Tommy McCarthy

Outfielder · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1884-1896)

Tommy McCarthy was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1896 for 5 teams, including the Boston Reds, a span of 13 seasons. In 1,273 career games, he hit .292 with 1,493 hits, 44 home runs, and 732 RBI. He also pitched in 13 games, going 0-8 with a 4.99 ERA. Tommy McCarthy was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 8,126.

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

⭐ Hall of Fame 1946
AVG .292
HR 44
RBI 732
H 1,493
OPS .740
PIV 8,126
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'7" / 170 lb
Born
7/24/1863 in Boston, MA, USA
Died
8/5/1922 in Boston, MA, USA
MLB Debut
1884-07-10
Last Game
1896-09-26
Hall of Fame
Inducted 1946 (Veterans)

Full name: Thomas Francis Michael McCarthy

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Career Batting Statistics

Tommy McCarthy — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,273 5,120 1,066 1,493 191 53 44 732 468 536 185 .292 .364 .375 .740 8,126

Career AVG .292 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — +11.3% above league average.

Career OBP .364 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — +12.1% above league average.

Career SLG .375 vs. league average .355 across their career seasons — +5.9% above league average.

Career OPS .740 vs. league average .680 across their career seasons — +8.8% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Tommy McCarthy 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
1884 BSU UA 53 209 37 45 2 2 0 0 0 6 0 .215 .243 (-11%) .278 (-15%) .327 (-25%) .606 (-21%) -564.2
1885 BSN NL 40 148 16 27 2 0 0 11 0 5 25 .182 .244 (-25%) .287 (-27%) .325 (-40%) .613 (-34%) -668.8
1886 PHI NL 8 27 6 5 2 1 0 3 1 2 3 .185 — — — — 0.0
1887 PHI NL 18 70 7 13 4 0 0 6 15 2 5 .186 .270 (-31%) .331 (-34%) .373 (-35%) .705 (-34%) -384.0
1888 SL4 AA 131 511 107 140 20 3 1 68 93 38 22 .274 .238 (+15%) .290 (+13%) .319 (+3%) .610 (+8%) 808.5
1889 SL4 AA 140 604 136 176 24 7 2 63 57 46 26 .291 .263 (+10%) .334 (+4%) .357 (+2%) .691 (+3%) 343.3
1890 SL4 AA 133 548 137 192 28 9 6 69 83 66 0 .350 .260 (+35%) .336 (+28%) .351 (+33%) .687 (+30%) 3486.4
1891 SL4 AA 134 570 124 176 20 6 8 92 37 49 19 .309 .254 (+22%) .331 (+13%) .343 (+18%) .675 (+16%) 1748.0
1892 BSN NL 152 603 119 146 19 5 4 63 53 93 29 .242 .244 (-1%) .316 (+10%) .327 (-5%) .644 (+2%) 579.7
1893 BSN NL 116 462 107 160 28 6 5 111 46 64 10 .346 .279 (+24%) .356 (+20%) .379 (+23%) .735 (+22%) 2175.5
1894 BSN NL 127 539 118 188 21 8 13 126 43 59 17 .349 .309 (+13%) .379 (+10%) .435 (+13%) .814 (+12%) 1536.0
1895 BSN NL 117 452 90 131 13 2 2 73 18 72 12 .290 .296 (-2%) .361 (+8%) .399 (-15%) .761 (-4%) -45.5
1896 BRO NL 104 377 62 94 8 4 3 47 22 34 17 .249 .290 (-14%) .354 (-11%) .387 (-19%) .741 (-15%) -888.9
Career · 13 seasons 1,273 5,120 1,066 1,493 191 53 44 732 468 536 185 .292 — — — — 8,126

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 Pitching Statistics

Tommy McCarthy — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 8 13 7 5 0 0 70.1 85 39 3 26 21 4.99 -1031.7

Career ERA 4.99 vs. league average 3.59 across their career seasons — 39.1% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Tommy McCarthy — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1884 BSU UA 0 7 7 6 5 0 0 56.0 73 30 14 18 4.82 3.11 (-55%) -1031.7
1886 PHI NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 1 1 0.00 — 0.0
1888 SL4 AA 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 5.1 5 3 2 1 5.06 — 0.0
1889 SL4 AA 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5.0 4 4 6 1 7.20 — 0.0
1891 SL4 AA 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 2 1 0 0 9.00 — 0.0
1894 BSN NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2.0 1 1 3 0 4.50 — 0.0
Career · 6 seasons 0 8 13 7 5 0 0 70.1 85 39 26 21 4.99 — -1,032

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

Tommy McCarthy — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
16 62 12 18 3 0 1 11 6 1 .290

Playoff Batting by Year

Tommy McCarthy — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1892 CS BSN 6 21 2 8 2 0 0 2 6 1 .381
1888 WS SL4 10 41 10 10 1 0 1 9 0 0 .244

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Tommy McCarthy — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 39 0 71 75 26 7
3B 36 0 49 77 27 6
OF 1188 0 2016 266 262 60
P 13 0 6 21 5 1
SS 20 0 48 47 22 9

Season-by-Season Fielding

Tommy McCarthy — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1884 BSU OF 48 0 39 11 13 1
1884 BSU P 7 0 6 19 5 1
1885 BSN OF 40 0 69 8 12 0
1886 PHI OF 8 0 8 1 2 0
1886 PHI P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1887 PHI 2B 5 0 8 7 4 1
1887 PHI 3B 2 0 1 0 3 0
1887 PHI OF 8 0 24 2 3 0
1887 PHI SS 3 0 7 2 7 0
1888 SL4 OF 131 0 243 42 21 12
1888 SL4 P 2 0 0 2 0 0
1889 SL4 2B 2 0 1 1 1 0
1889 SL4 OF 140 0 229 38 32 11
1889 SL4 P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1890 SL4 2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1890 SL4 3B 32 0 48 75 22 6
1890 SL4 OF 102 0 157 19 21 5
1891 SL4 2B 14 0 34 30 12 2
1891 SL4 3B 2 0 0 2 2 0
1891 SL4 OF 112 0 161 24 21 5
1891 SL4 P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1891 SL4 SS 12 0 30 36 12 7
1892 BSN OF 152 0 219 29 33 4
1893 BSN 2B 7 0 15 15 4 3
1893 BSN OF 108 0 202 28 25 4
1893 BSN SS 3 0 11 6 3 2
1894 BSN 2B 1 0 0 2 0 0
1894 BSN OF 127 0 291 28 34 10
1894 BSN P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1894 BSN SS 2 0 0 3 0 0
1895 BSN 2B 9 0 13 19 5 1
1895 BSN OF 109 0 199 16 28 2
1896 BRO OF 103 0 175 20 17 6

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Tommy McCarthy Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 13
Second Base 39
Third Base 36
Shortstop 20
Left Field 514
Center Field 32
Right Field 647

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Tommy McCarthy (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Steve Brodie
    .303 avg, 25 HR
  2. 95
    Sam Mertes
    .279 avg, 40 HR
  3. 94
    Luis Polonia
    .293 avg, 36 HR
  4. 92
    Fielder Jones
    .285 avg, 21 HR
  5. 91
    George Case
    .282 avg, 21 HR
  6. 91
    Ginger Beaumont
    .311 avg, 39 HR

Compare Tommy McCarthy

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

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Tommy McCarthy: the record in brief

The profile opens with Tommy McCarthy's first major league game on July 10, 1884; the last one listed came on September 26, 1896. McCarthy played for the Boston Reds (1884), the Boston Beaneaters (1885 to 1895), the Philadelphia Quakers (1886 through 1887), the St. Louis Browns (1888 to 1891), and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1896). McCarthy played primarily as an outfielder and threw and hit right-handed. Born on July 24, 1863, in Boston, MA, USA, McCarthy was listed at 5 feet, 7 inches and 170 pounds. McCarthy died on August 5, 1922, in Boston, MA, USA. The given name on file is Thomas Francis Michael McCarthy.

McCarthy collected 1,493 hits in 5,120 at bats across 1,273 games, good for a .292 batting average; the totals also include 44 home runs, 732 runs batted in, and 468 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .364 and .375 give McCarthy a career OPS of .740. Set against a .262 league average for the same years, McCarthy's .292 average sits 11.3% above it.

Frequently Asked Questions about Tommy McCarthy

What years did Tommy McCarthy play?
Tommy McCarthy played in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1896.
Was Tommy McCarthy a pitcher?
Both. Tommy McCarthy pitched in 13 games, going 0-8 with a 4.99 ERA, but spent most of his career as an Outfielder.
How many home runs did Tommy McCarthy hit?
Tommy McCarthy hit 44 career home runs with 1,493 hits.
Is Tommy McCarthy in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Tommy McCarthy was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946.
What teams did Tommy McCarthy play for?
Tommy McCarthy played for 5 teams: the Boston Reds (1884), the Boston Beaneaters (1885, 1892–1895), the Philadelphia Quakers (1886–1887), the St. Louis Browns (1888–1891), and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1896).
What were Tommy McCarthy's career stats?
In 1,273 games, Tommy McCarthy had 1,493 hits, 44 home runs, 732 RBI, 1,066 runs, and 468 stolen bases, with a .292 batting average. As a pitcher, in 13 games, he went 0-8 with a 4.99 ERA, 21 strikeouts, and 70.1 innings pitched.
What position did Tommy McCarthy play?
Tommy McCarthy played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Tommy McCarthy and how much did he weigh?
Tommy McCarthy was listed at 5 feet 7 inches and 170 pounds.
How many home runs did Tommy McCarthy hit each season?
Tommy McCarthy's home runs by season: 0 in 1884, 0 in 1885, 0 in 1886, 0 in 1887, 1 in 1888, 2 in 1889, 6 in 1890, 8 in 1891, 4 in 1892, 5 in 1893, 13 in 1894, 2 in 1895, and 3 in 1896. His most in one season was 13, in 1894.
What was Tommy McCarthy's career batting average?
Tommy McCarthy batted .292 over his career, with 1,493 hits in 5,120 at bats.
How many RBI did Tommy McCarthy have?
Tommy McCarthy drove in 732 runs in his career.
What was Tommy McCarthy's career ERA?
Tommy McCarthy finished with a 4.99 career ERA, going 0-8 with 21 strikeouts.