Les Moss
Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1946-1958)
Les Moss was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1946 to 1958 for 4 teams, including the St. Louis Browns, a span of 13 seasons. In 824 career games, he hit .247 with 552 hits, 63 home runs, and 276 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
- Position
- Catcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 205 lb
- Died
- 8/29/2012 in Longwood, FL, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1946-09-10
- Last Game
- 1958-09-01
Full name: John Lester Moss
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 824 | 2,234 | 210 | 552 | 75 | 4 | 63 | 276 | 1 | 282 | 316 | .247 | .333 | .369 | .702 | -694 |
Career AVG .247 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .333 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .369 vs. league average .385 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OPS .702 vs. league average .719 across their career seasons — near 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | SLA | AL | 12 | 35 | 4 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 5 | .371 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1947 | SLA | AL | 96 | 274 | 17 | 43 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 27 | 0 | 35 | 48 | .157 | .262 (-40%) | .336 (-24%) | .376 (-32%) | .712 (-28%) | -1238.2 |
| 1948 | SLA | AL | 107 | 335 | 35 | 86 | 12 | 1 | 14 | 46 | 0 | 39 | 50 | .257 | .263 (-3%) | .340 (-2%) | .379 (+12%) | .719 (+5%) | 320.2 |
| 1949 | SLA | AL | 97 | 278 | 28 | 81 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 39 | 0 | 49 | 32 | .291 | .262 (+11%) | .343 (+16%) | .384 (+14%) | .727 (+15%) | 953.0 |
| 1950 | SLA | AL | 84 | 222 | 24 | 59 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 34 | 0 | 26 | 32 | .266 | .265 (avg) | .346 (-1%) | .401 (avg) | .747 (-1%) | -8.1 |
| 1951 | SLA | AL | 16 | 47 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 8 | .170 | — | — | — | — | -190.7 |
| 1951 | BOS | AL | 71 | 202 | 18 | 40 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 26 | 0 | 25 | 34 | .198 | .260 (-24%) | .336 (-14%) | .385 (-29%) | .721 (-22%) | -190.7 |
| 1952 | SLA | AL | 52 | 118 | 11 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 15 | 13 | .246 | .252 (-3%) | .326 (+1%) | .369 (-6%) | .696 (-3%) | -25.0 |
| 1953 | SLA | AL | 78 | 239 | 21 | 66 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 28 | 0 | 18 | 31 | .276 | .264 (+5%) | .335 (-2%) | .397 (-7%) | .733 (-5%) | -197.1 |
| 1954 | BAL | AL | 50 | 126 | 7 | 31 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 16 | .246 | .261 (-6%) | .333 (-4%) | .390 (-31%) | .723 (-18%) | -323.2 |
| 1955 | BAL | AL | 29 | 56 | 5 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 4 | .339 | .258 (+31%) | .332 (+24%) | .393 (+18%) | .726 (+21%) | 222.5 |
| 1955 | CHA | AL | 32 | 59 | 5 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 10 | .254 | .258 (-2%) | .332 (avg) | .393 (-1%) | .726 (avg) | 222.5 |
| 1956 | CHA | AL | 56 | 127 | 20 | 31 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 22 | 0 | 18 | 15 | .244 | .258 (-5%) | .331 (+2%) | .397 (+29%) | .728 (+17%) | 375.1 |
| 1957 | CHA | AL | 42 | 115 | 10 | 31 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 20 | 18 | .270 | .257 (+5%) | .323 (+16%) | .391 (-11%) | .715 (+1%) | 103.1 |
| 1958 | CHA | AL | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 15 seasons | 824 | 2,234 | 210 | 552 | 75 | 4 | 63 | 276 | 1 | 282 | 316 | .247 | — | — | — | — | 23 | ||
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 (824 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 411 | 1102 | 93 | 257 | 24 | 131 | .233 |
| Away | 413 | 1132 | 117 | 295 | 39 | 145 | .261 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958-09-01 | CHW | CLE | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1958-06-22 | CHW | BAL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1957-08-30 | CHW | KC1 | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1957-08-18 | CHW | DET | L | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1957-08-16 | CHW | DET | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1957-08-15 | CHW | CLE | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1957-08-11 | CHW | DET | W | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1957-08-02 | CHW | BOS | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1957-07-31 | CHW | MIN | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1957-07-30 | CHW | MIN | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | SLA | C | 12 | 0 | 55 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| 1947 | SLA | C | 96 | 0 | 362 | 43 | 7 | 6 |
| 1948 | SLA | C | 103 | 0 | 357 | 52 | 5 | 8 |
| 1949 | SLA | C | 83 | 0 | 283 | 41 | 10 | 9 |
| 1950 | SLA | C | 60 | 0 | 204 | 20 | 10 | 4 |
| 1951 | SLA | C | 12 | 0 | 50 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| 1951 | BOS | C | 69 | 0 | 285 | 28 | 5 | 4 |
| 1952 | SLA | C | 39 | 0 | 118 | 17 | 6 | 3 |
| 1953 | SLA | C | 71 | 0 | 296 | 21 | 7 | 4 |
| 1954 | BAL | C | 38 | 31 | 159 | 16 | 5 | 4 |
| 1955 | BAL | C | 17 | 12 | 66 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| 1955 | CHA | C | 32 | 13 | 90 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 1956 | CHA | C | 49 | 30 | 149 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| 1957 | CHA | C | 39 | 34 | 138 | 8 | 3 | 2 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 721 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Les Moss (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Les Moss: the record in brief
Les Moss played a first major league game on September 10, 1946 and a last one on September 1, 1958. Club by club, the record runs the St. Louis Browns (1946 to 1953), the Boston Red Sox (1951), the Baltimore Orioles (1954 through 1955), and the Chicago White Sox (1955 through 1958). The bio lists Moss as a catcher who threw and hit right-handed. The recorded size is 5 feet, 11 inches and 205 pounds. The birth record reads May 14, 1925, in Tulsa, OK, USA. Moss died on August 29, 2012, in Longwood, FL, USA. Les Moss was the playing name; the full given name is John Lester.
Moss's career batting table shows 824 games, 2,234 at bats and 552 hits, a .247 average, adding 63 home runs and 276 RBI. On-base and slugging figures of .333 and .369 give Moss a career OPS of .702. Moss hit .247 while the league hit .260 over the same span, a figure close to average. Moss's most home runs in a season came in 1948, when the total reached 14 for the St. Louis Browns. No season topped the 86 hits of 1948.
Frequently Asked Questions about Les Moss
- What years did Les Moss play?
- Les Moss played in Major League Baseball from 1946 to 1958.
- Was Les Moss a pitcher?
- No. Les Moss was a position player (Catcher).
- How many home runs did Les Moss hit?
- Les Moss hit 63 career home runs with 552 hits.
- What was Les Moss's career batting average?
- Les Moss batted .247 over his career, with 552 hits in 2,234 at bats.
- How many RBI did Les Moss have?
- Les Moss drove in 276 runs in his career.
- Is Les Moss in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Les Moss has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.