Dale Long

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1951-1963)

Dale Long was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1963 for 6 teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 13 seasons. In 1,013 career games, he hit .267 with 805 hits, 132 home runs, and 467 RBI. Dale Long was an All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 6,376.

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 .267
HR 132
RBI 467
H 805
OPS .805
PIV 6,376
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'4" / 205 lb
Born
2/6/1926 in Springfield, MO, USA
Died
1/27/1991 in Palm Coast, FL, USA
MLB Debut
1951-04-21
Last Game
1963-07-18
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Richard Dale Long

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Career Batting Statistics

Dale Long — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,013 3,020 384 805 135 33 132 467 10 353 460 .267 .341 .464 .805 6,376

Career AVG .267 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .341 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .464 vs. league average .390 across their career seasons — +18.9% above league average.

Career OPS .805 vs. league average .716 across their career seasons — +12.4% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Dale Long 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
1951 PIT NL 10 12 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 .167 — — — — 0.0
1951 SLA AL 34 105 11 25 5 1 2 11 0 10 22 .238 .260 (-9%) .336 (-8%) .385 (-6%) .721 (-7%) 0.0
1955 PIT NL 131 419 59 122 19 13 16 79 0 48 72 .291 .258 (+13%) .332 (+9%) .393 (+30%) .726 (+21%) 1600.4
1956 PIT NL 148 517 64 136 20 7 27 91 1 54 85 .263 .258 (+2%) .331 (-1%) .397 (+22%) .728 (+11%) 976.6
1957 PIT NL 7 22 0 4 1 0 0 5 0 4 10 .182 — — — — 0.0
1957 CHN NL 123 397 55 121 19 0 21 62 1 52 63 .305 .257 (+18%) .323 (+18%) .391 (+31%) .715 (+25%) 0.0
1958 CHN NL 142 480 68 130 26 4 20 75 2 66 64 .271 .257 (+5%) .324 (+10%) .394 (+18%) .719 (+15%) 1456.4
1959 CHN NL 110 296 34 70 10 3 14 37 0 31 53 .236 .256 (-8%) .323 (-6%) .392 (+10%) .715 (+3%) 107.7
1960 SFN NL 37 54 4 9 0 0 3 6 0 7 7 .167 .255 (-35%) .323 (-19%) .387 (-14%) .711 (-16%) -135.5
1960 NYA AL 26 41 6 15 3 1 3 10 0 5 6 .366 — — — — -135.5
1961 WS2 AL 123 377 52 94 20 4 17 49 0 39 41 .249 .258 (-3%) .328 (-3%) .399 (+15%) .727 (+7%) 355.9
1962 WS2 AL 67 191 17 46 8 0 4 24 5 18 22 .241 .257 (-7%) .326 (-6%) .393 (-12%) .719 (-9%) -281.5
1962 NYA AL 41 94 12 28 4 0 4 17 1 18 9 .298 .257 (+16%) .326 (+24%) .393 (+19%) .719 (+21%) -281.5
1963 NYA AL 14 15 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 .200 — — — — 0.0
Career · 14 seasons 1,013 3,020 384 805 135 33 132 467 10 353 460 .267 — — — — 3,663

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

Dale Long — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
5 8 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .250

Playoff Batting by Year

Dale Long — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1962 WS NYA 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .200
1960 WS NYA 3 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1014 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Dale Long — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home506144017737760244.262
Away508158020642872224.271

Last 10 Games — Batting

Dale Long — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1963-07-18 NYYMINL 100000000
1963-07-15 NYYKC1L 100000001
1963-06-27 NYYCHWL 100000000
1963-06-24 NYYCHWL 100000000
1963-06-20 NYYTEXW 100000000
1963-06-15 NYYDETW 000000000
1963-06-06 NYYBALL 401000000
1963-05-28 NYYBOSL 111000000
1963-05-26 NYYTEXL 100000000
1963-05-19 NYYLAAL 100000001

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Dale Long — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 819 747 6960 550 88 672
C 2 0 0 1 0 0
OF 1 0 0 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Dale Long — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1951 PIT 1B 1 0 8 0 0 0
1951 SLA 1B 28 0 227 19 3 23
1951 SLA OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1955 PIT 1B 119 116 968 97 13 114
1956 PIT 1B 138 136 1201 99 24 92
1957 PIT 1B 7 6 54 5 0 6
1957 CHN 1B 104 103 908 72 5 81
1958 CHN 1B 137 135 1173 84 10 130
1958 CHN C 2 0 0 1 0 0
1959 CHN 1B 85 72 731 49 12 63
1960 SFN 1B 10 8 73 6 0 5
1960 NYA 1B 11 6 78 4 1 3
1961 WS2 1B 95 94 827 62 15 87
1962 WS2 1B 51 47 459 32 2 46
1962 NYA 1B 31 23 242 21 2 21
1963 NYA 1B 2 1 11 0 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Dale Long Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 2
First Base 820
Left Field 1

Award Voting History

Dale Long — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1956 Most Valuable Player NL 26th 4.0 336 0
1955 Most Valuable Player NL 19th 3.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Dale Long (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Fernando Tatis
    .265 avg, 113 HR
  2. 96
    Hank Blalock
    .269 avg, 153 HR
  3. 96
    Jim Ray Hart
    .278 avg, 170 HR
  4. 95
    Greg Walker
    .260 avg, 113 HR
  5. 94
    Willie Aikens
    .271 avg, 110 HR
  6. 90
    Glenn Davis
    .259 avg, 190 HR

Dale Long: the record in brief

Dale Long's major league career runs from a debut on April 21, 1951 to a final game on July 18, 1963. Long played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1951 to 1957), the St. Louis Browns (1951), the Chicago Cubs (1957 through 1959), the San Francisco Giants (1960), the New York Yankees (1960 through 1963), and the Washington Senators (1961 to 1962). Long, born on February 6, 1926, in Springfield, MO, USA, is listed as a first baseman and batted and threw left-handed. The bio gives 6'4" and 205 pounds. The bio records the death on January 27, 1991, in Palm Coast, FL, USA. The given name on file is Richard Dale Long.

In 1,013 games and 3,020 at bats, Long batted .267 with 805 hits; the totals also include 132 home runs and 467 runs batted in. Long got on base at a .341 rate and slugged .464 (.805 OPS). Long hit .267 while the league hit .256 over the same span, a figure close to average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Dale Long

What years did Dale Long play?
Dale Long played in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1963.
Was Dale Long a pitcher?
No. Dale Long was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Dale Long hit?
Dale Long hit 132 career home runs with 805 hits.
What was Dale Long's career batting average?
Dale Long batted .267 over his career, with 805 hits in 3,020 at bats.
How many RBI did Dale Long have?
Dale Long drove in 467 runs in his career.
Is Dale Long in the Hall of Fame?
No. Dale Long has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.