Ray Sanders

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1942-1949)

Ray Sanders was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1942 to 1949 for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Braves, a span of 8 seasons. In 630 career games, he hit .274 with 597 hits, 42 home runs, and 329 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 6,532.

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

AVG .274
HR 42
RBI 329
H 597
OPS .771
PIV 6,532
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 185 lb
Born
12/4/1916 in Bonne Terre, MO, USA
Died
10/28/1983 in Washington, MO, USA
MLB Debut
1942-04-14
Last Game
1949-09-21

Full name: Raymond Floyd Sanders

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Career Batting Statistics

Ray Sanders — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
630 2,182 321 597 114 19 42 329 8 328 216 .274 .370 .401 .771 6,532

Career AVG .274 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — +5.6% above league average.

Career OBP .370 vs. league average .330 across their career seasons — +12.0% above league average.

Career SLG .401 vs. league average .361 across their career seasons — +11.1% above league average.

Career OPS .771 vs. league average .691 across their career seasons — +11.6% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ray Sanders — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1942 SLN NL 95 282 37 71 17 2 5 39 2 42 31 .252 .253 (-1%) .323 (+9%) .349 (+9%) .672 (+9%) 498.8
1943 SLN NL 144 478 69 134 21 5 11 73 1 77 33 .280 .255 (+10%) .324 (+17%) .346 (+20%) .671 (+19%) 1911.6
1944 SLN NL 154 601 87 177 34 9 12 102 2 71 50 .295 .261 (+13%) .325 (+14%) .357 (+23%) .683 (+19%) 2266.9
1945 SLN NL 143 537 85 148 29 3 8 78 3 83 55 .276 .260 (+6%) .328 (+14%) .354 (+9%) .683 (+11%) 1419.8
1946 BSN NL 80 259 43 63 12 0 6 35 0 50 38 .243 .256 (-5%) .328 (+12%) .358 (avg) .687 (+6%) 435.2
1948 BSN NL 5 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 .250 — — — — 0.0
1949 BSN NL 9 21 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 4 9 .143 — — — — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 630 2,182 321 597 114 19 42 329 8 328 216 .274 — — — — 6,532

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

Ray Sanders — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
14 40 9 11 0 0 2 3 9 12 .275

Playoff Batting by Year

Ray Sanders — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1948 WS BSN 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1944 WS SLN 6 21 5 6 0 0 1 1 5 8 .286
1943 WS SLN 5 17 3 5 0 0 1 2 3 4 .294
1942 WS SLN 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (630 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Ray Sanders — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home29895915927222164.284
Away332122316132520162.266

Last 10 Games — Batting

Ray Sanders — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1949-09-21 BSNPITW 300000002
1949-09-18 BSNCINL 300000000
1949-09-14 BSNCHCL 400000012
1949-09-11 BSNPHIL 100000001
1949-09-11 BSNPHIL 301100002
1949-09-10 BSNPHIW 201000010
1949-09-05 BSNBROL 200000012
1949-09-04 BSNPHIL 301000000
1949-09-03 BSNPHIL 000000010
1948-10-03 BSNNY1W 000000010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ray Sanders — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 596 0 5268 330 50 510

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ray Sanders — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1942 SLN 1B 77 0 626 35 6 54
1943 SLN 1B 141 0 1302 71 7 142
1944 SLN 1B 152 0 1370 64 8 142
1945 SLN 1B 142 0 1259 90 19 113
1946 BSN 1B 77 0 659 61 9 57
1949 BSN 1B 7 0 52 9 1 2

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ray Sanders — Career Games by Position
Position Games
First Base 596

Awards & Honors

Ray Sanders — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1944 Baseball Magazine All-Star 1B
1944 TSN All-Star 1B

Award Voting History

Ray Sanders — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1944 Most Valuable Player NL 15th 25.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ray Sanders (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Ed Bouchee
    .265 avg, 61 HR
  2. 94
    Tim Naehring
    .282 avg, 49 HR
  3. 91
    Conor Jackson
    .271 avg, 52 HR
  4. 90
    Brendan Donovan
    .282 avg, 43 HR
  5. 86
    Ed Lennox
    .274 avg, 18 HR
  6. 85
    Bobby Brown
    .279 avg, 22 HR

Ray Sanders: the record in brief

The profile opens with Ray Sanders's first major league game on April 14, 1942; the last one listed came on September 21, 1949. By club, Sanders's seasons break down as the St. Louis Cardinals (1942 through 1945) and the Boston Braves (1946 to 1949). Sanders played primarily as a first baseman and hit left-handed while throwing right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on December 4, 1916, in Bonne Terre, MO, USA and a listed size of 6 feet, 2 inches and 185 pounds. Sanders's death is recorded on October 28, 1983, in Washington, MO, USA. The bio lists the given name Raymond Floyd.

Across 630 games at the plate, Sanders's career line reads 597 hits in 2,182 at bats for a .274 average, adding 42 homers and 329 RBI. Sanders's career OPS of .771 combines a .370 on-base mark with .401 slugging. Measured against the leagues Sanders played in, the .274 career average compares with a .259 league average over the same seasons, 5.6% above the league.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ray Sanders

What years did Ray Sanders play?
Ray Sanders played in Major League Baseball from 1942 to 1949.
Was Ray Sanders a pitcher?
No. Ray Sanders was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Ray Sanders hit?
Ray Sanders hit 42 career home runs with 597 hits.
What was Ray Sanders's career batting average?
Ray Sanders batted .274 over his career, with 597 hits in 2,182 at bats.
How many RBI did Ray Sanders have?
Ray Sanders drove in 329 runs in his career.
Is Ray Sanders in the Hall of Fame?
No. Ray Sanders has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.