Babe Phelps
Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1931-1942)
Babe Phelps was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1931 to 1942 for 4 teams, including the Washington Senators, a span of 12 seasons. In 726 career games, he hit .310 with 657 hits, 54 home runs, and 345 RBI. Babe Phelps was a 3-time All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 5,478.
- 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
- L / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'2" / 225 lb
- Died
- 12/10/1992 in Odenton, MD, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1931-09-17
- Last Game
- 1942-09-27
- Awards
- 3× All-Star
Full name: Ernest Gordon Phelps
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 726 | 2,117 | 239 | 657 | 143 | 19 | 54 | 345 | 9 | 160 | 157 | .310 | .362 | .472 | .835 | 5,478 |
Career AVG .310 vs. league average .272 across their career seasons — +14.0% above league average.
Career OBP .362 vs. league average .338 across their career seasons — +7.2% above league average.
Career SLG .472 vs. league average .387 across their career seasons — +22.1% above league average.
Career OPS .835 vs. league average .725 across their career seasons — +15.2% above 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | WS1 | AL | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1933 | CHN | NL | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .286 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1934 | CHN | NL | 44 | 70 | 7 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 8 | .286 | .278 (+3%) | .340 (-13%) | .392 (+27%) | .733 (+9%) | 52.6 |
| 1935 | BRO | NL | 47 | 121 | 17 | 44 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 0 | 9 | 10 | .364 | .279 (+30%) | .342 (+19%) | .399 (+45%) | .742 (+33%) | 680.3 |
| 1936 | BRO | NL | 115 | 319 | 36 | 117 | 23 | 2 | 5 | 57 | 1 | 27 | 18 | .367 | .283 (+29%) | .349 (+20%) | .404 (+23%) | .753 (+22%) | 1460.7 |
| 1937 | BRO | NL | 121 | 409 | 42 | 128 | 37 | 3 | 7 | 58 | 2 | 25 | 28 | .313 | .276 (+13%) | .342 (+4%) | .398 (+18%) | .740 (+12%) | 844.6 |
| 1938 | BRO | NL | 66 | 208 | 33 | 64 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 46 | 2 | 23 | 15 | .308 | .272 (+13%) | .341 (+11%) | .392 (+16%) | .734 (+14%) | 541.3 |
| 1939 | BRO | NL | 98 | 323 | 33 | 92 | 21 | 2 | 6 | 42 | 0 | 24 | 24 | .285 | .274 (+4%) | .342 (-2%) | .393 (+6%) | .735 (+3%) | 105.6 |
| 1940 | BRO | NL | 118 | 370 | 47 | 109 | 24 | 5 | 13 | 61 | 2 | 30 | 27 | .295 | .267 (+10%) | .335 (+4%) | .387 (+27%) | .722 (+16%) | 1065.3 |
| 1941 | BRO | NL | 16 | 30 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .233 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1942 | PIT | NL | 95 | 257 | 21 | 73 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 41 | 2 | 20 | 24 | .284 | .253 (+12%) | .323 (+7%) | .349 (+26%) | .672 (+17%) | 727.9 |
| Career · 11 seasons | 726 | 2,117 | 239 | 657 | 143 | 19 | 54 | 345 | 9 | 160 | 157 | .310 | — | — | — | — | 5,478 | ||
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 (726 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 377 | 1058 | 124 | 344 | 33 | 216 | .325 |
| Away | 349 | 1059 | 115 | 313 | 21 | 130 | .296 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942-09-27 | PIT | CIN | W | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942-09-20 | PIT | CIN | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1942-09-20 | PIT | CIN | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1942-09-19 | PIT | CIN | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942-09-16 | PIT | BRO | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942-09-14 | PIT | NY1 | L | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942-09-13 | PIT | NY1 | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942-09-13 | PIT | NY1 | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942-09-12 | PIT | BSN | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942-09-12 | PIT | BSN | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| C | 592 | 0 | 2251 | 291 | 69 | 43 |
| OF | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | CHN | C | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1934 | CHN | C | 18 | 0 | 44 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 1935 | BRO | C | 34 | 0 | 118 | 16 | 6 | 4 |
| 1936 | BRO | C | 98 | 0 | 334 | 49 | 9 | 6 |
| 1936 | BRO | OF | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1937 | BRO | C | 111 | 0 | 465 | 76 | 16 | 10 |
| 1938 | BRO | C | 55 | 0 | 218 | 25 | 5 | 5 |
| 1939 | BRO | C | 92 | 0 | 361 | 40 | 8 | 9 |
| 1940 | BRO | 1B | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1940 | BRO | C | 99 | 0 | 428 | 35 | 11 | 3 |
| 1941 | BRO | C | 11 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1942 | PIT | C | 72 | 0 | 244 | 40 | 12 | 5 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 593 |
| First Base | 1 |
| Right Field | 1 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 18th | 3.0 | 80 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Babe Phelps (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Babe Phelps
Babe Phelps: the record in brief
According to the bio, Babe Phelps debuted on September 17, 1931 and played a final game on September 27, 1942. Club by club, the record runs the Washington Senators (1931), the Chicago Cubs (1933 to 1934), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1935 to 1941), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1942). At 6'2" and 225 pounds, Phelps is listed as a catcher. The bio says Phelps threw right-handed and batted left-handed. Phelps was born on April 16, 1908, in Odenton, MD, USA. The bio records the death on December 10, 1992, in Odenton, MD, USA. The given name on file is Ernest Gordon Phelps.
Phelps collected 657 hits in 2,117 at bats across 726 games, good for a .310 batting average, plus 54 homers and 345 runs batted in. On-base and slugging figures of .362 and .472 give Phelps a career OPS of .835. The league as a whole hit .272 across Phelps's seasons, which puts the .310 career mark 14.0% above average. The home run peak was 13 in 1940 with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Frequently Asked Questions about Babe Phelps
- What years did Babe Phelps play?
- Babe Phelps played in Major League Baseball from 1931 to 1942.
- Was Babe Phelps a pitcher?
- No. Babe Phelps was a position player (Catcher).
- How many home runs did Babe Phelps hit?
- Babe Phelps hit 54 career home runs with 657 hits.
- What was Babe Phelps's career batting average?
- Babe Phelps batted .310 over his career, with 657 hits in 2,117 at bats.
- How many RBI did Babe Phelps have?
- Babe Phelps drove in 345 runs in his career.
- Is Babe Phelps in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Babe Phelps has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.