Ed Steele
Right Fielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records
Ed Steele was a right fielder who played in Major League Baseball for the Birmingham Black Barons. In 115 career games, he hit .355 with 142 hits, 9 home runs, and 78 RBI. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 2,979.
- 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
- Position
- Right Fielder
- Bats / Throws
- L / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'10" / 185 lb
- Died
- 10/1/1978 in Birmingham, AL, USA
Full name: Edward Willis Steele
Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
| Season | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 178.0 | 155.0 | 37.0 | 65.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 23.0 | 21.0 | 0 | 7.0 | .419 | .494 | .542 | 1.036 |
| 1950 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .667 | .750 | .667 | 1.417 |
| 1951 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .250 | .750 | 1.000 |
| Listed seasons · 3 | 186 | 162 | 38 | 68 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 25 | 21 | 0 | 7 | .420 | — | — | — |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 115 | 400 | 91 | 142 | 22 | 15 | 9 | 78 | 15 | 61 | 2 | .355 | .458 | .552 | 1.011 | 2,979 |
Career AVG .355 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — +37.0% above league average.
Career OBP .458 vs. league average .330 across their career seasons — +38.9% above league average.
Career SLG .552 vs. league average .360 across their career seasons — +53.4% above league average.
Career OPS 1.011 vs. league average .690 across their career seasons — +46.5% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | BBB | NAL | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1943 | BBB | NAL | 3 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1944 | BBB | NAL | 32 | 112 | 25 | 40 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 23 | 3 | 14 | 0 | .357 | .261 (+37%) | .325 (+36%) | .357 (+57%) | .683 (+47%) | 873.3 |
| 1945 | BBB | NAL | 27 | 100 | 17 | 39 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 2 | 8 | 2 | .390 | .260 (+49%) | .328 (+34%) | .354 (+86%) | .683 (+61%) | 906.5 |
| 1946 | BBB | NAL | 9 | 27 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | .259 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1947 | BBB | NAL | 14 | 49 | 12 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 0 | .367 | — | — | — | — | 306.4 |
| 1948 | BBB | NAL | 29 | 98 | 27 | 35 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 7 | 22 | 0 | .357 | .263 (+35%) | .340 (+46%) | .379 (+45%) | .719 (+46%) | 892.6 |
| Career · 7 seasons | 115 | 400 | 91 | 142 | 22 | 15 | 9 | 78 | 15 | 61 | 2 | .355 | — | — | — | — | 2,979 | ||
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
Playoff Batting by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (164 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 81 | 176 | 61 | 93 | 9 | 41 | .528 |
| Away | 83 | 217 | 61 | 103 | 10 | 44 | .475 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949-08-28 | BIR | IN9 | W | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1949-08-24 | BIR | KCM | W | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-17 | BIR | CAG | L | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-16 | BIR | CAG | W | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-07 | BIR | BLG | L | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-07 | BIR | BLG | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-05 | BIR | BLG | L | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-07-31 | BIR | BLG | L | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-07-27 | BIR | MEM | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1949-07-10 | BIR | PH5 | W | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Left Field | 4 |
| Center Field | 1 |
| Right Field | 110 |
Frequently Asked Questions about Ed Steele
- Was Ed Steele a pitcher?
- No. Ed Steele was a position player (Right Fielder).
- How many home runs did Ed Steele hit?
- Ed Steele hit 9 career home runs with 142 hits.
- What was Ed Steele's career batting average?
- Ed Steele batted .355 over his career, with 142 hits in 400 at bats.
- How many RBI did Ed Steele have?
- Ed Steele drove in 78 runs in his career.
- Is Ed Steele in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Ed Steele has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- What teams did Ed Steele play for?
- Ed Steele played for the Birmingham Black Barons.