Johnny Pesky

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1942-1954)

AVG .307
HR 17
RBI 404
H 1,455
OPS .780
PIV 11,473
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
5'9" / 168 lb
Born
2/27/1919 in Portland, OR, USA
Died
8/13/2012 in Danvers, MA, USA
MLB Debut
1942-04-14
Last Game
1954-09-24
Awards
All-Star

Full name: John Michael Pesky

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,270 4,745 867 1,455 226 50 17 404 53 662 218 .307 .394 .386 .780 11,473

Career AVG .307 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — +17.8% above league average.

Career OBP .394 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — +17.7% above league average.

Career SLG .386 vs. league average .378 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .780 vs. league average .713 across their career seasons — +9.4% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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
1942 BOS AL 147 620 105 205 29 9 2 51 12 42 36 .331 .253 (+30%) .323 (+16%) .349 (+19%) .672 (+18%) 2000.9
1946 BOS AL 153 621 115 208 43 4 2 55 9 65 29 .335 .256 (+30%) .328 (+22%) .358 (+19%) .687 (+20%) 2614.6
1947 BOS AL 155 638 106 207 27 8 0 39 12 72 22 .324 .262 (+24%) .336 (+17%) .376 (+4%) .712 (+10%) 1490.5
1948 BOS AL 143 565 124 159 26 6 3 55 3 99 32 .281 .263 (+7%) .340 (+16%) .379 (-4%) .719 (+5%) 1038.6
1949 BOS AL 148 604 111 185 27 7 2 69 8 100 19 .306 .262 (+17%) .343 (+19%) .384 (avg) .727 (+9%) 1502.0
1950 BOS AL 127 490 112 153 22 6 1 49 2 104 31 .312 .265 (+17%) .346 (+26%) .401 (-3%) .747 (+10%) 1600.9
1951 BOS AL 131 480 93 150 20 6 3 41 2 84 15 .312 .260 (+20%) .336 (+24%) .385 (+3%) .721 (+13%) 1609.3
1952 BOS AL 25 67 10 10 2 0 0 2 0 15 5 .149 .252 (-41%) .326 (-4%) .369 (-52%) .696 (-29%) -251.4
1952 DET AL 69 177 26 45 4 0 1 9 1 41 11 .254 .252 (+1%) .326 (+21%) .369 (-21%) .696 (-1%) -251.4
1953 DET AL 103 308 43 90 22 1 2 24 3 27 10 .292 .264 (+11%) .335 (+5%) .397 (-2%) .733 (+1%) 89.3
1954 DET AL 20 17 5 3 0 0 1 1 0 3 1 .176 — — — — 0.0
1954 WS1 AL 49 158 17 40 4 3 0 9 1 10 7 .253 .261 (-3%) .333 (-11%) .390 (-19%) .723 (-15%) 0.0
Career · 12 seasons 1,270 4,745 867 1,455 226 50 17 404 53 662 218 .307 — — — — 11,443

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
7 30 2 7 0 0 0 0 1 3 .233

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1946 WS BOS 7 30 2 7 0 0 0 0 1 3 .233

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1269 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home637236848175510236.319
Away63223733846997168.295

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1954-09-24 MINBOSW 000000000
1954-09-18 MINBOSW 010000010
1954-08-30 MINBALL 100000000
1954-08-29 MINBALL 100000000
1954-08-29 MINBALL 100000000
1954-08-22 MINPHAL 111000000
1954-08-18 MINBOSL 100000000
1954-08-17 MINBOSL 100000000
1954-08-14 MINPHAL 100000000
1954-08-11 MINBOSL 400000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 137 35 290 321 9 86
3B 460 0 522 983 58 121
SS 591 0 1175 1810 111 387

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1942 BOS SS 147 0 320 465 37 94
1946 BOS SS 153 0 296 479 25 96
1947 BOS 3B 22 0 25 38 1 7
1947 BOS SS 133 0 251 391 16 90
1948 BOS 3B 141 0 121 303 22 35
1949 BOS 3B 148 0 184 333 16 48
1950 BOS 3B 116 0 160 257 11 29
1950 BOS SS 8 0 23 32 2 7
1951 BOS 2B 5 0 5 11 0 3
1951 BOS 3B 11 0 14 19 4 2
1951 BOS SS 106 0 204 340 22 74
1952 BOS 3B 19 0 16 28 4 0
1952 BOS SS 2 0 3 2 0 1
1952 DET 2B 22 0 27 36 2 12
1952 DET 3B 3 0 2 5 0 0
1952 DET SS 41 0 78 101 9 25
1953 DET 2B 73 0 166 183 3 49
1954 WS1 2B 37 35 92 91 4 22
1954 WS1 SS 1 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Second Base 140
Third Base 459
Shortstop 589

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1946 TSN All-Star SS
1942 TSN All-Star SS

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1951 Most Valuable Player AL 26th 5.0 336 0
1947 Most Valuable Player AL 18th 11.0 336 0
1946 Most Valuable Player AL 4th 141.0 336 2
1942 Most Valuable Player AL 3rd 143.0 336 2

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Johnny Pesky (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Billy Goodman
    .300 avg, 19 HR
  2. 97
    Earl Sheely
    .300 avg, 48 HR
  3. 91
    Dave Magadan
    .288 avg, 42 HR
  4. 90
    Kevin Seitzer
    .295 avg, 74 HR
  5. 88
    Cecil Travis
    .314 avg, 27 HR
  6. 87
    Woody English
    .286 avg, 32 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Johnny Pesky

What years did Johnny Pesky play?
Johnny Pesky played in Major League Baseball from 1942 to 1954.
Was Johnny Pesky a pitcher?
No. Johnny Pesky was a position player (Shortstop).
How many home runs did Johnny Pesky hit?
Johnny Pesky hit 17 career home runs with 1455 hits.