Rusty Peters
Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1936-1947)
Rusty Peters was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1936 to 1947 for the Philadelphia Athletics, the Cleveland Guardians, and the St. Louis Browns, a span of 12 seasons. In 471 career games, he hit .236 with 289 hits, 8 home runs, and 117 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
- Second Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 170 lb
- Died
- 2/21/2003 in Harrisonburg, VA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1936-04-14
- Last Game
- 1947-09-28
Full name: Russell Dixon Peters
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 471 | 1,222 | 123 | 289 | 53 | 16 | 8 | 117 | 9 | 98 | 199 | .236 | .295 | .326 | .620 | -2,361 |
Career AVG .236 vs. league average .265 across their career seasons — 10.8% below league average.
Career OBP .295 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — 11.8% below league average.
Career SLG .326 vs. league average .374 across their career seasons — 13.0% below league average.
Career OPS .620 vs. league average .708 across their career seasons — 12.4% below 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | PHA | AL | 45 | 119 | 12 | 26 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 28 | .218 | .283 (-23%) | .349 (-30%) | .404 (-13%) | .753 (-21%) | -451.7 |
| 1937 | PHA | AL | 116 | 339 | 39 | 88 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 43 | 4 | 41 | 59 | .260 | .276 (-6%) | .342 (-1%) | .398 (-7%) | .740 (-4%) | -203.5 |
| 1938 | PHA | AL | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1940 | CLE | AL | 30 | 71 | 5 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 14 | .239 | .267 (-10%) | .335 (-16%) | .387 (-13%) | .722 (-15%) | -185.8 |
| 1941 | CLE | AL | 29 | 63 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 10 | .206 | .262 (-21%) | .332 (-14%) | .373 (-36%) | .705 (-26%) | -242.5 |
| 1942 | CLE | AL | 34 | 58 | 6 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 14 | .224 | .253 (-12%) | .323 (-23%) | .349 (-1%) | .672 (-12%) | -132.6 |
| 1943 | CLE | AL | 79 | 215 | 22 | 47 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 18 | 29 | .219 | .255 (-15%) | .324 (-13%) | .346 (-19%) | .671 (-16%) | -533.7 |
| 1944 | CLE | AL | 88 | 282 | 23 | 63 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 2 | 15 | 35 | .223 | .261 (-15%) | .325 (-18%) | .357 (-16%) | .683 (-17%) | -769.1 |
| 1946 | CLE | AL | 9 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .286 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1947 | SLA | AL | 39 | 47 | 10 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 8 | .340 | — | — | — | — | 157.8 |
| Career · 10 seasons | 471 | 1,222 | 123 | 289 | 53 | 16 | 8 | 117 | 9 | 98 | 199 | .236 | — | — | — | — | -2,361 | ||
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 (472 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 244 | 604 | 64 | 141 | 2 | 58 | .233 |
| Away | 228 | 618 | 59 | 148 | 6 | 59 | .239 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947-09-28 | SLA | CHW | L | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-09-22 | SLA | CHW | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-09-14 | SLA | NYY | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1947-08-31 | SLA | DET | L | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-08-31 | SLA | DET | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-08-27 | SLA | NYY | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-08-24 | SLA | MIN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1947-08-23 | SLA | PHA | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-08-17 | SLA | CLE | W | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-08-14 | SLA | DET | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2B | 166 | 0 | 356 | 411 | 27 | 97 |
| 3B | 111 | 0 | 99 | 202 | 35 | 19 |
| OF | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SS | 117 | 0 | 154 | 223 | 28 | 43 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | PHA | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1936 | PHA | 3B | 10 | 0 | 7 | 29 | 3 | 3 |
| 1936 | PHA | OF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1936 | PHA | SS | 25 | 0 | 44 | 53 | 11 | 12 |
| 1937 | PHA | 2B | 70 | 0 | 138 | 170 | 11 | 34 |
| 1937 | PHA | 3B | 31 | 0 | 37 | 54 | 13 | 2 |
| 1937 | PHA | SS | 13 | 0 | 16 | 42 | 5 | 3 |
| 1938 | PHA | SS | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1940 | CLE | 1B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1940 | CLE | 2B | 9 | 0 | 24 | 23 | 4 | 7 |
| 1940 | CLE | 3B | 6 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 4 | 1 |
| 1940 | CLE | SS | 6 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1941 | CLE | 2B | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 1941 | CLE | 3B | 9 | 0 | 9 | 15 | 4 | 2 |
| 1941 | CLE | SS | 11 | 0 | 13 | 28 | 5 | 5 |
| 1942 | CLE | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942 | CLE | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942 | CLE | SS | 24 | 0 | 21 | 46 | 4 | 8 |
| 1943 | CLE | 2B | 6 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| 1943 | CLE | 3B | 46 | 0 | 39 | 76 | 11 | 9 |
| 1943 | CLE | OF | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1943 | CLE | SS | 14 | 0 | 17 | 16 | 0 | 7 |
| 1944 | CLE | 2B | 63 | 0 | 151 | 181 | 8 | 45 |
| 1944 | CLE | 3B | 8 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 2 |
| 1944 | CLE | SS | 13 | 0 | 25 | 16 | 1 | 5 |
| 1946 | CLE | SS | 7 | 0 | 11 | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| 1947 | SLA | 2B | 13 | 0 | 34 | 29 | 3 | 8 |
| 1947 | SLA | SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 1 |
| Second Base | 165 |
| Third Base | 111 |
| Shortstop | 119 |
| Left Field | 4 |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington and Lee University | Lexington | VA | 1934 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Rusty Peters (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Rusty Peters: the record in brief
April 14, 1936 and September 28, 1947 bracket Rusty Peters's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Club by club, the record runs the Philadelphia Athletics (1936 to 1938), the Cleveland Indians (1940 through 1946), and the St. Louis Browns (1947). The bio lists Peters as a second baseman who both batted and threw right-handed. Height and weight on file: 5'11" and 170 pounds. The birth record reads December 14, 1914, in Roanoke, VA, USA. Peters died on February 21, 2003, in Harrisonburg, VA, USA. Rusty Peters was the playing name; the full given name is Russell Dixon.
Peters finished with 289 hits from 1,222 at bats in 471 games, which works out to .236, along with 8 homers and 117 RBI. Peters's career OPS of .620 combines a .295 on-base mark with .326 slugging. Set against a .265 league average for the same years, Peters's .236 average sits 10.8% below it. In OPS terms, Peters's .620 stands 12.4% below the league's .708. No season topped the 88 hits of 1937. 1937 brought the most runs batted in, 43.
Frequently Asked Questions about Rusty Peters
- What years did Rusty Peters play?
- Rusty Peters played in Major League Baseball from 1936 to 1947.
- Was Rusty Peters a pitcher?
- No. Rusty Peters was a position player (Second Baseman).
- How many home runs did Rusty Peters hit?
- Rusty Peters hit 8 career home runs with 289 hits.
- What was Rusty Peters's career batting average?
- Rusty Peters batted .236 over his career, with 289 hits in 1,222 at bats.
- How many RBI did Rusty Peters have?
- Rusty Peters drove in 117 runs in his career.
- Is Rusty Peters in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Rusty Peters has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.