Orator Shafer

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1874-1890)

Orator Shafer was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1874 to 1890 for 11 teams, including the Hartford Dark Blues, a span of 17 seasons. In 871 career games, he hit .282 with 1,000 hits, 11 home runs, and 317 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 7,474.

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 .282
HR 11
RBI 317
H 1,000
OPS .692
PIV 7,474
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
5'9" / 165 lb
Born
10/4/1851 in Philadelphia, PA, USA
Died
1/22/1922 in Philadelphia, PA, USA
MLB Debut
1874-05-23
Last Game
1890-09-13

Full name: George W. Shafer

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Career Batting Statistics

Orator Shafer — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
871 3,552 601 1,000 164 53 11 317 34 227 226 .282 .326 .367 .692 7,474

Career AVG .282 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — +11.6% above league average.

Career OBP .326 vs. league average .294 across their career seasons — +10.8% above league average.

Career SLG .367 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — +10.0% above league average.

Career OPS .692 vs. league average .628 across their career seasons — +10.3% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Orator Shafer 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
1874 HR1 9 35 6 8 0 0 1 3 0 0 4 .229 — — — — 0.0
1874 NY2 1 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 — — — — 0.0
1875 PH2 19 70 10 17 2 1 0 6 2 0 4 .243 .253 (-4%) .260 (-7%) .309 (-3%) .570 (-5%) -48.1
1877 LS1 NL 61 260 38 74 9 5 3 34 0 9 17 .285 .271 (+5%) .289 (+7%) .337 (+16%) .626 (+12%) 464.3
1878 IN1 NL 63 266 48 90 19 6 0 30 0 13 20 .338 .259 (+30%) .278 (+32%) .319 (+43%) .597 (+38%) 1491.0
1879 CHN NL 73 316 53 96 13 0 0 35 0 6 28 .304 .255 (+19%) .270 (+17%) .328 (+5%) .599 (+10%) 554.9
1880 CL2 NL 83 338 62 90 14 9 0 21 0 17 36 .266 .244 (+9%) .267 (+13%) .319 (+13%) .586 (+13%) 674.5
1881 CL2 NL 85 343 48 88 13 6 1 34 0 23 20 .257 .260 (-1%) .290 (+5%) .338 (avg) .628 (+2%) 167.0
1882 CL2 NL 84 313 37 67 14 2 3 28 0 27 27 .214 .248 (-14%) .275 (avg) .329 (-9%) .605 (-5%) -109.3
1883 BFN NL 95 401 67 117 11 3 0 41 0 27 39 .292 .257 (+13%) .285 (+18%) .345 (-3%) .631 (+6%) 604.2
1884 SLU UA 106 467 130 168 40 10 2 0 0 30 0 .360 .243 (+48%) .278 (+43%) .327 (+53%) .606 (+48%) 3689.8
1885 SL5 NL 69 257 30 50 11 2 0 18 0 19 31 .195 .244 (-20%) .287 (-13%) .325 (-22%) .613 (-18%) -604.2
1885 PH4 AA 2 9 1 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 .222 — — — — -604.2
1886 PH4 AA 21 82 15 22 3 3 0 8 3 8 0 .268 .246 (+9%) .302 (+10%) .331 (+14%) .634 (+12%) 142.9
1890 PH4 AA 100 390 55 110 15 5 1 58 29 47 0 .282 .260 (+8%) .336 (+9%) .351 (+1%) .687 (+5%) 446.9
Career · 15 seasons 871 3,552 601 1,000 164 53 11 317 34 227 226 .282 — — — — 6,870

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.

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Orator Shafer — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 7 0 48 2 1 2
2B 7 0 22 16 6 1
3B 6 0 2 7 4 0
OF 854 10 1309 290 259 32

Season-by-Season Fielding

Orator Shafer — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1874 HR1 OF 9 9 22 0 9 0
1874 NY2 OF 1 1 0 0 0 0
1875 PH2 1B 2 0 10 0 0 1
1875 PH2 3B 5 0 2 6 3 0
1875 PH2 OF 12 0 19 1 6 1
1877 LS1 1B 1 0 12 0 0 0
1877 LS1 OF 60 0 121 21 28 1
1878 IN1 OF 63 0 105 28 25 2
1879 CHN 3B 1 0 0 1 1 0
1879 CHN OF 72 0 99 50 37 3
1880 CL2 OF 83 0 128 35 18 5
1881 CL2 OF 85 0 122 24 20 4
1882 CL2 OF 84 0 111 17 31 2
1883 BFN OF 95 0 182 41 36 3
1884 SLU 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1884 SLU 2B 7 0 22 16 6 1
1884 SLU OF 100 0 110 24 20 3
1885 SL5 OF 69 0 106 28 12 0
1885 PH4 OF 2 0 1 0 0 0
1886 PH4 OF 21 0 40 4 10 2
1890 PH4 1B 3 0 26 2 1 1
1890 PH4 OF 98 0 143 17 7 6

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Orator Shafer Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 7
Second Base 7
Third Base 6
Left Field 20
Center Field 31
Right Field 810

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Orator Shafer (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Jack Rothrock
    .276 avg, 28 HR
  2. 97
    Myril Hoag
    .271 avg, 28 HR
  3. 97
    Frenchy Bordagaray
    .283 avg, 14 HR
  4. 96
    Jimmy Wasdell
    .273 avg, 29 HR
  5. 90
    Crush Holloway
    .273 avg, 31 HR
  6. 89
    Mickey Hatcher
    .280 avg, 38 HR

Orator Shafer: the record in brief

May 23, 1874 and September 13, 1890 bracket Orator Shafer's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Shafer played for the Hartford Dark Blues (1874), the New York Mutuals (1874), the Philadelphia Whites (1875), the Louisville Grays (1877), the Indianapolis Blues (1878), the Chicago White Stockings (1879), the Cleveland Blues (1880 through 1882), and the Buffalo Bisons (1883), among other clubs in the table. Shafer, an outfielder by primary position, threw right-handed and batted left-handed. Shafer is listed at 165 pounds on a 5-foot-9 frame. The birth record reads October 4, 1851, in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Shafer died on January 22, 1922, in Philadelphia, PA, USA. The bio lists the given name George W.

In 871 games and 3,552 at bats, Shafer batted .282 with 1,000 hits, adding 11 home runs, 317 RBI, and 34 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .326 and .367 give Shafer a career OPS of .692. Over the seasons Shafer played, league hitters batted .252; the .282 career figure is 11.6% above that.

Frequently Asked Questions about Orator Shafer

What years did Orator Shafer play?
Orator Shafer played in Major League Baseball from 1874 to 1890.
Was Orator Shafer a pitcher?
No. Orator Shafer was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Orator Shafer hit?
Orator Shafer hit 11 career home runs with 1,000 hits.
What teams did Orator Shafer play for?
Orator Shafer played for 10 teams: the Hartford Dark Blues (1874), the New York Mutuals (1874), the Philadelphia Whites (1875), the Louisville Grays (1877), the Indianapolis Blues (1878), the Chicago White Stockings (1879), the Cleveland Blues (1880–1882), the Buffalo Bisons (1883), the St. Louis Maroons (1884–1885), and the Philadelphia Athletics (1885–1886, 1890).
What were Orator Shafer's career stats?
In 871 games, Orator Shafer had 1,000 hits, 11 home runs, 317 RBI, 601 runs, and 34 stolen bases, with a .282 batting average.
What position did Orator Shafer play?
Orator Shafer played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Orator Shafer and how much did he weigh?
Orator Shafer was listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 165 pounds.
How many home runs did Orator Shafer hit each season?
Orator Shafer's home runs by season: 1 in 1874, 0 in 1875, 3 in 1877, 0 in 1878, 0 in 1879, 0 in 1880, 1 in 1881, 3 in 1882, 0 in 1883, 2 in 1884, 0 in 1885, 0 in 1886, and 1 in 1890. His most in one season was 3, in 1877 and 1882.
What was Orator Shafer's career batting average?
Orator Shafer batted .282 over his career, with 1,000 hits in 3,552 at bats.
How many RBI did Orator Shafer have?
Orator Shafer drove in 317 runs in his career.
Is Orator Shafer in the Hall of Fame?
No. Orator Shafer has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.