Was Joe Royal a pitcher?

No. Joe Royal was a position player (Right Fielder), though he did pitch in 1 career game.

How many home runs did Joe Royal hit?

Joe Royal hit 1 career home runs with 21 hits.

What was Joe Royal's career batting average?

Joe Royal batted .194 over his career, with 21 hits in 108 at bats.

How many RBI did Joe Royal have?

Joe Royal drove in 13 runs in his career.

What was Joe Royal's career ERA?

Joe Royal finished with a 9.95 career ERA, going 0-0 with 1 strikeouts.

Is Joe Royal in the Hall of Fame?

No. Joe Royal has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Joe Royal

Right Fielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Joe Royal was a right fielder who played in Major League Baseball for the Jacksonville Red Caps, the Cleveland Bears, and the New York Black Yankees. In 33 career games, he hit .194 with 21 hits, 1 home runs, and 13 RBI. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020.

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 October 12, 2026

AVG .194

HR 1

RBI 13

H 21

OPS .491

PIV -189

Position: Right Fielder
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 5'11" / 178 lb
Born: 4/9/1912 in Atlanta, GA, USA
Died: 1975

Full name: Joseph John Royal

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Joe Royal — Batting
PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
147.0	138.0	20.0	31.0	6.0	1.0	2.0	14.0	8.0	5.0	4.0	.225	.272	.326	.598

Pitching

Joe Royal — Pitching
W	L	GS	CG	GF	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
0	1	2	0	1	0	12.1	21	18	14	1	11	2	10.22	2.60

Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Joe Royal — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1937	30.0	29.0	4.0	7.0	2.0	0	0	4.0	1.0	2.0	0	.241	.267	.310	.577
Listed seasons · 1	30	29	4	7	2	0	0	4	1	2	0	.241	—	—	—

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching

Joe Royal — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching
Season	L	GS	GF	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	ERA	WHIP
1937	1	1	0	2.2	4	9	7	8	1	23.62	4.50
1942	0	0	1	3.2	5	1	0	0	0	0.00	1.36
Listed seasons · 2	1	1	1	6.1	9	10	7	8	1	9.95	2.68

Career Batting Statistics

Joe Royal — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
33	108	12	21	2	0	1	13	4	7	2	.194	.250	.241	.491	-189

Career AVG .194 vs. league average .265 across their career seasons — 26.7% below league average.

Career OBP .250 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — 25.0% below league average.

Career SLG .241 vs. league average .373 across their career seasons — 35.5% below league average.

Career OPS .491 vs. league average .706 across their career seasons — 30.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Royal — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1938	JRC	NAL	14	63	10	15	2	1	11	2	4	2	.238	.272 (-13%)	.341 (-17%)	.392 (-19%)	.734 (-18%)	-188.9
1939	CBR	NAL	6	16	1	2	0	0	1	1	2	0	.125	—	—	—	—	0.0
1942	JRC	NAL	5	8	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1944	NBY	NN2	8	21	1	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	.095	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 4 seasons			33	108	12	21	2	1	13	4	7	2	.194	—	—	—	—	-189

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 Pitching Statistics

Joe Royal — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
0	0	1	1	0	0	0	6.1	12	7	1	3	1	9.95	0.0

Career ERA 9.95 vs. league average 4.35 across their career seasons — 128.9% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Royal — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1938	JRC	NAL	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	6.1	12	7	3	1	9.95	—	0.0
Career · 1 season			0	0	1	1	0	0	0	6.1	12	7	3	1	9.95	—	0

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 (40 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Joe Royal — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	9	23	3	6	1	3	.261
Away	28	64	11	12	0	7	.188

Pitching — Home / Away

Joe Royal — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Away	3	12.1	21	14	11	2	10.22

Last 10 Games — Batting

Joe Royal — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	H	BB
1944-06-11	NY5	PH5	W	3	0	0
1944-06-03	NY5	PH5	L	1	0	0
1944-05-30	NY5	NW2	L	0	0	0
1944-05-28	NY5	NW2	L	0	0	1
1944-05-28	NY5	NW2	L	1	0	0
1944-05-21	NY5	NY6	L	2	0	0
1944-05-19	NY5	BLG	L	4	0	0
1944-05-07	NY5	HOM	L	0	0	0
1944-05-07	NY5	HOM	L	4	1	0
1942-06-18	JAX	MEM	L	0	0	0

Last 3 Games — Pitching

Joe Royal — Last 3 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1942-06-18	JAX	MEM	—	3.2	5	1	0	0	0	0
1938-07-02	JAX	ATN	—	6.0	12	8	7	3	1	1
1937-07-25	JAX	ATN	L	2.2	4	9	7	8	1	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Joe Royal — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E
3B	1	0	0	2	0
C	8	8	38	13	3
OF	20	18	28	1	0
P	1	1	0	0	0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Joe Royal — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E
1938	JRC	3B	1	0	0	2	0
1938	JRC	OF	13	13	16	1	0
1938	JRC	P	1	1	0	0	0
1939	CBR	OF	5	5	12	0	0
1942	JRC	C	2	2	9	4	1
1942	JRC	OF	1	0	0	0	0
1944	NBY	C	6	6	29	9	2
1944	NBY	OF	1	0	0	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Joe Royal — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	1
Catcher	8
Third Base	1
Left Field	4
Center Field	7
Right Field	9

Joe Royal: the record in brief

Joe Royal's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1938 to 1944. Royal played for the Jacksonville Red Caps (1938 to 1942), the Cleveland Bears (1939), and the New York Black Yankees (1944). The bio lists Royal as a right fielder who batted and threw right-handed. Royal is listed at 5-foot-11 and 178 pounds. Royal was born on April 9, 1912, in Atlanta, GA, USA. Royal died in 1975. The bio lists the given name Joseph John.

The batting record for Royal: 33 games, 21 hits in 108 at bats, and a .194 average, along with 1 home run and 13 RBI. On-base and slugging figures of .250 and .241 give Royal a career OPS of .491. The league as a whole hit .265 across Royal's seasons, which puts the .194 career mark 26.7% below average. By OPS the gap is 30.5% below league average (.491 against .706). The hits column peaks at 15, in 1938.

Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Royal

Was Joe Royal a pitcher?: No. Joe Royal was a position player (Right Fielder), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
How many home runs did Joe Royal hit?: Joe Royal hit 1 career home runs with 21 hits.
What was Joe Royal's career batting average?: Joe Royal batted .194 over his career, with 21 hits in 108 at bats.
How many RBI did Joe Royal have?: Joe Royal drove in 13 runs in his career.
What was Joe Royal's career ERA?: Joe Royal finished with a 9.95 career ERA, going 0-0 with 1 strikeouts.
Is Joe Royal in the Hall of Fame?: No. Joe Royal has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.