Bill Lee

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1934-1947)

Bill Lee was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1934 to 1947 for the Chicago Cubs, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Boston Braves, a span of 14 seasons. Across 462 career appearances, he went 169-157 with a 3.54 ERA and 998 strikeouts. He also batted .168 with 5 home runs. Bill Lee was a 2-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 16581.9.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 169–157
ERA 3.54
WHIP 1.34
SO 998
Pitcher PIV 16581.9
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 195 lb
Born
10/21/1909 in Plaquemine, LA, USA
Died
6/15/1977 in Plaquemine, LA, USA
MLB Debut
1934-04-29
Last Game
1947-06-29
Awards
2× All-Star

Full name: William Crutcher Lee

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bill Lee — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
169 157 462 378 182 29 13 2864.0 2,953 1,127 138 893 998 3.54 16581.9

Career ERA 3.54 vs. league average 4.01 across their career seasons — 11.7% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill Lee (b. 1909) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1934 CHN NL 13 14 35 29 16 4 1 214.1 218 81 74 104 3.40 4.29 (+21%) 2420.4
1935 CHN NL 20 6 39 32 18 3 1 252.0 241 83 84 100 2.96 4.35 (+32%) 2149.1
1936 CHN NL 18 11 43 33 20 4 1 258.2 238 95 93 102 3.31 4.59 (+28%) 1371.0
1937 CHN NL 14 15 42 33 17 2 3 272.1 289 107 73 108 3.54 4.34 (+18%) 3291.8
1938 CHN NL 22 9 44 37 19 9 2 291.0 281 86 74 121 2.66 4.35 (+39%) 3856.1
1939 CHN NL 19 15 37 36 20 1 0 282.1 295 108 85 105 3.44 4.28 (+20%) 1623.5
1940 CHN NL 9 17 37 30 9 1 0 211.1 246 118 70 70 5.03 4.21 (-19%) 619.4
1941 CHN NL 8 14 28 22 12 0 1 167.1 179 70 43 62 3.76 3.94 (+4%) 2599.1
1942 CHN NL 13 13 32 30 18 1 0 219.2 221 94 67 75 3.85 3.57 (-8%) 2927.9
1943 CHN NL 3 7 13 12 4 0 0 78.1 83 31 27 18 3.56 3.50 (-2%) -757.6
1943 PHI NL 1 5 13 7 2 0 3 60.2 70 31 21 17 4.60 3.50 (-31%) -808.6
1944 PHI NL 10 11 31 28 11 3 1 208.1 199 73 57 50 3.15 3.57 (+12%) -256.1
1945 PHI NL 3 6 13 13 2 0 0 77.1 107 40 30 13 4.66 3.67 (-27%) 240.1
1945 BSN NL 6 3 16 13 6 1 0 106.1 112 33 36 12 2.79 3.67 (+24%) -1525.3
1946 BSN NL 10 9 25 21 8 0 0 140.0 148 65 45 32 4.18 3.59 (-16%) -609.2
1947 CHN NL 0 2 14 2 0 0 0 24.0 26 12 14 9 4.50 3.97 (-13%) -559.6
Career · 16 seasons 169 157 462 378 182 29 13 2,864.0 2,953 1,127 893 998 3.54 — 16,582

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.

Career Batting Statistics

Bill Lee — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
467 980 59 165 15 2 5 71 1 42 177 .168 .204 .203 .407 -5,837

Career AVG .168 vs. league average .268 across their career seasons — 37.1% below league average.

Career OBP .204 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — 39.1% below league average.

Career SLG .203 vs. league average .377 across their career seasons — 46.2% below league average.

Career OPS .407 vs. league average .713 across their career seasons — 42.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill Lee (b. 1909) 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
1934 CHN NL 40 76 6 10 3 0 0 7 0 4 11 .132 .278 (-53%) .340 (-49%) .392 (-56%) .733 (-53%) -657.0
1935 CHN NL 39 102 8 24 3 0 0 11 0 2 15 .235 .279 (-16%) .342 (-27%) .399 (-34%) .742 (-31%) -514.8
1936 CHN NL 43 87 5 12 0 1 1 3 0 2 14 .138 .283 (-51%) .349 (-52%) .404 (-52%) .753 (-52%) -762.5
1937 CHN NL 42 87 4 15 2 0 1 4 0 3 23 .172 .276 (-38%) .342 (-42%) .398 (-42%) .740 (-42%) -604.2
1938 CHN NL 44 101 10 20 3 1 0 13 1 4 20 .198 .272 (-27%) .341 (-33%) .392 (-37%) .734 (-35%) -591.1
1939 CHN NL 37 103 3 13 0 0 1 3 0 4 16 .126 .274 (-54%) .342 (-54%) .393 (-60%) .735 (-57%) -960.9
1940 CHN NL 37 76 4 10 2 0 0 3 0 2 20 .132 .267 (-51%) .335 (-51%) .387 (-59%) .722 (-55%) -676.5
1941 CHN NL 28 59 8 11 0 0 2 5 0 1 9 .186 .262 (-29%) .332 (-40%) .373 (-23%) .705 (-31%) -297.5
1942 CHN NL 32 69 2 11 2 0 0 7 0 7 13 .159 .253 (-37%) .323 (-27%) .349 (-46%) .672 (-37%) -375.5
1943 CHN NL 13 26 3 7 0 0 0 1 0 2 4 .269 — — — — 0.0
1943 PHI NL 13 17 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .059 — — — — 0.0
1944 PHI NL 31 72 5 14 0 0 0 4 0 4 12 .194 .261 (-26%) .325 (-27%) .357 (-46%) .683 (-37%) -396.6
1945 PHI NL 13 24 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 5 .167 — — — — 0.0
1945 BSN NL 16 31 0 4 0 0 0 2 0 4 5 .129 — — — — 0.0
1946 BSN NL 25 47 0 8 0 0 0 7 0 2 5 .170 — — — — 0.0
1947 CHN NL 14 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
Career · 16 seasons 467 980 59 165 15 2 5 71 1 42 177 .168 — — — — -5,837

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

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

Playoff Batting by Year

Bill Lee — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1938 WS CHN 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1935 WS CHN 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Bill Lee — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 2 4 3 1 21.1 26 8 6 13 3.38

Playoff Pitching by Year

Bill Lee — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1938 WS CHN 0 2 2 2 0 11.0 15 3 1 8 2.45
1935 WS CHN 0 0 2 1 1 10.1 11 5 5 5 4.35

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (929 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bill Lee — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2404713075240.159
Away2275062889333.176

Pitching — Home / Away

Bill Lee — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2371477.114505484645433.34
Away2251386.215095784364583.75

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bill Lee — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1947-06-29 CHCPIT — 0.1100100
1947-06-27 CHCPIT L 0.1344200
1947-06-22 CHCBSN — 0.1000000
1947-06-21 CHCBSN — 2.0110200
1947-06-19 CHCBRO — 2.0100020
1947-06-15 CHCPHI — 0.0000200
1947-06-06 CHCBRO — 1.0211010
1947-06-05 CHCNY1 — 0.1342000
1947-06-03 CHCNY1 — 2.2311011
1947-05-15 CHCNY1 — 1.2222310

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bill Lee — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 462 0 163 662 58 37

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bill Lee — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1934 CHN P 35 0 15 48 4 2
1935 CHN P 39 0 12 52 7 4
1936 CHN P 43 0 12 61 7 5
1937 CHN P 42 0 20 70 5 5
1938 CHN P 44 0 18 61 5 3
1939 CHN P 37 0 15 80 5 3
1940 CHN P 37 0 10 42 6 3
1941 CHN P 28 0 10 39 6 3
1942 CHN P 32 0 10 55 2 2
1943 CHN P 13 0 4 12 1 0
1943 PHI P 13 0 5 9 2 1
1944 PHI P 31 0 17 47 4 2
1945 PHI P 13 0 1 19 1 1
1945 BSN P 16 0 4 27 0 1
1946 BSN P 25 0 6 35 1 2
1947 CHN P 14 0 4 5 2 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bill Lee (b. 1909) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 462

Awards & Honors

Bill Lee — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1938 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3

Award Voting History

Bill Lee — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1939 Most Valuable Player NL 19th 8.0 336 0
1938 Most Valuable Player NL 2nd 166.0 336 5
1935 Most Valuable Player NL 24th 1.0 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

Bill Lee (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Lee Meadows
    188-180, 3.37 ERA
  2. 95
    Howard Ehmke
    166-166, 3.75 ERA
  3. 91
    Jesse Haines HOF
    210-158, 3.64 ERA
  4. 91
    Ned Garver
    129-157, 3.73 ERA
  5. 90
    Larry French
    197-171, 3.44 ERA
  6. 88
    Claude Passeau
    162-150, 3.32 ERA

Bill Lee: the record in brief

Between the debut on April 29, 1934 and the final game on June 29, 1947, Bill Lee built the record summarized on this page. By club, Lee's seasons break down as the Chicago Cubs (1934 through 1947), the Philadelphia Blue Jays (1943 through 1944), the Philadelphia Phillies (1945), and the Boston Braves (1945 to 1946). Lee is listed as a pitcher at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds. The bio says Lee threw and hit right-handed. The recorded birth is October 21, 1909, in Plaquemine, LA, USA. Lee's death is recorded on June 15, 1977, in Plaquemine, LA, USA. Bill Lee was the playing name; the full given name is William Crutcher.

The pitching table credits Lee with a 169-157 record and a 3.54 ERA in 462 games. Also on Lee's record: 998 strikeouts, 182 complete games, 29 shutouts, and 13 saves. The leagues Lee pitched in allowed 4.01 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 11.7% better than average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bill Lee

What years did Bill Lee play?
Bill Lee played in Major League Baseball from 1934 to 1947.
Was Bill Lee a pitcher?
Yes. Bill Lee pitched in the major leagues, recording 169 wins and 998 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bill Lee hit?
Bill Lee hit 5 career home runs with 165 hits.
What was Bill Lee's career batting average?
Bill Lee batted .168 over his career, with 165 hits in 980 at bats.
How many RBI did Bill Lee have?
Bill Lee drove in 71 runs in his career.
What was Bill Lee's career ERA?
Bill Lee finished with a 3.54 career ERA, going 169-157 with 998 strikeouts.