147 21 39 8 2 1 19 3 21 14 .265 .283 (-7%) .349 (+3%) .404 (-9%) .753 (-3%) -48.5
1937 NYA AL 12 51 5 15 3 0 0 6 1 3 2 .294 .276 (+6%) .342 (-3%) .398 (-11%) .740 (-7%) -60.7
1937 BSN NL 85 260 24 72 8 3 3 22 5 38 29 .277 .276 (avg) .342 (+8%) .398 (-8%) .740 (-1%) -60.7
1938 BSN NL 7 29 2 5 0 0 0 1 1 1 5 .172 — — — — 0.0
Career · 12 seasons 1,155 4,359 717 1,292 275 83 58 556 135 489 380 .296 — — — — 7,045

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

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

Playoff Batting by Year

Roy Johnson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1936 WS NYA 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1155 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Roy Johnson — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home579218937466526280.304
Away576216934362932280.290

Last 10 Games — Batting

Roy Johnson — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1938-04-27 BSNBROL 400000001
1938-04-26 BSNBROW 501000000
1938-04-24 BSNPHIW 400000000
1938-04-23 BSNPHIW 411000001
1938-04-21 BSNNY1L 401000113
1938-04-20 BSNNY1W 410000000
1938-04-19 BSNNY1L 402000000
1937-10-03 BSNPHIW 312100010
1937-10-02 BSNPHIW 311000020
1937-09-30 BSNBROW 400000001

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Roy Johnson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
3B 1 0 0 0 1 0
OF 1066 0 2231 128 156 22

Season-by-Season Fielding

Roy Johnson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1929 DET OF 146 0 377 25 31 5
1930 DET OF 118 0 218 15 16 4
1931 DET OF 150 0 332 25 15 8
1932 DET OF 48 0 102 3 8 0
1932 BOS OF 85 0 167 6 13 0
1933 BOS OF 125 0 280 14 25 3
1934 BOS OF 137 0 260 12 15 1
1935 BOS OF 142 0 267 21 17 1
1936 NYA OF 33 0 66 2 4 0
1937 NYA OF 12 0 21 0 4 0
1937 BSN 3B 1 0 0 0 1 0
1937 BSN OF 63 0 131 5 5 0
1938 BSN OF 7 0 10 0 3 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Roy Johnson (b. 1903) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Third Base 1
Left Field 543
Center Field 69
Right Field 473

Award Voting History

Roy Johnson — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1934 Most Valuable Player AL 12th 8.0 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

Roy Johnson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Pepper Martin
    .298 avg, 59 HR
  2. 84
    Johnny Hopp
    .296 avg, 46 HR
  3. 76
    Curt Walker
    .304 avg, 64 HR
  4. 72
    Harry Rice
    .299 avg, 48 HR
  5. 69
    Billy Southworth HOF
    .297 avg, 52 HR
  6. 68
    Tommy Holmes
    .302 avg, 88 HR

Compare Roy Johnson

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

vs Bob Johnson

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Roy Johnson: the record in brief

Roy Johnson's major league career runs from a debut on April 18, 1929 to a final game on April 27, 1938. Johnson played for the Detroit Tigers (1929 through 1932), the Boston Red Sox (1932 to 1935), the New York Yankees (1936 through 1937), and the Boston Bees (1937 to 1938). Johnson is listed as an outfielder at 5'9" and 175 pounds. Johnson batted left-handed and threw right-handed, per the bio block. Johnson was born on February 23, 1903, in Pryor, OK, USA. Johnson's death is recorded on September 10, 1973, in Tacoma, WA, USA. Roy Johnson was the playing name; the full given name is Roy Cleveland.

Across 1,155 games at the plate, Johnson's career line reads 1,292 hits in 4,359 at bats for a .296 average, along with 58 home runs, 556 runs batted in, and 135 stolen bases. Johnson's career OPS of .806 combines a .369 on-base mark with .437 slugging. Johnson's .296 average ran 5.9% above the .280 that the league posted over the same seasons.

Frequently Asked Questions about Roy Johnson

What years did Roy Johnson play?
Roy Johnson played in Major League Baseball from 1929 to 1938.
Was Roy Johnson a pitcher?
No. Roy Johnson was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Roy Johnson hit?
Roy Johnson hit 58 career home runs with 1292 hits.
What was Roy Johnson's career batting average?
Roy Johnson batted .296 over his career, with 1,292 hits in 4,359 at bats.
How many RBI did Roy Johnson have?
Roy Johnson drove in 556 runs in his career.
Is Roy Johnson in the Hall of Fame?
No. Roy Johnson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.