Sam Mertes
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1896-1906)
Sam Mertes was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1896 to 1906 for 5 teams, including the Philadelphia Phillies, a span of 11 seasons. In 1,190 career games, he hit .279 with 1,227 hits, 40 home runs, and 721 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 9,719.
- 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
- Position
- Outfielder
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'10" / 185 lb
- Died
- 3/11/1945 in Villa Grande, CA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1896-06-30
- Last Game
- 1906-09-15
Full name: Samuel Blair Mertes
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,190 | 4,405 | 695 | 1,227 | 188 | 108 | 40 | 721 | 396 | 422 | 378 | .279 | .346 | .398 | .744 | 9,719 |
Career AVG .279 vs. league average .264 across their career seasons — +5.4% above league average.
Career OBP .346 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — +7.3% above league average.
Career SLG .398 vs. league average .344 across their career seasons — +15.5% above league average.
Career OPS .744 vs. league average .667 across their career seasons — +11.5% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 | PHI | NL | 37 | 143 | 20 | 34 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 19 | 8 | 10 | .238 | .290 (-18%) | .354 (-19%) | .387 (-17%) | .741 (-18%) | -448.4 |
| 1898 | CHN | NL | 83 | 269 | 45 | 80 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 47 | 27 | 34 | 28 | .297 | .270 (+10%) | .333 (+16%) | .347 (+10%) | .680 (+13%) | 747.8 |
| 1899 | CHN | NL | 117 | 426 | 83 | 127 | 13 | 16 | 9 | 81 | 45 | 33 | 35 | .298 | .282 (+6%) | .343 (+1%) | .366 (+27%) | .710 (+15%) | 1040.2 |
| 1900 | CHN | NL | 127 | 481 | 72 | 142 | 25 | 4 | 7 | 60 | 38 | 42 | 26 | .295 | .279 (+6%) | .338 (+5%) | .366 (+11%) | .705 (+8%) | 780.6 |
| 1901 | CHA | AL | 137 | 545 | 94 | 151 | 16 | 17 | 5 | 98 | 46 | 52 | 34 | .277 | .271 (+2%) | .326 (+6%) | .359 (+10%) | .686 (+8%) | 892.7 |
| 1902 | CHA | AL | 129 | 497 | 60 | 140 | 23 | 7 | 1 | 79 | 46 | 37 | 43 | .282 | .266 (+6%) | .321 (+4%) | .343 (+5%) | .665 (+5%) | 410.5 |
| 1903 | NY1 | NL | 138 | 517 | 100 | 145 | 32 | 14 | 7 | 104 | 45 | 61 | 45 | .280 | .261 (+7%) | .316 (+14%) | .345 (+26%) | .662 (+20%) | 2019.9 |
| 1904 | NY1 | NL | 148 | 532 | 83 | 147 | 28 | 11 | 4 | 78 | 47 | 54 | 48 | .276 | .246 (+12%) | .300 (+15%) | .321 (+22%) | .622 (+19%) | 1848.8 |
| 1905 | NY1 | NL | 150 | 551 | 81 | 154 | 27 | 17 | 5 | 108 | 52 | 56 | 51 | .279 | .248 (+13%) | .307 (+14%) | .322 (+29%) | .629 (+22%) | 2174.3 |
| 1906 | NY1 | NL | 71 | 253 | 37 | 60 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 33 | 21 | 29 | 32 | .237 | .247 (-4%) | .307 (+5%) | .315 (+5%) | .622 (+5%) | 246.3 |
| 1906 | SLN | NL | 53 | 191 | 20 | 47 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 10 | 16 | 26 | .246 | .247 (-1%) | .307 (-1%) | .315 (+3%) | .622 (+1%) | 246.3 |
| Career · 11 seasons | 1,190 | 4,405 | 695 | 1,227 | 188 | 108 | 40 | 721 | 396 | 422 | 378 | .279 | — | — | — | — | 9,959 | ||
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.
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1902 | CHA | AL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.93 | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 1 season | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.93 | — | 0 | ||
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
View full game log (1155 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 602 | 2166 | 373 | 624 | 19 | 377 | .288 |
| Away | 552 | 2095 | 303 | 569 | 21 | 305 | .272 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Away | 1 | 7.2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.17 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1906-09-15 | STL | CHC | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1906-09-14 | STL | CHC | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1906-09-13 | STL | CHC | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1906-09-09 | STL | CIN | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1906-09-09 | STL | CIN | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1906-09-07 | STL | CIN | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1906-09-06 | STL | CIN | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1906-09-06 | STL | CIN | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 1906-09-05 | STL | PIT | W | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1906-09-04 | STL | PIT | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Last 1 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1902-09-28 | CHW | SLA | W | 7.2 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 40 | 0 | 384 | 22 | 13 | 21 |
| 2B | 138 | 0 | 349 | 419 | 54 | 61 |
| 3B | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| C | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| OF | 974 | 422 | 1737 | 140 | 123 | 28 |
| P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SS | 29 | 1 | 55 | 64 | 10 | 10 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 | PHI | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1896 | PHI | OF | 35 | 0 | 85 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| 1896 | PHI | SS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1898 | CHN | 1B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1898 | CHN | 2B | 4 | 0 | 11 | 17 | 5 | 6 |
| 1898 | CHN | OF | 60 | 0 | 97 | 13 | 15 | 6 |
| 1898 | CHN | SS | 14 | 0 | 19 | 23 | 7 | 4 |
| 1899 | CHN | 1B | 3 | 0 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| 1899 | CHN | OF | 108 | 0 | 197 | 20 | 18 | 4 |
| 1899 | CHN | SS | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 1900 | CHN | 1B | 33 | 0 | 340 | 17 | 10 | 16 |
| 1900 | CHN | OF | 88 | 0 | 180 | 13 | 16 | 4 |
| 1900 | CHN | SS | 7 | 0 | 12 | 19 | 2 | 2 |
| 1901 | CHA | 2B | 132 | 0 | 337 | 396 | 47 | 54 |
| 1901 | CHA | OF | 5 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1902 | CHA | 1B | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1902 | CHA | 2B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| 1902 | CHA | 3B | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1902 | CHA | C | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1902 | CHA | OF | 120 | 0 | 223 | 26 | 21 | 5 |
| 1902 | CHA | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1902 | CHA | SS | 5 | 0 | 17 | 15 | 0 | 2 |
| 1903 | NY1 | 1B | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1903 | NY1 | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1903 | NY1 | OF | 137 | 0 | 265 | 24 | 8 | 5 |
| 1904 | NY1 | OF | 147 | 147 | 244 | 17 | 12 | 1 |
| 1904 | NY1 | SS | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1905 | NY1 | OF | 150 | 150 | 230 | 10 | 10 | 3 |
| 1906 | NY1 | OF | 71 | 72 | 119 | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| 1906 | SLN | OF | 53 | 53 | 77 | 4 | 10 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 1 |
| Catcher | 3 |
| First Base | 40 |
| Second Base | 138 |
| Third Base | 1 |
| Shortstop | 29 |
| Left Field | 688 |
| Center Field | 182 |
| Right Field | 110 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Sam Mertes (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Sam Mertes: the record in brief
June 30, 1896 and September 15, 1906 bracket Sam Mertes's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The team column moves through the Philadelphia Phillies (1896), the Chicago Orphans (1898 to 1900), the Chicago White Sox (1901 through 1902), the New York Giants (1903 through 1906), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1906). Mertes is listed as an outfielder at 5 feet, 10 inches and 185 pounds. The bio says Mertes batted and threw right-handed. The recorded birth is August 6, 1872, in San Francisco, CA, USA. Mertes died on March 11, 1945, in Villa Grande, CA, USA. On the record, Sam Mertes was born Samuel Blair Mertes.
The batting record for Mertes: 1,190 games, 1,227 hits in 4,405 at bats, and a .279 average, adding 40 home runs, 721 RBI, and 396 stolen bases. Mertes's career OPS of .744 combines a .346 on-base mark with .398 slugging.
Frequently Asked Questions about Sam Mertes
- What years did Sam Mertes play?
- Sam Mertes played in Major League Baseball from 1896 to 1906.
- Was Sam Mertes a pitcher?
- No. Sam Mertes was a position player (Outfielder), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
- How many home runs did Sam Mertes hit?
- Sam Mertes hit 40 career home runs with 1227 hits.
- What was Sam Mertes's career batting average?
- Sam Mertes batted .279 over his career, with 1,227 hits in 4,405 at bats.
- How many RBI did Sam Mertes have?
- Sam Mertes drove in 721 runs in his career.
- What was Sam Mertes's career ERA?
- Sam Mertes finished with a 1.93 career ERA, going 1-0 with 0 strikeouts.