Bill Merritt

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1891-1899)

Bill Merritt was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1891 to 1899 for 5 teams, including the Chicago Cubs, a span of 9 seasons. In 401 career games, he hit .272 with 384 hits, 8 home runs, and 196 RBI.

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 .272
HR 8
RBI 196
H 384
OPS .661
PIV -2,331
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'7" / 160 lb
Born
7/30/1870 in Lowell, MA, USA
Died
11/17/1937 in Lowell, MA, USA
MLB Debut
1891-08-08
Last Game
1899-10-14

Full name: William Henry Merritt

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Career Batting Statistics

Bill Merritt — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
401 1,414 182 384 40 12 8 196 21 110 82 .272 .327 .334 .661 -2,331

Career AVG .272 vs. league average .279 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .327 vs. league average .348 across their career seasons — 6.1% below league average.

Career SLG .334 vs. league average .376 across their career seasons — 11.2% below league average.

Career OPS .661 vs. league average .724 across their career seasons — 8.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill Merritt (b. 1870) 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
1891 CHN NL 11 42 4 9 1 0 0 4 0 2 2 .214 — — — — 0.0
1892 LS3 NL 46 168 22 33 4 2 1 13 3 11 15 .196 .244 (-20%) .316 (-22%) .327 (-20%) .644 (-21%) -546.8
1893 BSN NL 39 141 30 49 6 3 3 26 3 13 13 .348 .279 (+24%) .356 (+13%) .379 (+31%) .735 (+22%) 525.1
1894 BSN NL 10 26 3 6 1 0 0 6 0 8 0 .231 — — — — 0.0
1894 PIT NL 36 109 18 30 1 2 1 18 2 15 7 .275 .309 (-11%) .379 (-4%) .435 (-20%) .814 (-13%) 0.0
1894 CIN NL 30 117 17 38 6 1 1 22 4 10 3 .325 .309 (+5%) .379 (+2%) .435 (-4%) .814 (-1%) 0.0
1895 CIN NL 22 79 9 14 2 0 0 12 2 6 5 .177 .296 (-40%) .361 (-35%) .399 (-49%) .761 (-42%) -564.1
1895 PIT NL 67 239 32 68 5 1 0 27 2 18 16 .285 .296 (-4%) .361 (-6%) .399 (-21%) .761 (-14%) -564.1
1896 PIT NL 77 282 26 82 8 2 1 42 3 18 10 .291 .290 (avg) .354 (-5%) .387 (-11%) .741 (-8%) -382.1
1897 PIT NL 62 209 21 55 6 1 1 26 2 9 11 .263 .291 (-10%) .354 (-16%) .387 (-18%) .741 (-17%) -609.0
1899 BSN NL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 11 seasons 401 1,414 182 384 40 12 8 196 21 110 82 .272 — — — — -2,141

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.

Game Log & Splits

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bill Merritt — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home120000.000

Last 1 Games — Batting

Bill Merritt — Last 1 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1899-10-14 BSNPHIL 200000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bill Merritt — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 18 0 163 7 4 9
2B 4 0 9 9 1 1
3B 8 0 5 19 5 2
C 354 0 1266 360 100 40
OF 6 0 6 0 0 0
SS 2 0 4 1 1 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bill Merritt — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1891 CHN 1B 1 0 10 0 1 1
1891 CHN C 11 0 31 11 2 1
1892 LS3 C 46 0 175 58 15 6
1893 BSN C 37 0 129 25 9 6
1893 BSN OF 2 0 1 0 0 0
1894 BSN C 8 0 30 7 5 1
1894 BSN OF 1 0 3 0 0 0
1894 PIT 1B 4 0 18 0 0 0
1894 PIT C 28 0 85 35 6 5
1894 PIT OF 2 0 2 0 0 0
1894 CIN 1B 1 0 7 0 1 0
1894 CIN 3B 3 0 2 10 1 2
1894 CIN C 25 0 60 27 4 0
1894 CIN OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1895 CIN 2B 1 0 5 1 1 0
1895 CIN C 20 0 65 19 4 3
1895 PIT 1B 2 0 27 1 1 2
1895 PIT C 63 0 245 58 21 7
1896 PIT 1B 3 0 33 2 0 2
1896 PIT 2B 3 0 4 8 0 1
1896 PIT 3B 5 0 3 9 4 0
1896 PIT C 62 0 242 75 20 5
1896 PIT SS 2 0 4 1 1 0
1897 PIT 1B 7 0 68 4 1 4
1897 PIT C 53 0 202 43 14 6
1899 BSN C 1 0 2 2 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bill Merritt (b. 1870) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 354
First Base 18
Second Base 4
Third Base 8
Shortstop 2
Left Field 4
Center Field 1
Right Field 1

College History

Bill Merritt — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
College of the Holy Cross Worcester MA 1890, 1891

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Charlie Hargreaves
    .270 avg, 4 HR
  2. 97
    Buck Crouse
    .262 avg, 8 HR
  3. 94
    Lew McCarty
    .266 avg, 5 HR
  4. 91
    Grover Hartley
    .268 avg, 3 HR
  5. 88
    Clyde Sukeforth
    .264 avg, 2 HR
  6. 87
    José María Fernández
    .283 avg, 4 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Bill Merritt

What years did Bill Merritt play?
Bill Merritt played in Major League Baseball from 1891 to 1899.
Was Bill Merritt a pitcher?
No. Bill Merritt was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Bill Merritt hit?
Bill Merritt hit 8 career home runs with 384 hits.
What was Bill Merritt's career batting average?
Bill Merritt batted .272 over his career, with 384 hits in 1,414 at bats.
How many RBI did Bill Merritt have?
Bill Merritt drove in 196 runs in his career.
Is Bill Merritt in the Hall of Fame?
No. Bill Merritt has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.