Joe Kuhel

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1930-1947)

Joe Kuhel was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1930 to 1947 for the Washington Senators and the Chicago White Sox, a span of 18 seasons. In 2,104 career games, he hit .277 with 2,212 hits, 131 home runs, and 1,049 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 12,698.

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 .277
HR 131
RBI 1,049
H 2,212
OPS .765
PIV 12,698
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'0" / 180 lb
Born
6/25/1906 in Cleveland, OH, USA
Died
2/26/1984 in Kansas City, KS, USA
MLB Debut
1930-07-31
Last Game
1947-05-11

Full name: Joseph Anthony Kuhel

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Career Batting Statistics

Joe Kuhel — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
2,104 7,984 1,236 2,212 412 111 131 1,049 178 980 612 .277 .359 .406 .765 12,698

Career AVG .277 vs. league average .270 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .359 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — +6.7% above league average.

Career SLG .406 vs. league average .382 across their career seasons — +6.2% above league average.

Career OPS .765 vs. league average .718 across their career seasons — +6.4% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Kuhel 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 WS1 AL 18 63 9 18 3 3 0 17 1 5 6 .286 .293 (-3%) .354 (-2%) .429 (avg) .784 (-1%) -22.6
1931 WS1 AL 139 524 70 141 34 8 8 85 7 47 45 .269 .276 (-3%) .338 (-1%) .388 (+6%) .726 (+3%) 222.5
1932 WS1 AL 101 347 52 101 21 5 4 52 5 32 19 .291 .275 (+6%) .335 (+5%) .391 (+6%) .726 (+6%) 374.6
1933 WS1 AL 153 602 89 194 34 10 11 107 17 59 48 .322 .270 (+19%) .329 (+17%) .377 (+24%) .707 (+20%) 2516.5
1934 WS1 AL 63 263 49 76 12 3 3 25 2 30 14 .289 .278 (+4%) .340 (+7%) .392 (avg) .733 (+3%) 197.4
1935 WS1 AL 151 633 99 165 25 9 2 74 5 78 44 .261 .279 (-7%) .342 (+1%) .399 (-15%) .742 (-8%) -673.9
1936 WS1 AL 149 588 107 189 42 8 16 118 15 64 30 .321 .283 (+13%) .349 (+12%) .404 (+24%) .753 (+19%) 2321.0
1937 WS1 AL 136 547 73 155 24 11 6 61 6 63 39 .283 .276 (+2%) .342 (+4%) .398 (+1%) .740 (+2%) 302.3
1938 CHA AL 117 412 67 110 27 4 8 51 9 72 35 .267 .272 (-2%) .341 (+10%) .392 (+4%) .734 (+7%) 740.4
1939 CHA AL 139 546 107 164 24 9 15 56 18 64 51 .300 .274 (+10%) .342 (+10%) .393 (+17%) .735 (+14%) 1568.3
1940 CHA AL 155 603 111 169 28 8 27 94 12 87 59 .280 .267 (+5%) .335 (+11%) .387 (+26%) .722 (+19%) 2484.1
1941 CHA AL 153 600 99 150 39 5 12 63 20 70 55 .250 .262 (-5%) .332 (avg) .373 (+5%) .705 (+2%) 281.1
1942 CHA AL 115 413 60 103 14 4 4 52 22 60 22 .249 .253 (-2%) .323 (+7%) .349 (-5%) .672 (+1%) 239.8
1943 CHA AL 153 531 55 113 21 1 5 46 14 76 45 .213 .255 (-17%) .324 (-2%) .346 (-18%) .671 (-10%) -611.9
1944 WS1 AL 139 518 90 144 26 7 4 51 11 68 40 .278 .261 (+6%) .325 (+12%) .357 (+6%) .683 (+9%) 1014.4
1945 WS1 AL 142 533 73 152 29 13 2 75 10 79 31 .285 .260 (+9%) .328 (+15%) .354 (+13%) .683 (+14%) 1569.1
1946 WS1 AL 14 20 2 3 0 0 0 2 0 5 2 .150 — — — — 0.0
1946 CHA AL 64 238 24 65 9 3 4 20 4 21 24 .273 .256 (+6%) .328 (+2%) .358 (+8%) .687 (+5%) 0.0
1947 CHA AL 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 19 seasons 2,104 7,984 1,236 2,212 412 111 131 1,049 178 980 612 .277 — — — — 12,523

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

Joe Kuhel — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
5 20 1 3 0 0 0 1 1 4 .150

Playoff Batting by Year

Joe Kuhel — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1933 WS WS1 5 20 1 3 0 0 0 1 1 4 .150

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (2104 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Joe Kuhel — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home10743974577107744517.271
Away10304010663113687539.283

Last 10 Games — Batting

Joe Kuhel — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1947-05-11 CHWDETL 100000001
1947-05-02 CHWNYYL 100000001
1947-04-23 CHWDETL 100000000
1946-09-29 CHWSLAL 522010000
1946-09-27 CHWSLAW 311000110
1946-09-25 CHWCLEW 301000212
1946-09-22 CHWSLAL 400000000
1946-09-21 CHWSLAW 501000210
1946-09-18 CHWNYYL 401000002
1946-09-15 CHWBOSL 401000001

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Joe Kuhel — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 2057 0 19386 1163 173 1769

Season-by-Season Fielding

Joe Kuhel — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1930 WS1 1B 16 0 149 8 3 10
1931 WS1 1B 139 0 1255 57 12 119
1932 WS1 1B 85 0 761 45 5 64
1933 WS1 1B 153 0 1498 61 7 126
1934 WS1 1B 63 0 618 23 4 62
1935 WS1 1B 151 0 1425 87 14 150
1936 WS1 1B 149 0 1452 73 10 138
1937 WS1 1B 136 0 1242 85 9 141
1938 CHA 1B 111 0 1136 59 14 97
1939 CHA 1B 136 0 1256 72 11 113
1940 CHA 1B 155 0 1395 91 18 112
1941 CHA 1B 151 0 1444 108 10 113
1942 CHA 1B 112 0 1085 70 11 94
1943 CHA 1B 153 0 1471 106 8 143
1944 WS1 1B 138 0 1251 83 17 119
1945 WS1 1B 141 0 1323 94 16 101
1946 WS1 1B 5 0 29 3 0 2
1946 CHA 1B 63 0 596 38 4 65

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Joe Kuhel Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 2057

Award Voting History

Joe Kuhel — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1945 Most Valuable Player AL 12th 29.0 336 1
1940 Most Valuable Player AL 13th 18.0 336 0
1939 Most Valuable Player AL 21th 8.0 336 0
1936 Most Valuable Player AL 6th 27.0 80 0
1933 Most Valuable Player AL 15th 5.0 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

Joe Kuhel (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Jimmy Dykes
    .280 avg, 108 HR
  2. 88
    Tony Fernandez
    .288 avg, 94 HR
  3. 87
    Mickey Vernon
    .286 avg, 172 HR
  4. 87
    Pee Wee Reese HOF
    .269 avg, 126 HR
  5. 87
    Marty McManus
    .289 avg, 120 HR
  6. 83
    Alan Trammell HOF
    .285 avg, 185 HR

Joe Kuhel: the record in brief

Joe Kuhel played a first major league game on July 31, 1930 and a last one on May 11, 1947. By club, Kuhel's seasons break down as the Washington Senators (1930 through 1946) and the Chicago White Sox (1938 to 1947). Kuhel played primarily as a first baseman and both batted and threw left-handed. The bio adds a birth date on June 25, 1906, in Cleveland, OH, USA and a listed size of 6 feet, 0 inches and 180 pounds. Kuhel's death is recorded on February 26, 1984, in Kansas City, KS, USA. The bio lists the given name Joseph Anthony.

Across 2,104 games at the plate, Kuhel's career line reads 2,212 hits in 7,984 at bats for a .277 average; the totals also include 131 home runs, 1,049 runs batted in, and 178 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .359 clip and slugging .406, Kuhel finished with a .765 OPS. Against a .270 league average for those years, Kuhel's .277 average was near the norm.

Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Kuhel

What years did Joe Kuhel play?
Joe Kuhel played in Major League Baseball from 1930 to 1947.
Was Joe Kuhel a pitcher?
No. Joe Kuhel was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Joe Kuhel hit?
Joe Kuhel hit 131 career home runs with 2,212 hits.
What teams did Joe Kuhel play for?
Joe Kuhel played for 2 teams: the Washington Senators (1930–1937, 1944–1946) and the Chicago White Sox (1938–1943, 1946–1947).
What were Joe Kuhel's career stats?
In 2,104 games, Joe Kuhel had 2,212 hits, 131 home runs, 1,049 RBI, 1,236 runs, and 178 stolen bases, with a .277 batting average.
What position did Joe Kuhel play?
Joe Kuhel played primarily as a first baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Joe Kuhel and how much did he weigh?
Joe Kuhel was listed at 6 feet and 180 pounds.
How many home runs did Joe Kuhel hit each season?
Joe Kuhel's home runs by season: 0 in 1930, 8 in 1931, 4 in 1932, 11 in 1933, 3 in 1934, 2 in 1935, 16 in 1936, 6 in 1937, 8 in 1938, 15 in 1939, 27 in 1940, 12 in 1941, 4 in 1942, 5 in 1943, 4 in 1944, 2 in 1945, 4 in 1946, and 0 in 1947. His most in one season was 27, in 1940.
What was Joe Kuhel's career batting average?
Joe Kuhel batted .277 over his career, with 2,212 hits in 7,984 at bats.
How many RBI did Joe Kuhel have?
Joe Kuhel drove in 1,049 runs in his career.
Is Joe Kuhel in the Hall of Fame?
No. Joe Kuhel has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.