Marty Kavanagh
Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1914-1918)
Marty Kavanagh was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1914 to 1918 for the Detroit Tigers, the Cleveland Guardians, and the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 5 seasons. In 370 career games, he hit .249 with 257 hits, 10 home runs, and 122 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 1,516.
- 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
- 6'0" / 187 lb
- Died
- 7/28/1960 in Taylor, MI, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1914-04-18
- Last Game
- 1918-08-08
Full name: Martin Joseph Kavanagh
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 370 | 1,033 | 138 | 257 | 47 | 20 | 10 | 122 | 26 | 118 | 122 | .249 | .330 | .362 | .693 | 1,516 |
Career AVG .249 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .330 vs. league average .318 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .362 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — +9.5% above league average.
Career OPS .693 vs. league average .648 across their career seasons — +6.8% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1914 | DET | AL | 128 | 439 | 60 | 109 | 21 | 6 | 4 | 35 | 16 | 41 | 42 | .248 | .255 (-3%) | .322 (-1%) | .339 (+3%) | .661 (+1%) | 67.5 |
| 1915 | DET | AL | 113 | 332 | 55 | 98 | 14 | 13 | 4 | 49 | 8 | 42 | 44 | .295 | .250 (+18%) | .318 (+19%) | .332 (+36%) | .651 (+27%) | 1628.5 |
| 1916 | DET | AL | 58 | 78 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 15 | .141 | .248 (-43%) | .314 (-24%) | .326 (-41%) | .640 (-33%) | -354.5 |
| 1916 | CLE | AL | 19 | 44 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .250 | — | — | — | — | -354.5 |
| 1917 | CLE | AL | 14 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1918 | CLE | AL | 13 | 38 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 7 | .211 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1918 | SLN | NL | 12 | 44 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 1 | .182 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1918 | DET | AL | 13 | 44 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 6 | .273 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 8 seasons | 370 | 1,033 | 138 | 257 | 47 | 20 | 10 | 122 | 26 | 118 | 122 | .249 | — | — | — | — | 987 | ||
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.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (370 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 190 | 502 | 71 | 131 | 6 | 68 | .261 |
| Away | 180 | 529 | 67 | 127 | 4 | 50 | .240 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1918-08-08 | DET | BOS | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918-08-06 | DET | BOS | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1918-08-04 | DET | MIN | W | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1918-08-04 | DET | MIN | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1918-08-03 | DET | MIN | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1918-08-02 | DET | MIN | L | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918-08-01 | DET | NYY | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918-07-29 | DET | NYY | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1918-07-28 | DET | PHA | W | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1918-07-28 | DET | PHA | W | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 73 | 0 | 781 | 36 | 18 | 29 |
| 2B | 172 | 0 | 309 | 472 | 62 | 39 |
| 3B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| OF | 23 | 0 | 39 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1914 | DET | 1B | 4 | 0 | 36 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1914 | DET | 2B | 115 | 0 | 228 | 333 | 43 | 30 |
| 1915 | DET | 1B | 44 | 0 | 500 | 24 | 7 | 16 |
| 1915 | DET | 2B | 42 | 0 | 59 | 95 | 12 | 7 |
| 1915 | DET | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1915 | DET | OF | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1915 | DET | SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1916 | DET | 2B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916 | DET | 3B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1916 | DET | OF | 11 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916 | CLE | 1B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916 | CLE | 2B | 9 | 0 | 11 | 31 | 5 | 2 |
| 1916 | CLE | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1917 | CLE | OF | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1918 | CLE | 1B | 12 | 0 | 113 | 5 | 4 | 7 |
| 1918 | SLN | 2B | 4 | 0 | 11 | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| 1918 | SLN | OF | 8 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918 | DET | 1B | 12 | 0 | 129 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 74 |
| Second Base | 174 |
| Third Base | 3 |
| Left Field | 3 |
| Right Field | 20 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Marty Kavanagh (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Marty Kavanagh: the record in brief
Marty Kavanagh played a first major league game on April 18, 1914 and a last one on August 8, 1918. The team column moves through the Detroit Tigers (1914 through 1918), the Cleveland Indians (1916 through 1918), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1918). Kavanagh played primarily as a second baseman and batted and threw right-handed. Born on June 13, 1891, in Harrison, NJ, USA, Kavanagh was listed at 6 feet, 0 inches and 187 pounds. Kavanagh's death is recorded on July 28, 1960, in Taylor, MI, USA. The given name on file is Martin Joseph Kavanagh.
In 370 games and 1,033 at bats, Kavanagh batted .249 with 257 hits, along with 10 home runs, 122 RBI, and 26 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .330 and .362 give Kavanagh a career OPS of .693. Against a .252 league average for those years, Kavanagh's .249 average was near the norm. The highest hit total in a season was 109, in 1914. 1915 brought the most runs batted in, 49.
Frequently Asked Questions about Marty Kavanagh
- What years did Marty Kavanagh play?
- Marty Kavanagh played in Major League Baseball from 1914 to 1918.
- Was Marty Kavanagh a pitcher?
- No. Marty Kavanagh was a position player (Second Baseman).
- How many home runs did Marty Kavanagh hit?
- Marty Kavanagh hit 10 career home runs with 257 hits.
- What was Marty Kavanagh's career batting average?
- Marty Kavanagh batted .249 over his career, with 257 hits in 1,033 at bats.
- How many RBI did Marty Kavanagh have?
- Marty Kavanagh drove in 122 runs in his career.
- Is Marty Kavanagh in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Marty Kavanagh has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.