Ed McFarland

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1893-1908)

Ed McFarland was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1893 to 1908 for 5 teams, including the Cleveland Spiders, a span of 16 seasons. In 894 career games, he hit .275 with 826 hits, 13 home runs, and 383 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 1,830.

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 .275
HR 13
RBI 383
H 826
OPS .704
PIV 1,830
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 180 lb
Born
8/3/1873 in Cleveland, OH, USA
Died
11/28/1959 in Cleveland, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1893-07-07
Last Game
1908-06-26

Full name: Edward William McFarland

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Career Batting Statistics

Ed McFarland — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
894 3,007 398 826 146 49 13 383 65 254 174 .275 .335 .369 .704 1,830

Career AVG .275 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .335 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .369 vs. league average .343 across their career seasons — +7.6% above league average.

Career OPS .704 vs. league average .665 across their career seasons — +5.8% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ed McFarland 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
1893 CL4 NL 8 22 5 9 2 1 0 6 0 1 2 .409 — — — — 0.0
1896 SLN NL 83 290 48 70 13 4 3 36 7 15 17 .241 .290 (-17%) .354 (-21%) .387 (-11%) .741 (-16%) -817.3
1897 SLN NL 31 107 14 35 5 2 1 17 2 8 2 .327 .291 (+12%) .354 (+6%) .387 (+13%) .741 (+10%) 165.7
1897 PHI NL 38 130 18 29 3 5 1 16 2 14 10 .223 .291 (-24%) .354 (-13%) .387 (-11%) .741 (-12%) 165.7
1898 PHI NL 121 429 65 121 21 5 3 71 4 44 23 .282 .270 (+4%) .333 (+5%) .347 (+8%) .680 (+7%) 567.6
1899 PHI NL 96 324 59 108 22 9 2 57 9 36 9 .333 .282 (+18%) .343 (+17%) .366 (+30%) .710 (+24%) 1446.2
1900 PHI NL 94 344 50 105 14 8 0 38 9 29 18 .305 .279 (+9%) .338 (+8%) .366 (+7%) .705 (+7%) 471.9
1901 PHI NL 74 295 33 84 14 2 1 32 11 18 24 .285 .271 (+5%) .326 (avg) .359 (-1%) .686 (-1%) -42.0
1902 CHA AL 75 246 29 56 9 2 1 25 8 19 15 .228 .266 (-15%) .321 (-10%) .343 (-15%) .665 (-12%) -431.9
1903 CHA AL 61 201 15 42 7 2 1 19 3 14 12 .209 .261 (-20%) .316 (-17%) .345 (-19%) .662 (-18%) -541.2
1904 CHA AL 50 160 22 44 11 3 0 20 2 17 9 .275 .246 (+11%) .300 (+16%) .321 (+19%) .622 (+17%) 443.0
1905 CHA AL 80 250 24 70 13 4 0 31 5 23 21 .280 .248 (+13%) .307 (+12%) .322 (+13%) .629 (+13%) 539.3
1906 CHA AL 12 23 0 4 1 0 0 3 0 3 1 .174 — — — — 0.0
1907 CHA AL 52 138 11 39 9 1 0 8 3 12 6 .283 .245 (+15%) .304 (+12%) .308 (+17%) .613 (+15%) 299.1
1908 BOS AL 19 48 5 10 2 1 0 4 0 1 5 .208 — — — — 0.0
Career · 15 seasons 894 3,007 398 826 146 49 13 383 65 254 174 .275 — — — — 2,266

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

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

Playoff Batting by Year

Ed McFarland — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1906 WS CHA 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (735 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Ed McFarland — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home37012071573273147.271
Away36512551553575155.284

Last 10 Games — Batting

Ed McFarland — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1908-06-26 BOSMINL 401000002
1908-06-24 BOSMINL 401000001
1908-06-21 BOSCHWL 300000000
1908-06-20 BOSCHWL 000000000
1908-06-19 BOSCHWL 111000000
1908-06-18 BOSCHWL 422010001
1908-06-15 BOSSLAL 301000000
1908-06-13 BOSSLAW 300000000
1908-06-12 BOSCLEL 100000000
1908-06-11 BOSCLEL 301000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ed McFarland — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 5 0 34 5 3 0
2B 1 0 4 3 2 0
3B 3 0 2 4 1 0
C 830 161 3139 1024 144 73
OF 10 0 10 0 1 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ed McFarland — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1893 CL4 3B 2 0 0 4 1 0
1893 CL4 C 1 0 0 0 0 0
1893 CL4 OF 5 0 4 0 0 0
1896 SLN C 80 0 276 117 16 6
1896 SLN OF 2 0 0 0 0 0
1897 SLN 1B 3 0 21 5 3 0
1897 SLN 2B 1 0 4 3 2 0
1897 SLN C 23 0 80 31 4 3
1897 SLN OF 3 0 6 0 1 0
1897 PHI C 37 0 117 38 8 1
1898 PHI C 121 0 420 136 23 7
1899 PHI C 94 0 305 125 14 14
1900 PHI 3B 1 0 2 0 0 0
1900 PHI C 93 0 278 137 16 9
1901 PHI C 74 0 316 102 13 2
1902 CHA 1B 1 0 9 0 0 0
1902 CHA C 69 0 282 71 12 7
1903 CHA 1B 1 0 4 0 0 0
1903 CHA C 56 0 240 65 10 7
1904 CHA C 49 47 195 39 6 2
1905 CHA C 70 65 343 88 12 8
1906 CHA C 7 5 32 4 1 0
1907 CHA C 43 33 192 47 7 4
1908 BOS C 13 11 63 24 2 3

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ed McFarland Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 830
First Base 5
Second Base 1
Third Base 3
Left Field 3
Center Field 5
Right Field 2

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ed McFarland (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Jim Brown
    .275 avg, 16 HR
  2. 97
    Pop Schriver
    .264 avg, 16 HR
  3. 89
    Hank Gowdy
    .270 avg, 21 HR
  4. 87
    Jack O'Brien
    .266 avg, 11 HR
  5. 85
    Frankie Pytlak
    .282 avg, 7 HR
  6. 85
    Glenn Myatt
    .270 avg, 38 HR

Ed McFarland: the record in brief

July 7, 1893 and June 26, 1908 bracket Ed McFarland's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Club by club, the record runs the Cleveland Spiders (1893), the St. Louis Browns (1896 to 1897), the Philadelphia Phillies (1897 to 1901), the Chicago White Sox (1902 to 1907), and the Boston Red Sox (1908). Born on August 3, 1873, in Cleveland, OH, USA, McFarland is listed as a catcher and batted and threw right-handed. The bio gives 5'10" and 180 pounds. McFarland died on November 28, 1959, in Cleveland, OH, USA. Ed McFarland was the playing name; the full given name is Edward William.

McFarland collected 826 hits in 3,007 at bats across 894 games, good for a .275 batting average, plus 13 home runs, 383 RBI, and 65 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .335 clip and slugging .369, McFarland finished with a .704 OPS. McFarland hit .275 while the league hit .263 over the same span, a figure close to average. In OPS terms, McFarland's .704 stands 5.8% above the league's .665.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ed McFarland

What years did Ed McFarland play?
Ed McFarland played in Major League Baseball from 1893 to 1908.
Was Ed McFarland a pitcher?
No. Ed McFarland was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Ed McFarland hit?
Ed McFarland hit 13 career home runs with 826 hits.
What was Ed McFarland's career batting average?
Ed McFarland batted .275 over his career, with 826 hits in 3,007 at bats.
How many RBI did Ed McFarland have?
Ed McFarland drove in 383 runs in his career.
Is Ed McFarland in the Hall of Fame?
No. Ed McFarland has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.