Joe Start

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1871-1886)

Joe Start was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1871 to 1886 for 6 teams, including the New York Mutuals, a span of 16 seasons. In 1,070 career games, he hit .299 with 1,417 hits, 15 home runs, and 544 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 9,442.

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 .299
HR 15
RBI 544
H 1,417
OPS .690
PIV 9,442
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
5'9" / 165 lb
Born
10/14/1842 in New York, NY, USA
Died
3/27/1927 in Providence, RI, USA
MLB Debut
1871-05-18
Last Game
1886-07-09

Full name: Joseph Start

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Career Batting Statistics

Joe Start — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,070 4,743 852 1,417 148 67 15 544 18 164 109 .299 .322 .368 .690 9,442

Career AVG .299 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — +17.7% above league average.

Career OBP .322 vs. league average .285 across their career seasons — +13.2% above league average.

Career SLG .368 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — +10.9% above league average.

Career OPS .690 vs. league average .616 across their career seasons — +11.9% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Start 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
1871 NY2 33 161 35 58 5 1 1 34 4 3 0 .360 .286 (+26%) .311 (+19%) .383 (+10%) .695 (+14%) 397.9
1872 NY2 54 277 60 75 5 0 0 48 3 0 0 .271 .285 (-5%) .296 (-9%) .347 (-17%) .644 (-13%) -492.1
1873 NY2 53 252 42 67 8 3 1 29 1 4 0 .266 .290 (-8%) .304 (-9%) .357 (-7%) .661 (-8%) -287.3
1874 NY2 63 306 67 96 13 3 2 46 5 4 0 .314 .273 (+15%) .282 (+14%) .333 (+19%) .615 (+17%) 766.5
1875 NY2 69 314 58 90 10 5 4 30 1 3 0 .287 .253 (+13%) .260 (+13%) .309 (+25%) .570 (+19%) 839.1
1876 NY3 NL 56 264 40 73 6 0 0 21 0 1 2 .277 .265 (+4%) .277 (+1%) .320 (-7%) .598 (-3%) -96.6
1877 HAR NL 60 271 55 90 3 6 1 21 0 6 2 .332 .271 (+23%) .289 (+20%) .337 (+18%) .626 (+19%) 799.1
1878 CHN NL 61 285 58 100 12 5 1 27 0 2 3 .351 .259 (+35%) .278 (+28%) .319 (+37%) .597 (+33%) 1322.6
1879 PRO NL 66 317 70 101 11 5 2 37 0 7 4 .319 .255 (+25%) .270 (+23%) .328 (+23%) .599 (+23%) 1098.5
1880 PRO NL 82 345 53 96 14 6 0 27 0 13 20 .278 .244 (+14%) .267 (+14%) .319 (+11%) .586 (+12%) 656.5
1881 PRO NL 79 348 56 114 12 6 0 29 0 9 7 .328 .260 (+26%) .290 (+19%) .338 (+17%) .628 (+18%) 991.3
1882 PRO NL 82 356 58 117 8 10 0 48 0 11 7 .329 .248 (+32%) .275 (+26%) .329 (+23%) .605 (+25%) 1371.2
1883 PRO NL 87 370 63 105 16 7 1 57 0 22 16 .284 .257 (+10%) .285 (+13%) .345 (+8%) .631 (+10%) 690.4
1884 PRO NL 93 381 80 105 10 5 2 32 0 35 25 .276 .243 (+13%) .278 (+21%) .327 (+5%) .606 (+12%) 927.1
1885 PRO NL 101 374 47 103 11 4 0 41 0 39 10 .275 .244 (+13%) .287 (+19%) .325 (avg) .613 (+9%) 774.3
1886 WS8 NL 31 122 10 27 4 1 0 17 4 5 13 .221 .246 (-10%) .302 (-17%) .331 (-18%) .634 (-18%) -316.0
Career · 16 seasons 1,070 4,743 852 1,417 148 67 15 544 18 164 109 .299 — — — — 9,442

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

Joe Start — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 10 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 .100

Playoff Batting by Year

Joe Start — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1884 WS PRO 3 10 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 .100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Joe Start — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1069 150 11197 229 433 449
OF 5 0 0 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Joe Start — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1871 NY2 1B 33 33 334 2 29 11
1872 NY2 1B 54 54 497 0 22 26
1873 NY2 1B 53 0 413 18 26 20
1873 NY2 OF 2 0 0 0 0 0
1874 NY2 1B 63 63 560 13 23 13
1874 NY2 OF 2 0 0 0 0 0
1875 NY2 1B 69 0 702 12 39 20
1876 NY3 1B 56 0 547 10 21 11
1877 HAR 1B 60 0 704 10 27 25
1878 CHN 1B 61 0 719 13 33 28
1879 PRO 1B 65 0 779 11 22 24
1879 PRO OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1880 PRO 1B 82 0 954 10 29 30
1881 PRO 1B 79 0 837 17 33 50
1882 PRO 1B 82 0 905 21 25 54
1883 PRO 1B 87 0 923 29 43 48
1884 PRO 1B 93 0 939 21 20 31
1885 PRO 1B 101 0 1036 35 31 42
1886 WS8 1B 31 0 348 7 10 16

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Joe Start Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 1069
Left Field 1
Center Field 1
Right Field 3

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Joe Start (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Walter Holke
    .287 avg, 24 HR
  2. 89
    Jack Rowe
    .286 avg, 28 HR
  3. 89
    Ezra Sutton
    .294 avg, 25 HR
  4. 86
    Mark Koenig
    .279 avg, 28 HR
  5. 86
    Buddy Hassett
    .292 avg, 12 HR
  6. 85
    Joe Stripp
    .294 avg, 24 HR

Joe Start: the record in brief

Between the debut on May 18, 1871 and the final game on July 9, 1886, Joe Start built the record summarized on this page. The season rows list, in order, the New York Mutuals (1871 to 1876), the Hartford Dark Blues (1877), the Chicago White Stockings (1878), the Providence Grays (1879 through 1885), and the Washington Nationals (1886). Born on October 14, 1842, in New York, NY, USA, Start is listed as a first baseman and batted and threw left-handed. The bio gives 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds. Start's death is recorded on March 27, 1927, in Providence, RI, USA. The given name on file is Joseph Start.

Start collected 1,417 hits in 4,743 at bats across 1,070 games, good for a .299 batting average, along with 15 home runs and 544 runs batted in. Start got on base at a .322 rate and slugged .368 (.690 OPS). Set against a .254 league average for the same years, Start's .299 average sits 17.7% above it. The OPS comparison is .690 to a league .616, 11.9% above average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Start

What years did Joe Start play?
Joe Start played in Major League Baseball from 1871 to 1886.
Was Joe Start a pitcher?
No. Joe Start was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Joe Start hit?
Joe Start hit 15 career home runs with 1,417 hits.
What teams did Joe Start play for?
Joe Start played for 6 teams: the New York Mutuals (1871–1875), the New York Mutuals (1876), the Hartford Dark Blues (1877), the Chicago White Stockings (1878), the Providence Grays (1879–1885), and the Washington Nationals (1886).
What were Joe Start's career stats?
In 1,070 games, Joe Start had 1,417 hits, 15 home runs, 544 RBI, 852 runs, and 18 stolen bases, with a .299 batting average.
What position did Joe Start play?
Joe Start played primarily as a first baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Joe Start and how much did he weigh?
Joe Start was listed at 5 feet 9 inches and 165 pounds.
How many home runs did Joe Start hit each season?
Joe Start's home runs by season: 1 in 1871, 0 in 1872, 1 in 1873, 2 in 1874, 4 in 1875, 0 in 1876, 1 in 1877, 1 in 1878, 2 in 1879, 0 in 1880, 0 in 1881, 0 in 1882, 1 in 1883, 2 in 1884, 0 in 1885, and 0 in 1886. His most in one season was 4, in 1875.
What was Joe Start's career batting average?
Joe Start batted .299 over his career, with 1,417 hits in 4,743 at bats.
How many RBI did Joe Start have?
Joe Start drove in 544 runs in his career.
Is Joe Start in the Hall of Fame?
No. Joe Start has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.