What years did Jim Piersall play?

Jim Piersall played in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1967.

Was Jim Piersall a pitcher?

No. Jim Piersall was a position player (Outfielder).

How many home runs did Jim Piersall hit?

Jim Piersall hit 104 career home runs with 1604 hits.

What was Jim Piersall's career batting average?

Jim Piersall batted .272 over his career, with 1,604 hits in 5,890 at bats.

How many RBI did Jim Piersall have?

Jim Piersall drove in 591 runs in his career.

Is Jim Piersall in the Hall of Fame?

No. Jim Piersall has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Jim Piersall

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1950-1967)

Jim Piersall was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1967 for 6 teams, including the Boston Red Sox, a span of 18 seasons. In 1,734 career games, he hit .272 with 1,604 hits, 104 home runs, and 591 RBI. Jim Piersall was a 2-time All-Star and a 2-time Gold Glove. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 1,003.

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 September 9, 2026

AVG .272

HR 104

RBI 591

H 1,604

OPS .718

PIV 1,003

Position: Outfielder
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'0" / 175 lb
Born: 11/14/1929 in Waterbury, CT, USA
Died: 6/3/2017 in Wheaton, IL, USA
MLB Debut: 1950-09-07
Last Game: 1967-05-01
Awards: 2× All-Star · 2× Gold Glove

Full name: James Anthony Piersall

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Batting Statistics

Jim Piersall — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1,734	5,890	811	1,604	256	52	104	591	115	524	583	.272	.332	.386	.718	1,003

Career AVG .272 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — +7.0% above league average.

Career OBP .332 vs. league average .323 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .386 vs. league average .385 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .718 vs. league average .708 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jim Piersall Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1950	BOS	AL	6	7	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	.286	—	—	—	—	0.0
1952	BOS	AL	56	161	28	43	8	0	1	16	3	28	26	.267	.252 (+6%)	.326 (+16%)	.369 (-9%)	.696 (+3%)	184.0
1953	BOS	AL	151	585	76	159	21	9	3	52	11	41	52	.272	.264 (+3%)	.335 (-2%)	.397 (-11%)	.733 (-7%)	-650.3
1954	BOS	AL	133	474	77	135	24	2	8	38	5	36	42	.285	.261 (+9%)	.333 (+1%)	.390 (+1%)	.723 (+1%)	110.7
1955	BOS	AL	149	515	68	146	25	5	13	62	6	67	52	.283	.258 (+10%)	.332 (+10%)	.393 (+8%)	.726 (+9%)	1027.4
1956	BOS	AL	155	601	91	176	40	6	14	87	7	58	48	.293	.258 (+13%)	.331 (+6%)	.397 (+13%)	.728 (+10%)	1038.4
1957	BOS	AL	151	609	103	159	27	5	19	63	14	62	54	.261	.257 (+1%)	.323 (+2%)	.391 (+6%)	.715 (+4%)	532.6
1958	BOS	AL	130	417	55	99	13	5	8	48	12	42	43	.237	.257 (-8%)	.324 (-7%)	.394 (-11%)	.719 (-9%)	-640.3
1959	CLE	AL	100	317	42	78	13	2	4	30	6	25	31	.246	.256 (-4%)	.323 (-6%)	.392 (-14%)	.715 (-10%)	-525.6
1960	CLE	AL	138	486	70	137	12	4	18	66	18	24	38	.282	.255 (+10%)	.323 (-3%)	.387 (+12%)	.711 (+5%)	327.4
1961	CLE	AL	121	484	81	156	26	7	6	40	8	43	46	.322	.258 (+25%)	.328 (+15%)	.399 (+11%)	.727 (+13%)	1229.2
1962	WS2	AL	135	471	38	115	20	4	4	31	12	39	53	.244	.257 (-5%)	.326 (-8%)	.393 (-16%)	.719 (-12%)	-924.9
1963	WS2	AL	29	94	9	23	1	0	1	5	4	6	11	.245	.246 (-1%)	.308 (-8%)	.371 (-23%)	.680 (-16%)	-229.7
1963	NYN	NL	40	124	13	24	4	1	1	10	1	10	14	.194	.246 (-21%)	.308 (-19%)	.371 (-28%)	.680 (-24%)	-229.7
1963	LAA	AL	20	52	4	16	1	0	0	4	0	5	5	.308	.246 (+25%)	.308 (+19%)	.371 (-12%)	.680 (+2%)	-229.7
1964	LAA	AL	87	255	28	80	11	0	2	13	5	16	32	.314	.250 (+25%)	.312 (+13%)	.377 (+1%)	.690 (+6%)	308.0
1965	CAL	AL	53	112	10	30	5	2	2	12	2	5	15	.268	.245 (+9%)	.310 (-2%)	.371 (+8%)	.682 (+4%)	37.1
1966	CAL	AL	75	123	14	26	5	0	0	14	1	13	19	.211	.248 (-15%)	.309 (-9%)	.376 (-33%)	.685 (-22%)	-395.4
1967	CAL	AL	5	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 19 seasons			1,734	5,890	811	1,604	256	52	104	591	115	524	583	.272	—	—	—	—	969

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 (1734 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Jim Piersall — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	893	2987	438	835	56	319	.280
Away	841	2903	374	769	48	271	.265

Last 10 Games — Batting

Jim Piersall — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	H	SO
1967-05-01	LAA	BOS	L	1	0	1
1967-04-23	LAA	CLE	W	0	0	0
1967-04-21	LAA	CLE	W	1	0	1
1967-04-16	LAA	BAL	W	0	0	0
1967-04-12	LAA	DET	L	1	0	0
1966-10-02	LAA	CLE	W	0	0	0
1966-10-01	LAA	CLE	L	1	0	0
1966-09-22	LAA	DET	L	2	0	0
1966-09-21	LAA	DET	L	0	0	0
1966-09-17	LAA	BOS	L	1	1	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jim Piersall — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
3B	2	0	0	2	1	0
OF	1614	1302	3851	95	39	21
SS	30	0	41	75	9	13

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jim Piersall — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1950	BOS	OF	2	0	9	0	0	0
1952	BOS	3B	1	0	0	1	1	0
1952	BOS	OF	22	0	38	3	0	0
1952	BOS	SS	30	0	41	75	9	13
1953	BOS	OF	151	0	352	15	5	7
1954	BOS	OF	126	112	249	10	4	2
1955	BOS	OF	147	144	425	7	3	2
1956	BOS	OF	155	155	455	10	4	1
1957	BOS	OF	151	147	397	12	4	0
1958	BOS	OF	125	112	314	8	5	2
1959	CLE	3B	1	0	0	1	0	0
1959	CLE	OF	91	77	216	3	4	2
1960	CLE	OF	134	122	355	5	3	0
1961	CLE	OF	120	119	328	9	3	3
1962	WS2	OF	132	123	308	5	1	0
1963	WS2	OF	25	22	65	0	0	0
1963	NYN	OF	38	34	65	3	0	0
1963	LAA	OF	18	14	28	0	0	0
1964	LAA	OF	72	65	115	2	0	2
1965	CAL	OF	41	25	62	0	1	0
1966	CAL	OF	63	31	69	3	2	0
1967	CAL	OF	1	0	1	0	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jim Piersall Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Third Base	2
Shortstop	30
Left Field	114
Center Field	1212
Right Field	306

Awards & Honors

Jim Piersall — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1961	Gold Glove	OF
1958	Gold Glove	CF

Award Voting History

Jim Piersall — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max
1961	Most Valuable Player	AL	13th	10.0	280
1960	Most Valuable Player	AL	28th	2.0	336
1957	Most Valuable Player	AL	22th	2.0	336
1956	Most Valuable Player	AL	14th	28.0	336
1953	Most Valuable Player	AL	9th	56.0	336

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Jim Piersall (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jim Piersall

What years did Jim Piersall play?: Jim Piersall played in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1967.
Was Jim Piersall a pitcher?: No. Jim Piersall was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Jim Piersall hit?: Jim Piersall hit 104 career home runs with 1604 hits.
What was Jim Piersall's career batting average?: Jim Piersall batted .272 over his career, with 1,604 hits in 5,890 at bats.
How many RBI did Jim Piersall have?: Jim Piersall drove in 591 runs in his career.
Is Jim Piersall in the Hall of Fame?: No. Jim Piersall has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.