What years did Bill North play?

Bill North played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1981.

Was Bill North a pitcher?

No. Bill North was a position player (Outfielder).

How many home runs did Bill North hit?

Bill North hit 20 career home runs with 1016 hits.

What was Bill North's career batting average?

Bill North batted .261 over his career, with 1,016 hits in 3,900 at bats.

How many RBI did Bill North have?

Bill North drove in 230 runs in his career.

Is Bill North in the Hall of Fame?

No. Bill North has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Bill North

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1971-1981)

Bill North was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1981 for 4 teams, including the Chicago Cubs, a span of 11 seasons. In 1,169 career games, he hit .261 with 1,016 hits, 20 home runs, and 230 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 1,449.

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 October 12, 2026

AVG .261

HR 20

RBI 230

H 1,016

OPS .688

PIV 1,449

Position: Outfielder
Bats / Throws: B / R
Height / Weight: 5'11" / 185 lb
Born: 5/15/1948 in Seattle, WA, USA
MLB Debut: 1971-09-03
Last Game: 1981-06-11

Full name: William Alex North

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Career Batting Statistics

Bill North — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1,169	3,900	640	1,016	120	31	20	230	395	627	665	.261	.365	.323	.688	1,449

Career AVG .261 vs. league average .257 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .365 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — +13.0% above league average.

Career SLG .323 vs. league average .377 across their career seasons — 14.4% below league average.

Career OPS .688 vs. league average .700 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill North 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
1971	CHN	NL	8	16	3	6	0	0	0	0	1	4	6	.375	—	—	—	—	0.0
1972	CHN	NL	66	127	22	23	2	3	0	4	6	13	33	.181	.243 (-26%)	.310 (-15%)	.353 (-31%)	.664 (-24%)	-438.7
1973	OAK	AL	146	554	98	158	10	5	5	34	53	78	89	.285	.256 (+11%)	.325 (+16%)	.378 (-8%)	.703 (+3%)	706.4
1974	OAK	AL	149	543	79	141	20	5	4	33	54	69	86	.260	.256 (+1%)	.324 (+7%)	.369 (-9%)	.693 (-1%)	78.3
1975	OAK	AL	140	524	74	143	17	5	1	43	30	81	80	.273	.257 (+6%)	.327 (+14%)	.374 (-12%)	.701 (avg)	396.1
1976	OAK	AL	154	590	91	163	20	5	2	31	75	73	95	.276	.255 (+8%)	.320 (+11%)	.360 (-7%)	.681 (+2%)	456.0
1977	OAK	AL	56	184	32	48	3	3	1	9	17	32	25	.261	.264 (-1%)	.329 (+14%)	.401 (-19%)	.730 (-4%)	25.2
1978	OAK	AL	24	52	5	11	4	0	0	5	3	9	13	.212	.257 (-18%)	.323 (+6%)	.378 (-24%)	.702 (-10%)	-49.1
1978	LAN	NL	110	304	54	71	10	0	0	10	27	65	48	.234	.257 (-9%)	.323 (+15%)	.378 (-30%)	.702 (-9%)	-49.1
1979	SFN	NL	142	460	87	119	15	4	5	30	58	96	84	.259	.265 (-3%)	.329 (+17%)	.397 (-14%)	.727 (avg)	475.8
1980	SFN	NL	128	415	73	104	12	1	1	19	45	81	78	.251	.264 (-5%)	.326 (+14%)	.387 (-25%)	.714 (-7%)	-77.1
1981	SFN	NL	46	131	22	29	7	0	1	12	26	26	28	.221	.255 (-13%)	.320 (+11%)	.368 (-19%)	.688 (-5%)	-1.3
Career · 12 seasons			1,169	3,900	640	1,016	120	31	20	230	395	627	665	.261	—	—	—	—	1,522

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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Bill North — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
20	59	8	3	2	0	0	3	7	7	.051

Playoff Batting by Year

Bill North — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1978	NLCS	LAN	4	8	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000
1978	WS	LAN	4	8	2	1	1	2	1	0	.125
1975	ALCS	OAK	3	10	0	0	0	1	2	0	.000
1974	ALCS	OAK	4	16	3	1	1	0	2	1	.062
1974	WS	OAK	5	17	3	1	0	0	2	5	.059

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1169 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bill North — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	572	1853	323	498	9	102	.269
Away	597	2047	317	518	11	128	.253

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bill North — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO
1981-06-11	SFG	CHC	L	2	0	0	0	1	0
1981-06-10	SFG	CHC	L	1	0	0	0	0	0
1981-06-09	SFG	CHC	L	3	0	0	0	1	2
1981-06-07	SFG	PIT	L	4	0	0	0	0	1
1981-06-06	SFG	PIT	L	3	1	1	0	1	2
1981-06-05	SFG	PIT	W	4	1	0	0	1	3
1981-06-03	SFG	CIN	L	1	0	0	0	0	0
1981-06-01	SFG	CIN	L	0	1	0	0	1	0
1981-05-30	SFG	HOU	L	3	0	0	0	0	1
1981-05-29	SFG	HOU	W	3	0	2	1	0	1

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bill North — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
OF	1066	991	2820	63	57	15

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bill North — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1971	CHN	OF	6	5	4	0	0	0
1972	CHN	OF	48	26	61	3	3	1
1973	OAK	OF	138	136	429	14	9	5
1974	OAK	OF	138	134	437	9	4	2
1975	OAK	OF	138	134	420	10	11	1
1976	OAK	OF	144	142	397	8	9	1
1977	OAK	OF	52	50	112	1	2	0
1978	OAK	OF	17	13	31	1	0	0
1978	LAN	OF	103	82	232	2	6	1
1979	SFN	OF	130	126	300	8	4	2
1980	SFN	OF	115	108	313	6	6	1
1981	SFN	OF	37	35	84	1	3	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bill North Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Left Field	15
Center Field	1023
Right Field	29
Designated Hitter	24

College History

Bill North — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Central Washington University	Ellensburg	WA	1967, 1968, 1969

Award Voting History

Bill North — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1973	Most Valuable Player	AL	29th	3.0	336	0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

Bill North: the record in brief

According to the bio, Bill North debuted on September 3, 1971 and played a final game on June 11, 1981. The season rows list, in order, the Chicago Cubs (1971 to 1972), the Oakland Athletics (1973 through 1978), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1978), and the San Francisco Giants (1979 to 1981). At 5'11" and 185 pounds, North is listed as an outfielder. North switch-hit and threw right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is May 15, 1948, in Seattle, WA, USA. On the record, Bill North was born William Alex North.

North collected 1,016 hits in 3,900 at bats across 1,169 games, good for a .261 batting average, plus 20 homers, 230 runs batted in, and 395 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .365 and the slugging percentage .323, for an OPS of .688. Against a .257 league average for those years, North's .261 average was near the norm. 1976 produced North's most hits, 163 of them for the Oakland Athletics. The RBI column peaks at 43 in 1975.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bill North

What years did Bill North play?: Bill North played in Major League Baseball from 1971 to 1981.
Was Bill North a pitcher?: No. Bill North was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Bill North hit?: Bill North hit 20 career home runs with 1016 hits.
What was Bill North's career batting average?: Bill North batted .261 over his career, with 1,016 hits in 3,900 at bats.
How many RBI did Bill North have?: Bill North drove in 230 runs in his career.
Is Bill North in the Hall of Fame?: No. Bill North has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.