Birdie Tebbetts

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1936-1952)

Birdie Tebbetts was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1936 to 1952 for the Detroit Tigers, the Boston Red Sox, and the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 17 seasons. In 1,162 career games, he hit .270 with 1,000 hits, 38 home runs, and 469 RBI. Birdie Tebbetts was a 4-time All-Star.

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 .270
HR 38
RBI 469
H 1,000
OPS .700
PIV -961
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 170 lb
Born
11/10/1912 in Burlington, VT, USA
Died
3/24/1999 in Manatee, FL, USA
MLB Debut
1936-09-16
Last Game
1952-09-14
Awards
4× All-Star

Full name: George Robert Tebbetts

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Career Batting Statistics

Birdie Tebbetts — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,162 3,704 357 1,000 169 22 38 469 29 389 261 .270 .341 .358 .700 -961

Career AVG .270 vs. league average .266 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .341 vs. league average .338 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .358 vs. league average .382 across their career seasons — 6.3% below league average.

Career OPS .700 vs. league average .720 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Birdie Tebbetts 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
1936 DET AL 10 33 7 10 1 2 1 4 0 5 3 .303 — — — — 0.0
1937 DET AL 50 162 15 31 4 3 2 16 0 10 13 .191 .276 (-31%) .342 (-30%) .398 (-27%) .740 (-29%) -794.3
1938 DET AL 53 143 16 42 6 2 1 25 1 12 13 .294 .272 (+8%) .341 (+2%) .392 (-2%) .734 (avg) -7.3
1939 DET AL 106 341 37 89 22 2 4 53 2 25 20 .261 .274 (-5%) .342 (-8%) .393 (-5%) .735 (-6%) -398.3
1940 DET AL 111 379 46 112 24 4 4 46 4 35 14 .296 .267 (+11%) .335 (+6%) .387 (+6%) .722 (+6%) 454.7
1941 DET AL 110 359 28 102 19 4 2 47 1 38 29 .284 .262 (+8%) .332 (+7%) .373 (+1%) .705 (+3%) 272.5
1942 DET AL 99 308 24 76 11 0 1 27 4 39 17 .247 .253 (-3%) .323 (+4%) .349 (-16%) .672 (-7%) -201.6
1946 DET AL 87 280 20 68 11 2 1 34 1 28 23 .243 .256 (-5%) .328 (-5%) .358 (-14%) .687 (-10%) -417.9
1947 DET AL 20 53 1 5 1 0 0 2 0 3 3 .094 .262 (-64%) .336 (-58%) .376 (-70%) .712 (-64%) -542.1
1947 BOS AL 90 291 22 87 10 0 1 28 2 21 30 .299 .262 (+14%) .336 (+3%) .376 (-9%) .712 (-3%) -542.1
1948 BOS AL 128 446 54 125 26 2 5 68 5 62 32 .280 .263 (+6%) .340 (+9%) .379 (+1%) .719 (+5%) 533.8
1949 BOS AL 122 403 42 109 14 0 5 48 8 62 22 .270 .262 (+3%) .343 (+7%) .384 (-11%) .727 (-2%) 14.4
1950 BOS AL 79 268 33 83 10 1 8 45 1 29 26 .310 .265 (+16%) .346 (+9%) .401 (+11%) .747 (+10%) 518.6
1951 CLE AL 55 137 8 36 6 0 2 18 0 8 7 .263 .260 (+1%) .336 (-8%) .385 (-9%) .721 (-9%) -205.8
1952 CLE AL 42 101 4 25 4 0 1 8 0 12 9 .248 .252 (-2%) .326 (+4%) .369 (-14%) .696 (-6%) -56.7
Career · 15 seasons 1,162 3,704 357 1,000 169 22 38 469 29 389 261 .270 — — — — -1,372

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

Birdie Tebbetts — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
4 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Birdie Tebbetts — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1940 WS DET 4 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1161 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Birdie Tebbetts — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home578186020452227273.281
Away583184115347711196.259

Last 10 Games — Batting

Birdie Tebbetts — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1952-09-14 CLENYYL 101000010
1952-09-11 CLEPHAW 300000001
1952-09-07 CLESLAW 300000000
1952-09-04 CLEDETW 311100000
1952-08-31 CLECHWW 201100011
1952-08-28 CLEDETL 402000000
1952-08-27 CLEPHAL 000000000
1952-08-22 CLENYYW 200000010
1952-08-17 CLECHWW 301000000
1952-08-03 CLEPHAL 300000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Birdie Tebbetts — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
C 1108 0 4667 666 119 87

Season-by-Season Fielding

Birdie Tebbetts — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1936 DET C 10 0 51 5 1 0
1937 DET C 48 0 155 25 7 1
1938 DET C 53 0 108 20 2 4
1939 DET C 100 0 449 64 16 10
1940 DET C 107 0 572 89 17 10
1941 DET C 98 0 461 83 13 11
1942 DET C 97 0 446 69 12 10
1946 DET C 87 0 486 53 10 4
1947 DET C 20 0 95 15 0 3
1947 BOS C 89 0 332 50 10 7
1948 BOS C 126 0 470 56 10 8
1949 BOS C 118 0 481 51 11 13
1950 BOS C 74 0 285 44 4 5
1951 CLE C 44 0 145 27 4 1
1952 CLE C 37 0 131 15 2 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Birdie Tebbetts Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 1099

Awards & Honors

Birdie Tebbetts — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1948 Baseball Magazine All-Star C
1948 TSN All-Star C

College History

Birdie Tebbetts — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Providence College Providence RI 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934

Award Voting History

Birdie Tebbetts — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1949 Most Valuable Player AL 18th 6.0 336 0
1948 Most Valuable Player AL 11th 23.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Birdie Tebbetts (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Phil Masi
    .264 avg, 47 HR
  2. 80
    Ron Hassey
    .266 avg, 71 HR
  3. 79
    Brent Mayne
    .263 avg, 38 HR
  4. 75
    Gus Mancuso
    .265 avg, 53 HR
  5. 73
    Val Picinich
    .258 avg, 26 HR
  6. 71
    Mike Scioscia
    .259 avg, 68 HR

Birdie Tebbetts: the record in brief

September 16, 1936 and September 14, 1952 bracket Birdie Tebbetts's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Tebbetts played for the Detroit Tigers (1936 to 1947), the Boston Red Sox (1947 through 1950), and the Cleveland Indians (1951 through 1952). Tebbetts, a catcher by primary position, both batted and threw right-handed. The recorded size is 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds. Tebbetts was born on November 10, 1912, in Burlington, VT, USA. The bio records the death on March 24, 1999, in Manatee, FL, USA. Tebbetts's full given name, per the bio, is George Robert Tebbetts.

Tebbetts finished with 1,000 hits from 3,704 at bats in 1,162 games, which works out to .270, along with 38 homers, 469 runs batted in, and 29 stolen bases. Tebbetts got on base at a .341 rate and slugged .358 (.700 OPS). Against a .266 league average for those years, Tebbetts's .270 average was near the norm. No season topped the 125 hits of 1948. 1948 brought the most runs batted in, 68.

Frequently Asked Questions about Birdie Tebbetts

What years did Birdie Tebbetts play?
Birdie Tebbetts played in Major League Baseball from 1936 to 1952.
Was Birdie Tebbetts a pitcher?
No. Birdie Tebbetts was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Birdie Tebbetts hit?
Birdie Tebbetts hit 38 career home runs with 1000 hits.
What was Birdie Tebbetts's career batting average?
Birdie Tebbetts batted .270 over his career, with 1,000 hits in 3,704 at bats.
How many RBI did Birdie Tebbetts have?
Birdie Tebbetts drove in 469 runs in his career.
Is Birdie Tebbetts in the Hall of Fame?
No. Birdie Tebbetts has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.