Pete Runnels

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1951-1964)

AVG .291
HR 49
RBI 630
H 1,854
OPS .753
PIV 9,953
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 170 lb
Born
1/28/1928 in Lufkin, TX, USA
Died
5/20/1991 in Pasadena, TX, USA
MLB Debut
1951-07-01
Last Game
1964-05-14
Awards
3× All-Star

Full name: James Edward Runnels

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,799 6,373 876 1,854 282 64 49 630 37 844 627 .291 .375 .378 .753 9,953

Career AVG .291 vs. league average .257 across their career seasons — +13.4% above league average.

Career OBP .375 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — +15.0% above league average.

Career SLG .378 vs. league average .388 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .753 vs. league average .714 across their career seasons — +5.4% above 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
1951 WS1 AL 78 273 31 76 12 2 0 25 0 31 24 .278 .260 (+7%) .336 (+5%) .385 (-13%) .721 (-4%) -133.5
1952 WS1 AL 152 555 70 158 18 3 1 64 0 72 55 .285 .252 (+13%) .326 (+13%) .369 (-10%) .696 (+1%) 345.6
1953 WS1 AL 137 486 64 125 15 5 2 50 3 64 36 .257 .264 (-3%) .335 (+3%) .397 (-19%) .733 (-9%) -549.3
1954 WS1 AL 139 488 75 131 17 15 3 56 2 78 60 .268 .261 (+3%) .333 (+10%) .390 (-2%) .723 (+4%) 542.5
1955 WS1 AL 134 503 66 143 16 4 2 49 3 55 51 .284 .258 (+10%) .332 (+6%) .393 (-13%) .726 (-4%) -211.1
1956 WS1 AL 147 578 72 179 29 9 8 76 5 58 64 .310 .258 (+20%) .331 (+12%) .397 (+9%) .728 (+10%) 1274.2
1957 WS1 AL 134 473 53 109 18 4 2 35 2 55 51 .230 .257 (-11%) .323 (-4%) .391 (-24%) .715 (-15%) -1044.1
1958 BOS AL 147 568 103 183 32 5 8 59 1 87 49 .322 .257 (+25%) .324 (+28%) .394 (+11%) .719 (+19%) 2610.7
1959 BOS AL 147 560 95 176 33 6 6 57 6 95 48 .314 .256 (+22%) .323 (+28%) .392 (+9%) .715 (+18%) 2460.3
1960 BOS AL 143 528 80 169 29 2 2 35 5 71 51 .320 .255 (+25%) .323 (+24%) .387 (+2%) .711 (+12%) 1574.6
1961 BOS AL 143 360 49 114 20 3 3 38 5 46 32 .317 .258 (+23%) .328 (+21%) .399 (+4%) .727 (+11%) 992.6
1962 BOS AL 152 562 80 183 33 5 10 60 3 79 57 .326 .257 (+26%) .326 (+25%) .393 (+16%) .719 (+20%) 2548.8
1963 HOU NL 124 388 35 98 9 1 2 23 2 45 42 .253 .246 (+3%) .308 (+7%) .371 (-20%) .680 (-8%) -297.2
1964 HOU NL 22 51 3 10 1 0 0 3 0 8 7 .196 .250 (-22%) .312 (-2%) .377 (-43%) .690 (-25%) -160.7
Career · 14 seasons 1,799 6,373 876 1,854 282 64 49 630 37 844 627 .291 — — — — 9,953

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 (1799 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home903316244995912323.303
Away896321142789537305.279

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1964-05-14 HOUSFGW 110000000
1964-05-12 HOUSFGL 100000000
1964-05-10 HOUCHCW 000000010
1964-05-10 HOUCHCL 300000000
1964-05-06 HOULADL 100000000
1964-05-05 HOUSFGL 000000010
1964-05-04 HOUSFGL 100000000
1964-05-02 HOUCHCL 100000000
1964-04-28 HOULADL 100000001
1964-04-27 HOULADL 400000002

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 644 542 4876 346 30 492
2B 642 607 1583 1675 67 500
3B 49 49 46 115 6 13
OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
SS 463 105 848 1231 91 297

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1951 WS1 SS 73 0 159 176 18 41
1952 WS1 2B 1 0 5 4 0 2
1952 WS1 SS 147 0 314 406 25 97
1953 WS1 2B 11 0 24 27 3 7
1953 WS1 SS 121 0 195 324 23 87
1954 WS1 2B 27 27 90 59 5 23
1954 WS1 OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1954 WS1 SS 107 104 174 313 24 69
1955 WS1 2B 132 129 349 338 17 107
1955 WS1 SS 2 0 0 2 1 0
1956 WS1 1B 81 79 693 49 4 73
1956 WS1 2B 69 65 179 177 10 56
1956 WS1 SS 3 0 3 3 0 2
1957 WS1 1B 72 70 616 44 3 59
1957 WS1 2B 23 17 52 43 2 13
1957 WS1 3B 32 32 31 73 3 12
1958 BOS 1B 42 40 364 15 2 41
1958 BOS 2B 106 106 267 320 9 88
1959 BOS 1B 44 42 387 28 0 48
1959 BOS 2B 101 101 273 272 10 82
1959 BOS SS 9 1 3 7 0 1
1960 BOS 1B 57 7 142 11 1 15
1960 BOS 2B 129 127 274 360 9 99
1960 BOS 3B 3 3 4 6 1 0
1961 BOS 1B 113 75 701 50 4 92
1961 BOS 2B 7 2 6 11 0 5
1961 BOS 3B 11 11 8 29 2 0
1961 BOS SS 1 0 0 0 0 0
1962 BOS 1B 151 151 1309 104 10 125
1963 HOU 1B 70 65 526 40 4 31
1963 HOU 2B 36 33 64 64 2 18
1963 HOU 3B 3 3 3 7 0 1
1964 HOU 1B 14 13 138 5 2 8

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
First Base 644
Second Base 641
Third Base 49
Shortstop 463
Left Field 1

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1962 Most Valuable Player AL 18th 9.0 280 0
1960 Most Valuable Player AL 17th 18.0 336 0
1959 Most Valuable Player AL 26th 2.0 336 0
1958 Most Valuable Player AL 10th 29.0 336 0
1956 Most Valuable Player AL 17th 24.0 336 0
1952 Most Valuable Player AL 23th 8.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Pete Runnels (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Billy Goodman
    .300 avg, 19 HR
  2. 90
    Willie Kamm
    .281 avg, 29 HR
  3. 89
    Kevin Seitzer
    .295 avg, 74 HR
  4. 86
    Heinie Groh
    .292 avg, 26 HR
  5. 86
    Mark Loretta
    .295 avg, 76 HR
  6. 86
    Lou Boudreau HOF
    .295 avg, 68 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Pete Runnels

What years did Pete Runnels play?
Pete Runnels played in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1964.
Was Pete Runnels a pitcher?
No. Pete Runnels was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Pete Runnels hit?
Pete Runnels hit 49 career home runs with 1854 hits.