What years did Billy Shantz play?

Billy Shantz played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1960.

Was Billy Shantz a pitcher?

No. Billy Shantz was a position player (Catcher).

How many home runs did Billy Shantz hit?

Billy Shantz hit 2 career home runs with 98 hits.

Billy Shantz

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1954-1960)

AVG .257

HR 2

RBI 29

H 98

OPS .635

PIV -760

Position: Catcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'1" / 160 lb
Born: 7/31/1927 in Pottstown, PA, USA
Died: 12/13/1993 in Lauderhill, FL, USA
MLB Debut: 1954-04-13
Last Game: 1960-06-29

Full name: Wilmer Ebert Shantz

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Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
131	381	31	98	13	4	2	29	0	28	37	.257	.307	.328	.635	-760

Career AVG .257 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .307 vs. league average .330 across their career seasons — 6.8% below league average.

Career SLG .328 vs. league average .391 across their career seasons — 16.0% below league average.

Career OPS .635 vs. league average .720 across their career seasons — 11.8% below 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	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1954	PHA	AL	51	164	13	42	9	3	1	17	17	23	.256	.261 (-2%)	.333 (-2%)	.390 (-6%)	.723 (-4%)	-117.1
1955	KC1	AL	79	217	18	56	4	1	1	12	11	14	.258	.258 (avg)	.332 (-12%)	.393 (-24%)	.726 (-18%)	-643.3
1960	NYA	AL	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 3 seasons			131	381	31	98	13	4	2	29	28	37	.257	—	—	—	—	-760

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 (131 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	56	162	12	39	1	9	.241
Away	75	219	19	59	1	20	.269

Last 10 Games — Batting

Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	BB	SO
1960-06-29	NYY	KC1	W	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1955-09-25	KC1	CHW	L	3	0	0	0	0	0	1
1955-09-23	KC1	CHW	L	4	0	1	0	1	0	0
1955-09-20	KC1	DET	L	3	0	2	0	1	1	0
1955-09-19	KC1	DET	L	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
1955-09-17	KC1	CHW	L	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1955-09-13	KC1	BOS	L	4	1	1	1	0	0	0
1955-09-11	KC1	BAL	W	4	1	1	0	1	0	0
1955-09-09	KC1	MIN	L	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
1955-09-08	KC1	NYY	L	3	0	1	0	0	0	1

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
C	130	110	432	55	8	9

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1954	PHA	C	51	49	170	28	5	1
1955	KC1	C	78	61	261	27	3	8
1960	NYA	C	1	0	1	0	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position	Games
Catcher	130

Frequently Asked Questions about Billy Shantz

What years did Billy Shantz play?: Billy Shantz played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1960.
Was Billy Shantz a pitcher?: No. Billy Shantz was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Billy Shantz hit?: Billy Shantz hit 2 career home runs with 98 hits.