What years did Billy Pierce play?

Billy Pierce played in Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1964.

Was Billy Pierce a pitcher?

Yes. Billy Pierce pitched in the major leagues, recording 211 wins and 1999 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Billy Pierce hit?

Billy Pierce hit 0 career home runs with 203 hits.

What teams did Billy Pierce play for?

Billy Pierce played for 3 teams: the Detroit Tigers (1945, 1948), the Chicago White Sox (1949–1961), and the San Francisco Giants (1962–1964).

Did Billy Pierce win a Cy Young Award?

No. Billy Pierce did not win the Cy Young Award.

What awards did Billy Pierce win?

Billy Pierce was selected to 7 All-Star Games.

What were Billy Pierce's career stats?

In 585 games, Billy Pierce went 211-169 with a 3.27 ERA, 1,999 strikeouts, 3,306.2 innings pitched, and 32 saves. At the plate he had 203 hits and 0 home runs.

What position did Billy Pierce play?

Billy Pierce played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Billy Pierce and how much did he weigh?

Billy Pierce was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 160 pounds.

What was Billy Pierce's career ERA?

Billy Pierce finished with a 3.27 career ERA, going 211-169 with 1,999 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Billy Pierce have?

Billy Pierce recorded 1,999 career strikeouts.

Is Billy Pierce in the Hall of Fame?

No. Billy Pierce has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

How many All-Star Games did Billy Pierce make?

Billy Pierce was selected to 7 All-Star Games.

Billy Pierce

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1945-1964)

Billy Pierce was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1964 for the Detroit Tigers, the Chicago White Sox, and the San Francisco Giants, a span of 20 seasons. Across 585 career appearances, he went 211-169 with a 3.27 ERA, 1,999 strikeouts, and 32 saves. He also batted .184 with 0 home runs. Billy Pierce was a 7-time All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 39435.4.

W (Wins):: Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):: Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):: For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):: Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated October 15, 2026

W–L 211–169

ERA 3.27

WHIP 1.26

SO 1,999

Pitcher PIV 39435.4

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / L
Height / Weight: 5'10" / 160 lb
Born: 4/2/1927 in Detroit, MI, USA
Died: 7/31/2015 in Palos Heights, IL, USA
MLB Debut: 1945-06-01
Last Game: 1964-10-03
Awards: 7× All-Star

Full name: Walter William Pierce

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Career Pitching Statistics

Billy Pierce — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
211	169	585	432	193	38	32	3306.2	2,989	1,201	284	1,178	1,999	3.27	39435.4

Career ERA 3.27 vs. league average 3.90 across their career seasons — 16.2% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Billy Pierce Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1945	DET	AL	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	10.0	6	2	10	10	1.80	3.67 (+51%)	-412.6
1948	DET	AL	3	0	22	5	0	0	0	55.1	47	39	51	36	6.34	4.10 (-55%)	-1885.6
1949	CHA	AL	7	15	32	26	8	0	0	171.2	145	74	112	95	3.88	4.12 (+6%)	-328.7
1950	CHA	AL	12	16	33	29	15	1	1	219.1	189	97	137	118	3.98	4.36 (+9%)	1708.7
1951	CHA	AL	15	14	37	28	18	1	2	240.1	237	81	73	113	3.03	4.04 (+25%)	5182.8
1952	CHA	AL	15	12	33	32	14	4	1	255.1	214	73	79	144	2.57	3.70 (+31%)	5830.5
1953	CHA	AL	18	12	40	33	19	7	3	271.1	216	82	102	186	2.72	4.14 (+34%)	5731.0
1954	CHA	AL	9	10	36	26	12	4	3	188.2	179	73	86	148	3.48	3.90 (+11%)	3040.7
1955	CHA	AL	15	10	33	26	16	6	1	205.2	162	45	64	157	1.97	4.00 (+51%)	6275.5
1956	CHA	AL	20	9	35	33	21	1	1	276.1	261	102	100	192	3.32	3.96 (+16%)	5399.6
1957	CHA	AL	20	12	37	34	16	4	2	257.0	228	93	71	171	3.26	3.83 (+15%)	6485.5
1958	CHA	AL	17	11	35	32	19	3	2	245.0	204	73	66	144	2.68	3.86 (+31%)	-66.0
1959	CHA	AL	14	15	34	33	12	2	0	224.0	217	90	62	114	3.62	3.90 (+7%)	-3.5
1960	CHA	AL	14	7	32	30	8	1	0	196.1	201	79	46	108	3.62	3.82 (+5%)	503.1
1961	CHA	AL	10	9	39	28	5	1	3	180.0	190	76	54	106	3.80	4.03 (+6%)	2266.7
1962	SFN	NL	16	6	30	23	7	2	1	162.1	147	63	35	76	3.49	3.96 (+12%)	212.2
1963	SFN	NL	3	11	38	13	3	1	8	99.0	106	47	20	52	4.27	3.46 (-24%)	-449.7
1964	SFN	NL	3	0	34	1	0	0	4	49.0	40	12	10	29	2.20	3.58 (+38%)	-54.9
Career · 18 seasons			211	169	585	432	193	38	32	3,306.2	2,989	1,201	1,178	1,999	3.27	—	39,435

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.

Career Batting Statistics

Billy Pierce — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
616	1,102	94	203	13	4	0	69	1	65	232	.184	.232	.203	.435	-6,624

Career AVG .184 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — 28.6% below league average.

Career OBP .232 vs. league average .329 across their career seasons — 29.4% below league average.

Career SLG .203 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — 47.4% below league average.

Career OPS .435 vs. league average .715 across their career seasons — 39.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Billy Pierce Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1945	DET	AL	5	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1948	DET	AL	22	17	5	5	0	2	2	0	0	4	.294	—	—	—	—	0.0
1949	CHA	AL	39	51	7	9	0	0	2	0	5	15	.176	.262 (-33%)	.343 (-27%)	.384 (-54%)	.727 (-41%)	-334.1
1950	CHA	AL	40	77	10	20	3	0	6	0	6	13	.260	.265 (-2%)	.346 (-7%)	.401 (-26%)	.747 (-17%)	-208.0
1951	CHA	AL	39	79	10	16	1	0	3	0	9	17	.203	.260 (-22%)	.336 (-16%)	.385 (-44%)	.721 (-31%)	-371.8
1952	CHA	AL	35	91	11	17	1	0	3	0	6	20	.187	.252 (-26%)	.326 (-27%)	.369 (-46%)	.696 (-38%)	-523.9
1953	CHA	AL	42	87	4	11	0	0	4	0	4	16	.126	.264 (-52%)	.335 (-48%)	.397 (-68%)	.733 (-59%)	-826.9
1954	CHA	AL	38	57	4	11	0	0	5	0	4	12	.193	.261 (-26%)	.333 (-27%)	.390 (-51%)	.723 (-40%)	-363.0
1955	CHA	AL	34	70	5	12	2	0	7	1	3	10	.171	.258 (-34%)	.332 (-38%)	.393 (-49%)	.726 (-44%)	-496.9
1956	CHA	AL	39	102	6	16	0	0	3	0	3	22	.157	.258 (-39%)	.331 (-43%)	.397 (-61%)	.728 (-53%)	-851.6
1957	CHA	AL	41	99	7	17	1	0	6	0	2	25	.172	.257 (-33%)	.323 (-42%)	.391 (-54%)	.715 (-48%)	-748.8
1958	CHA	AL	35	83	10	17	3	0	4	0	4	13	.205	.257 (-21%)	.324 (-23%)	.394 (-39%)	.719 (-32%)	-411.1
1959	CHA	AL	34	68	3	13	1	2	7	0	7	13	.191	.256 (-26%)	.323 (-18%)	.392 (-32%)	.715 (-26%)	-278.4
1960	CHA	AL	32	67	4	12	1	0	7	0	6	14	.179	.255 (-30%)	.323 (-24%)	.387 (-50%)	.711 (-38%)	-387.4
1961	CHA	AL	39	56	3	8	0	0	3	0	1	11	.143	.258 (-45%)	.328 (-52%)	.399 (-64%)	.727 (-59%)	-522.2
1962	SFN	NL	30	56	3	12	0	0	5	0	3	12	.214	.257 (-17%)	.326 (-22%)	.393 (-46%)	.719 (-35%)	-299.8
1963	SFN	NL	38	31	2	4	0	0	0	0	2	11	.129	—	—	—	—	0.0
1964	SFN	NL	34	9	0	3	0	0	2	0	0	3	.333	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 18 seasons			616	1,102	94	203	13	4	69	1	65	232	.184	—	—	—	—	-6,624

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

Billy Pierce — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
5	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Billy Pierce — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1962	WS	SFN	2	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000
1959	WS	CHA	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Billy Pierce — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1	1	5	2	0	19.0	10	4	4	8	1.89

Playoff Pitching by Year

Billy Pierce — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1962	WS	SFN	1	1	2	2	0	15.0	8	4	2	5	2.40
1959	WS	CHA	0	0	3	0	0	4.0	2	0	2	3	0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1197 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Billy Pierce — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	302	538	46	110	0	43	.204
Away	312	560	48	93	0	26	.166

Pitching — Home / Away

Billy Pierce — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	288	1737.2	1521	556	581	1061	2.88
Away	295	1559.0	1465	642	597	934	3.71

Last 10 Games — Batting

Billy Pierce — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	H	RBI	SO
1964-10-03	SFG	CHC	L	0	0	0	0
1964-09-10	SFG	LAD	W	4	2	1	0
1964-08-30	SFG	ATL	L	0	0	0	0
1964-08-21	SFG	STL	L	0	0	0	0
1964-08-19	SFG	CIN	L	0	0	0	0
1964-08-16	SFG	ATL	L	0	0	0	0
1964-08-11	SFG	STL	W	0	0	0	0
1964-08-01	SFG	PIT	L	0	0	0	0
1964-07-30	SFG	PHI	L	0	0	0	0
1964-07-22	SFG	CHC	W	2	1	1	1

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Billy Pierce — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1964-10-03	SFG	CHC	—	3.0	4	3	3	0	2	1
1964-09-10	SFG	LAD	W	7.2	6	1	1	1	3	1
1964-08-30	SFG	ATL	—	0.1	0	0	0	0	1	0
1964-08-21	SFG	STL	—	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0
1964-08-19	SFG	CIN	—	1.2	1	1	1	0	0	1
1964-08-16	SFG	ATL	—	2.0	4	2	2	0	1	0
1964-08-11	SFG	STL	SV	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0
1964-08-01	SFG	PIT	—	0.1	1	0	0	0	0	0
1964-07-30	SFG	PHI	—	0.0	1	0	0	0	0	0
1964-07-22	SFG	CHC	W	4.0	2	0	0	0	3	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Billy Pierce — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	1	0	1	0	0	0
P	585	280	123	487	28	32

Season-by-Season Fielding

Billy Pierce — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1945	DET	P	5	0	0	2	0	0
1948	DET	P	22	0	2	9	0	0
1949	CHA	P	32	0	12	33	4	2
1950	CHA	P	33	0	4	30	1	1
1951	CHA	P	37	0	11	38	2	4
1952	CHA	P	33	0	13	43	1	3
1953	CHA	1B	1	0	1	0	0	0
1953	CHA	P	40	0	10	33	4	1
1954	CHA	P	36	26	7	19	1	1
1955	CHA	P	33	26	7	25	0	1
1956	CHA	P	35	33	4	33	3	2
1957	CHA	P	37	34	8	45	2	2
1958	CHA	P	35	32	11	26	1	3
1959	CHA	P	34	33	11	40	2	4
1960	CHA	P	32	31	7	29	2	2
1961	CHA	P	39	28	7	31	3	1
1962	SFN	P	30	23	4	24	1	3
1963	SFN	P	38	13	4	20	0	2
1964	SFN	P	34	1	1	7	1	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Billy Pierce Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	585
First Base	1

Awards & Honors

Billy Pierce — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1957	TSN All-Star	P
1957	TSN Pitcher of the Year
1956	TSN All-Star	P
1956	TSN Pitcher of the Year

Award Voting History

Billy Pierce — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1962	Cy Young Award	ML	3rd	1.0	20	1
1957	Most Valuable Player	AL	11th	35.0	336	0
1956	Most Valuable Player	AL	5th	75.0	336	0
1955	Most Valuable Player	AL	18th	8.0	336	0
1953	Most Valuable Player	AL	10th	55.0	336	0
1952	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

Billy Pierce (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Compare Billy Pierce

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See Billy Pierce in Another Era

Translate Billy Pierce's peak season across eras →

Billy Pierce: the record in brief

June 1, 1945 and October 3, 1964 bracket Billy Pierce's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The season rows list, in order, the Detroit Tigers (1945 to 1948), the Chicago White Sox (1949 to 1961), and the San Francisco Giants (1962 to 1964). Pierce played primarily as a pitcher and both batted and threw left-handed. The bio adds a birth date on April 2, 1927, in Detroit, MI, USA and a listed size of 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds. Pierce's death is recorded on July 31, 2015, in Palos Heights, IL, USA. The given name on file is Walter William Pierce.

Pierce went 211-169 with a 3.27 ERA in 585 games, 432 of them starts. The totals include 1,999 strikeouts, 193 complete games, 38 shutouts, and 32 saves. Against a 3.90 league ERA for the same years, Pierce was 16.2% better. Pierce won 20 games in 1956, the most of any season listed.

Frequently Asked Questions about Billy Pierce

What years did Billy Pierce play?: Billy Pierce played in Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1964.
Was Billy Pierce a pitcher?: Yes. Billy Pierce pitched in the major leagues, recording 211 wins and 1999 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Billy Pierce hit?: Billy Pierce hit 0 career home runs with 203 hits.
What teams did Billy Pierce play for?: Billy Pierce played for 3 teams: the Detroit Tigers (1945, 1948), the Chicago White Sox (1949–1961), and the San Francisco Giants (1962–1964).
Did Billy Pierce win a Cy Young Award?: No. Billy Pierce did not win the Cy Young Award.
What awards did Billy Pierce win?: Billy Pierce was selected to 7 All-Star Games.
What were Billy Pierce's career stats?: In 585 games, Billy Pierce went 211-169 with a 3.27 ERA, 1,999 strikeouts, 3,306.2 innings pitched, and 32 saves. At the plate he had 203 hits and 0 home runs.
What position did Billy Pierce play?: Billy Pierce played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Billy Pierce and how much did he weigh?: Billy Pierce was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 160 pounds.
What was Billy Pierce's career ERA?: Billy Pierce finished with a 3.27 career ERA, going 211-169 with 1,999 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Billy Pierce have?: Billy Pierce recorded 1,999 career strikeouts.
Is Billy Pierce in the Hall of Fame?: No. Billy Pierce has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Billy Pierce make?: Billy Pierce was selected to 7 All-Star Games.