Earl Taborn

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Earl Taborn was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Monarchs. In 104 career games, he hit .278 with 91 hits, 1 home runs, and 45 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 126.

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 .278
HR 1
RBI 45
H 91
OPS .715
PIV 126
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 161 lb
Born
7/22/1922 in Carrier Mills, IL, USA
Died
12/21/1996 in San Antonio, TX, USA
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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Earl Taborn — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
617.0 551.0 73.0 154.0 35.0 5.0 12.0 89.0 54.0 7.0 4.0 .279 .349 .426 .775

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

Earl Taborn — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1949 157.0 142.0 22.0 44.0 11.0 1.0 9.0 35.0 11.0 0 1.0 .310 .364 .592 .956
Listed seasons · 1 157 142 22 44 11 1 9 35 11 0 1 .310 — — —

Career Batting Statistics

Earl Taborn — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
104 327 41 91 22 0 1 45 3 37 2 .278 .360 .355 .715 126

Career AVG .278 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — +6.7% above league average.

Career OBP .360 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — +7.5% above league average.

Career SLG .355 vs. league average .371 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .715 vs. league average .707 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Earl Taborn — 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
1946 KCM NAL 20 56 4 11 2 0 1 2 0 3 0 .196 .256 (-24%) .328 (-28%) .358 (-20%) .687 (-24%) -217.2
1947 KCM NAL 40 123 22 36 10 0 0 20 1 13 0 .293 .262 (+12%) .336 (+14%) .376 (-1%) .712 (+6%) 180.6
1948 KCM NAL 44 148 15 44 10 0 0 23 2 21 2 .297 .263 (+13%) .340 (+13%) .379 (-4%) .719 (+4%) 162.7
Career · 3 seasons 104 327 41 91 22 0 1 45 3 37 2 .278 — — — — 126

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

Earl Taborn — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
13 42 3 9 1 1 0 2 5 3 .214

Playoff Batting by Year

Earl Taborn — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1948 ALC KCM 6 19 1 5 1 0 0 1 2 0 .263
1946 NWS KCM 7 23 2 4 0 1 0 1 3 3 .174

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (190 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Earl Taborn — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1153114381550.260
Away75941738522.404

Last 10 Games — Batting

Earl Taborn — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1949-07-29 KCMCAGL 401000000
1949-07-26 KCMCAGW 200000000
1949-07-25 KCMCAGW 000000000
1949-07-24 KCMCAGL 301000100
1949-07-24 KCMCAGL 200000000
1949-07-21 KCMBLGL 502000200
1949-07-20 KCMBLGL 302100110
1949-07-19 KCMBLGW 401000200
1949-07-18 KCMBLGW 400000000
1949-07-17 KCMBLGL 302000110

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Earl Taborn — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
C 101 97 611 84 26 9

Season-by-Season Fielding

Earl Taborn — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1946 KCM C 19 16 94 18 7 3
1947 KCM C 38 37 224 30 9 3
1948 KCM C 44 44 293 36 10 3

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Earl Taborn — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Catcher 101

Earl Taborn: the record in brief

Earl Taborn's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1946 to 1948. Every season row on the page belongs to the Kansas City Monarchs, from 1946 through 1948. Taborn is listed as a catcher at 6 feet, 0 inches and 161 pounds. The bio says Taborn threw and hit right-handed. Taborn was born on July 22, 1922, in Carrier Mills, IL, USA. Taborn's death is recorded on December 21, 1996, in San Antonio, TX, USA.

In 104 games and 327 at bats, Taborn batted .278 with 91 hits, plus 1 home run and 45 runs batted in. Reaching base at a .360 clip and slugging .355, Taborn finished with a .715 OPS. The league as a whole hit .261 across Taborn's seasons, which puts the .278 career mark 6.7% above average. The highest hit total in a season was 44, in 1948. 1948 brought the most runs batted in, 23. 1948 was the strongest of the full seasons by average: .297 against a league .263, a 13% edge.

Frequently Asked Questions about Earl Taborn

Was Earl Taborn a pitcher?
No. Earl Taborn was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Earl Taborn hit?
Earl Taborn hit 1 career home run with 91 hits.
What teams did Earl Taborn play for?
Earl Taborn played for one team, the Kansas City Monarchs (1946–1948).
What were Earl Taborn's career stats?
In 104 games, Earl Taborn had 91 hits, 1 home runs, 45 RBI, 41 runs, and 3 stolen bases, with a .278 batting average.
What position did Earl Taborn play?
Earl Taborn played primarily as a catcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Earl Taborn and how much did he weigh?
Earl Taborn was listed at 6 feet and 161 pounds.
How many home runs did Earl Taborn hit each season?
Earl Taborn's home runs by season: 1 in 1946, 0 in 1947, and 0 in 1948. His most in one season was 1, in 1946.
What was Earl Taborn's career batting average?
Earl Taborn batted .278 over his career, with 91 hits in 327 at bats.
How many RBI did Earl Taborn have?
Earl Taborn drove in 45 runs in his career.
Is Earl Taborn in the Hall of Fame?
No. Earl Taborn has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.