Cal McVey

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1871-1879)

Cal McVey was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1871 to 1879 for 4 teams, including the Boston Red Stockings, a span of 9 seasons. In 530 career games, he hit .346 with 869 hits, 11 home runs, and 449 RBI. He also pitched in 34 games, going 10-12 with a 3.83 ERA. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 11,206.

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 .346
HR 11
RBI 449
H 869
OPS .800
PIV 11,206
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'9" / 170 lb
Born
8/30/1849 in Montrose, IA, USA
Died
8/20/1926 in San Francisco, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1871-05-05
Last Game
1879-09-30

Full name: Calvin Alexander McVey

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Career Batting Statistics

Cal McVey — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
530 2,513 555 869 133 44 11 449 26 30 51 .346 .354 .447 .800 11,206

Career AVG .346 vs. league average .269 across their career seasons — +28.6% above league average.

Career OBP .354 vs. league average .282 across their career seasons — +25.2% above league average.

Career SLG .447 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — +33.9% above league average.

Career OPS .800 vs. league average .616 across their career seasons — +29.9% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Cal McVey 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
1871 BS1 29 153 43 66 9 5 0 43 6 1 2 .431 .286 (+51%) .311 (+40%) .383 (+45%) .695 (+42%) 1012.4
1872 BS1 46 237 56 76 10 2 0 41 6 1 1 .321 .285 (+12%) .296 (+9%) .347 (+9%) .644 (+9%) 319.6
1873 BL1 38 192 49 73 5 5 2 35 2 3 2 .380 .290 (+31%) .304 (+28%) .357 (+37%) .661 (+33%) 965.6
1874 BS1 70 343 91 123 21 6 3 71 5 1 3 .359 .273 (+31%) .282 (+28%) .333 (+44%) .615 (+37%) 1853.2
1875 BS1 82 389 89 138 36 9 3 87 7 1 5 .355 .253 (+40%) .260 (+37%) .309 (+67%) .570 (+53%) 2839.1
1876 CHN NL 63 308 62 107 15 0 1 53 0 2 4 .347 .265 (+31%) .277 (+27%) .320 (+27%) .598 (+27%) 1214.3
1877 CHN NL 60 266 58 98 9 7 0 36 0 8 11 .368 .271 (+36%) .289 (+34%) .337 (+35%) .626 (+34%) 1412.9
1878 CN1 NL 61 271 43 83 10 4 2 28 0 5 10 .306 .259 (+18%) .278 (+14%) .319 (+24%) .597 (+19%) 744.9
1879 CN1 NL 81 354 64 105 18 6 0 55 0 8 13 .297 .255 (+16%) .270 (+15%) .328 (+16%) .599 (+16%) 843.8
Career · 9 seasons 530 2,513 555 869 133 44 11 449 26 30 51 .346 — — — — 11,206

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

Cal McVey — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
10 12 34 19 12 0 5 176.1 235 75 3 16 37 3.83 -374.9

Career ERA 3.83 vs. league average 2.42 across their career seasons — 58.3% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Cal McVey — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1875 BS1 1 0 3 2 0 0 1 11.0 15 6 1 1 4.91 2.23 (-121%) -28.7
1876 CHN NL 5 2 11 6 5 0 2 59.1 57 10 2 9 1.52 2.31 (+34%) 411.2
1877 CHN NL 4 8 17 10 6 0 2 92.0 129 46 11 20 4.50 2.81 (-60%) -547.4
1879 CN1 NL 0 2 3 1 1 0 0 14.0 34 13 2 7 8.36 2.50 (-235%) -210.0
Career · 4 seasons 10 12 34 19 12 0 5 176.1 235 75 16 37 3.83 — -375

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.

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Cal McVey — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 186 0 1783 28 95 84
2B 5 0 13 9 6 1
3B 84 0 104 132 55 6
C 182 82 641 123 110 7
OF 110 63 130 9 40 0
P 34 0 8 32 10 0
SS 5 0 11 18 4 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Cal McVey — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1871 BS1 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1871 BS1 C 29 27 105 12 17 1
1871 BS1 OF 5 2 2 0 1 0
1872 BS1 3B 1 0 0 2 0 0
1872 BS1 C 39 40 149 30 27 2
1872 BS1 OF 11 6 8 0 1 0
1873 BL1 1B 3 0 13 0 2 2
1873 BL1 2B 4 0 12 5 6 0
1873 BL1 3B 2 0 4 1 5 0
1873 BL1 C 25 0 82 15 10 0
1873 BL1 OF 6 0 13 0 2 0
1873 BL1 SS 5 0 11 18 4 0
1874 BS1 C 23 15 66 9 12 0
1874 BS1 OF 57 55 64 7 29 0
1875 BS1 1B 55 0 532 13 29 28
1875 BS1 C 16 0 74 21 14 1
1875 BS1 OF 23 0 29 2 5 0
1875 BS1 P 3 0 1 2 1 0
1876 CHN 1B 55 0 485 10 21 21
1876 CHN 3B 1 0 2 0 0 0
1876 CHN C 6 0 23 1 2 0
1876 CHN OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1876 CHN P 11 0 1 13 4 0
1877 CHN 1B 1 0 17 0 1 0
1877 CHN 2B 1 0 1 4 0 1
1877 CHN 3B 17 0 18 23 8 0
1877 CHN C 40 0 137 34 28 3
1877 CHN P 17 0 6 14 5 0
1878 CN1 3B 61 0 78 106 42 6
1878 CN1 C 3 0 5 1 0 0
1879 CN1 1B 72 0 736 5 42 33
1879 CN1 3B 1 0 2 0 0 0
1879 CN1 C 1 0 0 0 0 0
1879 CN1 OF 7 0 14 0 2 0
1879 CN1 P 3 0 0 3 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Cal McVey Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 34
Catcher 182
First Base 186
Second Base 5
Third Base 84
Shortstop 5
Left Field 5
Center Field 33
Right Field 72

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Cal McVey (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Levi Meyerle
    .356 avg, 10 HR
  2. 87
    Johnny Washington
    .317 avg, 12 HR
  3. 86
    Lew Fonseca
    .316 avg, 31 HR
  4. 85
    Pythias Russ
    .326 avg, 14 HR
  5. 85
    Walter Cannady
    .316 avg, 42 HR
  6. 84
    Johnny Hodapp
    .311 avg, 28 HR

Cal McVey: the record in brief

Cal McVey played a first major league game on May 5, 1871 and a last one on September 30, 1879. Club by club, the record runs the Boston Red Stockings (1871 through 1875), the Baltimore Canaries (1873), the Chicago White Stockings (1876 to 1877), and the Cincinnati Reds (1878 to 1879). McVey played primarily as a first baseman and batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on August 30, 1849, in Montrose, IA, USA and a listed size of 5'9" and 170 pounds. The bio records the death on August 20, 1926, in San Francisco, CA, USA. The given name on file is Calvin Alexander McVey.

McVey collected 869 hits in 2,513 at bats across 530 games, good for a .346 batting average; the totals also include 11 home runs, 449 runs batted in, and 26 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .354 and .447 give McVey a career OPS of .800.

Frequently Asked Questions about Cal McVey

What years did Cal McVey play?
Cal McVey played in Major League Baseball from 1871 to 1879.
Was Cal McVey a pitcher?
Both. Cal McVey pitched in 34 games, going 10-12 with a 3.83 ERA, but spent most of his career as a First Baseman.
How many home runs did Cal McVey hit?
Cal McVey hit 11 career home runs with 869 hits.
What was Cal McVey's career batting average?
Cal McVey batted .346 over his career, with 869 hits in 2,513 at bats.
How many RBI did Cal McVey have?
Cal McVey drove in 449 runs in his career.
What was Cal McVey's career ERA?
Cal McVey finished with a 3.83 career ERA, going 10-12 with 37 strikeouts.