Gene Michael

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1966-1975)

Gene Michael was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1966 to 1975 for 4 teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 10 seasons. In 973 career games, he hit .229 with 642 hits, 15 home runs, and 226 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 .229
HR 15
RBI 226
H 642
OPS .572
PIV -6,769
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
B / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 183 lb
Born
6/2/1938 in Kent, OH, USA
Died
9/7/2017 in Oldsmar, FL, USA
MLB Debut
1966-07-15
Last Game
1975-09-09

Full name: Eugene Richard Michael

📋 View Manager Career

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Batting Statistics

Gene Michael — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
973 2,806 249 642 86 12 15 226 22 234 421 .229 .288 .284 .572 -6,769

Career AVG .229 vs. league average .250 across their career seasons — 8.4% below league average.

Career OBP .288 vs. league average .317 across their career seasons — 9.1% below league average.

Career SLG .284 vs. league average .368 across their career seasons — 22.7% below league average.

Career OPS .572 vs. league average .685 across their career seasons — 16.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Gene Michael 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
1966 PIT NL 30 33 9 5 2 1 0 2 0 0 7 .152 — — — — 0.0
1967 LAN NL 98 223 20 45 3 1 0 7 1 11 30 .202 .242 (-17%) .306 (-20%) .357 (-37%) .663 (-29%) -937.9
1968 NYA AL 61 116 8 23 3 0 1 8 3 2 23 .198 .236 (-16%) .298 (-27%) .340 (-27%) .638 (-27%) -452.8
1969 NYA AL 119 412 41 112 24 4 2 31 7 43 56 .272 .248 (+10%) .320 (+6%) .369 (-1%) .689 (+2%) 194.1
1970 NYA AL 134 435 42 93 10 1 2 38 3 50 93 .214 .253 (-16%) .325 (-10%) .385 (-34%) .711 (-23%) -1501.7
1971 NYA AL 139 456 36 102 15 0 3 35 3 48 64 .224 .249 (-10%) .316 (-5%) .365 (-24%) .682 (-16%) -994.1
1972 NYA AL 126 391 29 91 7 4 1 32 4 32 45 .233 .243 (-5%) .310 (-7%) .353 (-21%) .664 (-14%) -827.1
1973 NYA AL 129 418 30 94 11 1 3 47 1 26 51 .225 .256 (-12%) .325 (-17%) .378 (-27%) .703 (-22%) -1454.2
1974 NYA AL 81 177 19 46 9 0 0 13 0 14 24 .260 .256 (+1%) .324 (-4%) .369 (-16%) .693 (-10%) -269.4
1975 DET AL 56 145 15 31 2 0 3 13 0 8 28 .214 .257 (-17%) .327 (-23%) .374 (-23%) .701 (-23%) -526.3
Career · 10 seasons 973 2,806 249 642 86 12 15 226 22 234 421 .229 — — — — -6,769

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

Gene Michael — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3.0 5 0 0 0 3 0.00 0.0

Career ERA 0.00 vs. league average 2.98 across their career seasons — 100.0% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Gene Michael — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1968 NYA AL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3.0 5 0 0 3 0.00 — 0.0
Career · 1 season 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3.0 5 0 0 3 0.00 — 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 (974 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Gene Michael — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home47112701243047126.239
Away50215351253388100.220

Pitching — Home / Away

Gene Michael — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home13.050030.00

Last 10 Games — Batting

Gene Michael — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1975-09-09 DETNYYL 301100100
1975-09-07 DETCLEL 401000000
1975-08-22 DETMINL 000000000
1975-08-20 DETOAKL 000000000
1975-08-13 DETTEXL 100000000
1975-08-11 DETTEXL 200000010
1975-08-10 DETMINL 000000000
1975-08-09 DETMINL 000000000
1975-08-08 DETMINL 000000000
1975-08-07 DETBALL 000000000

Last 1 Games — Pitching

Gene Michael — Last 1 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1968-08-26 NYYLAA — 3.0550030

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Gene Michael — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 57 48 107 139 6 35
3B 11 2 3 6 0 0
P 1 0 1 0 0 0
SS 844 754 1402 2576 155 489

Season-by-Season Fielding

Gene Michael — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1966 PIT 2B 2 0 1 1 0 0
1966 PIT 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1966 PIT SS 8 4 9 19 3 7
1967 LAN SS 83 66 117 204 17 30
1968 NYA P 1 0 1 0 0 0
1968 NYA SS 43 37 67 103 11 15
1969 NYA SS 118 112 205 365 19 64
1970 NYA 2B 3 3 11 9 0 1
1970 NYA 3B 4 1 0 2 0 0
1970 NYA SS 123 120 248 379 28 78
1971 NYA SS 136 128 243 474 20 88
1972 NYA SS 121 116 218 437 21 89
1973 NYA SS 129 127 208 433 23 84
1974 NYA 2B 45 39 86 106 6 29
1974 NYA 3B 2 0 1 1 0 0
1974 NYA SS 39 13 35 63 3 11
1975 DET 2B 7 6 9 23 0 5
1975 DET 3B 4 1 2 3 0 0
1975 DET SS 44 31 52 99 10 23

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Gene Michael Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 1
Second Base 58
Third Base 11
Shortstop 844

College History

Gene Michael — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Kent State University Kent OH 1958

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Gene Michael (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Woody Woodward
    .236 avg, 1 HR
  2. 94
    Tom Veryzer
    .241 avg, 14 HR
  3. 91
    Hal Janvrin
    .232 avg, 6 HR
  4. 91
    Darrel Chaney
    .217 avg, 14 HR
  5. 91
    Frank Duffy
    .232 avg, 26 HR
  6. 87
    Johnnie LeMaster
    .222 avg, 22 HR

Gene Michael: the record in brief

July 15, 1966 and September 9, 1975 bracket Gene Michael's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The season rows list, in order, the Pittsburgh Pirates (1966), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1967), the New York Yankees (1968 to 1974), and the Detroit Tigers (1975). At 6 feet, 2 inches and 183 pounds, Michael is listed as a shortstop. Michael switch-hit and threw right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is June 2, 1938, in Kent, OH, USA. The bio records the death on September 7, 2017, in Oldsmar, FL, USA. Gene Michael was the playing name; the full given name is Eugene Richard.

Michael finished with 642 hits from 2,806 at bats in 973 games, which works out to .229; the totals also include 15 homers, 226 RBI, and 22 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .288 and the slugging percentage .284, for an OPS of .572. Michael's .229 average ran 8.4% below the .250 that the league posted over the same seasons. No season topped the 112 hits of 1969.

Frequently Asked Questions about Gene Michael

What years did Gene Michael play?
Gene Michael played in Major League Baseball from 1966 to 1975.
Was Gene Michael a pitcher?
No. Gene Michael was a position player (Shortstop), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
How many home runs did Gene Michael hit?
Gene Michael hit 15 career home runs with 642 hits.
What was Gene Michael's career batting average?
Gene Michael batted .229 over his career, with 642 hits in 2,806 at bats.
How many RBI did Gene Michael have?
Gene Michael drove in 226 runs in his career.
What was Gene Michael's career ERA?
Gene Michael finished with a 0.00 career ERA, going 0-0 with 3 strikeouts.