Billy Pierce

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

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

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
211 169 585 432 193 38 32 3306.7 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.

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 55.3 47 39 51 36 6.34 4.10 (-55%) -1885.6
1949 CHA AL 7 15 32 26 8 0 0 171.7 145 74 112 95 3.88 4.12 (+6%) -328.7
1950 CHA AL 12 16 33 29 15 1 1 219.3 189 97 137 118 3.98 4.36 (+9%) 1708.7
1951 CHA AL 15 14 37 28 18 1 2 240.3 237 81 73 113 3.03 4.04 (+25%) 5182.8
1952 CHA AL 15 12 33 32 14 4 1 255.3 214 73 79 144 2.57 3.70 (+31%) 5830.5
1953 CHA AL 18 12 40 33 19 7 3 271.3 216 82 102 186 2.72 4.14 (+34%) 5731.0
1954 CHA AL 9 10 36 26 12 4 3 188.7 179 73 86 148 3.48 3.90 (+11%) 3040.7
1955 CHA AL 15 10 33 26 16 6 1 205.7 162 45 64 157 1.97 4.00 (+51%) 6275.5
1956 CHA AL 20 9 35 33 21 1 1 276.3 261 102 100 192 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 0 196.3 201 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 1 162.3 147 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

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.

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR 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 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1948 DET AL 22 17 5 5 0 2 0 2 0 0 4 .294 — — — — 0.0
1949 CHA AL 39 51 7 9 0 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 0 7 0 7 13 .191 .256 (-26%) .323 (-18%) .392 (-32%) .715 (-26%) -278.4
1960 CHA AL 32 67 4 12 1 0 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 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 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 0 2 11 .129 — — — — 0.0
1964 SFN NL 34 9 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 .333 — — — — 0.0
Career · 18 seasons 616 1,102 94 203 13 4 0 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

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

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

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

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

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home30253846110043.204
Away3125604893026.166

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2881737.2152155658110612.88
Away2951559.014656425979343.71

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1964-10-03 SFGCHCL 000000000
1964-09-10 SFGLADW 402000100
1964-08-30 SFGATLL 000000000
1964-08-21 SFGSTLL 000000000
1964-08-19 SFGCINL 000000000
1964-08-16 SFGATLL 000000000
1964-08-11 SFGSTLW 000000000
1964-08-01 SFGPITL 000000000
1964-07-30 SFGPHIL 000000000
1964-07-22 SFGCHCW 201000101

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1964-10-03 SFGCHC — 3.0433021
1964-09-10 SFGLAD W 7.2611131
1964-08-30 SFGATL — 0.1000010
1964-08-21 SFGSTL — 0.1000000
1964-08-19 SFGCIN — 1.2111001
1964-08-16 SFGATL — 2.0422010
1964-08-11 SFGSTL SV 0.2000000
1964-08-01 SFGPIT — 0.1100000
1964-07-30 SFGPHI — 0.0100000
1964-07-22 SFGCHC W 4.0200030

Fielding Statistics

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

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.

Position Games
Pitcher 585
First Base 1

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

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.

  1. 98
    Hal Newhouser HOF
    207-150, 3.06 ERA
  2. 90
    Red Ames
    183-167, 2.63 ERA
  3. 90
    Bob Shawkey
    196-150, 3.09 ERA
  4. 89
    Virgil Trucks
    177-135, 3.39 ERA
  5. 84
    Danny Darwin
    171-182, 3.84 ERA
  6. 83
    Luis Tiant
    229-172, 3.30 ERA

Compare Billy Pierce

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Pierce's closest peers by position and era.

vs Warren Spahn
vs Sandy Koufax
vs Don Drysdale
vs Robin Roberts
vs Bob Feller
vs Whitey Ford

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

See Billy Pierce in Another Era

What would Pierce's 1955 season look like in a different era's run environment? Try the cross-era translation with a live slider.

Translate Billy Pierce's peak season across eras →

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.