Mike Tresh
Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1938-1949)
Mike Tresh was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1949 for the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 12 seasons. In 1,027 career games, he hit .249 with 788 hits, 2 home runs, and 297 RBI. Mike Tresh was an 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
- Position
- Catcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 170 lb
- Died
- 10/4/1966 in Detroit, MI, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1938-09-04
- Last Game
- 1949-09-25
- Awards
- All-Star
Full name: Michael Tresh
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,027 | 3,169 | 326 | 788 | 75 | 14 | 2 | 297 | 19 | 402 | 263 | .249 | .335 | .283 | .619 | -4,544 |
Career AVG .249 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — 5.4% below league average.
Career OBP .335 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .283 vs. league average .371 across their career seasons — 23.7% below league average.
Career OPS .619 vs. league average .704 across their career seasons — 12.2% below 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | CHA | AL | 10 | 29 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 4 | .241 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1939 | CHA | AL | 119 | 352 | 49 | 91 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 3 | 64 | 30 | .259 | .274 (-6%) | .342 (+10%) | .393 (-28%) | .735 (-10%) | -299.8 |
| 1940 | CHA | AL | 135 | 480 | 62 | 135 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 64 | 3 | 49 | 40 | .281 | .267 (+5%) | .335 (+4%) | .387 (-12%) | .722 (-5%) | -269.6 |
| 1941 | CHA | AL | 115 | 390 | 38 | 98 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 38 | 27 | .251 | .262 (-4%) | .332 (-4%) | .373 (-24%) | .705 (-15%) | -819.2 |
| 1942 | CHA | AL | 72 | 233 | 21 | 54 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 28 | 24 | .232 | .253 (-9%) | .323 (-3%) | .349 (-21%) | .672 (-12%) | -384.6 |
| 1943 | CHA | AL | 86 | 279 | 20 | 60 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | 37 | 20 | .215 | .255 (-16%) | .324 (-6%) | .346 (-35%) | .671 (-21%) | -748.9 |
| 1944 | CHA | AL | 93 | 312 | 22 | 81 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 37 | 15 | .260 | .261 (-1%) | .325 (+5%) | .357 (-18%) | .683 (-7%) | -223.3 |
| 1945 | CHA | AL | 150 | 458 | 50 | 114 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 6 | 65 | 37 | .249 | .260 (-5%) | .328 (+4%) | .354 (-22%) | .683 (-10%) | -463.9 |
| 1946 | CHA | AL | 80 | 217 | 28 | 47 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 36 | 24 | .217 | .256 (-16%) | .328 (+2%) | .358 (-28%) | .687 (-14%) | -332.1 |
| 1947 | CHA | AL | 90 | 274 | 19 | 66 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 2 | 26 | 26 | .241 | .262 (-8%) | .336 (-8%) | .376 (-26%) | .712 (-17%) | -716.4 |
| 1948 | CHA | AL | 39 | 108 | 10 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 9 | .250 | .263 (-5%) | .340 (-10%) | .379 (-24%) | .719 (-17%) | -286.3 |
| 1949 | CLE | AL | 38 | 37 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | .216 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 1,027 | 3,169 | 326 | 788 | 75 | 14 | 2 | 297 | 19 | 402 | 263 | .249 | — | — | — | — | -4,544 | ||
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 (1027 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 531 | 1607 | 183 | 412 | 2 | 153 | .256 |
| Away | 496 | 1561 | 144 | 376 | 0 | 147 | .241 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949-09-25 | CLE | DET | W | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-09-24 | CLE | DET | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-09-21 | CLE | BOS | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1949-09-11 | CLE | SLA | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-09-08 | CLE | DET | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-09-01 | CLE | PHA | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-29 | CLE | BOS | W | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-23 | CLE | MIN | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-21 | CLE | CHW | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-18 | CLE | SLA | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | CHA | C | 10 | 0 | 37 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| 1939 | CHA | C | 119 | 0 | 480 | 59 | 8 | 7 |
| 1940 | CHA | C | 135 | 0 | 619 | 69 | 12 | 7 |
| 1941 | CHA | C | 115 | 0 | 488 | 81 | 11 | 12 |
| 1942 | CHA | C | 72 | 0 | 258 | 37 | 7 | 2 |
| 1943 | CHA | C | 85 | 0 | 321 | 62 | 7 | 4 |
| 1944 | CHA | C | 93 | 0 | 370 | 47 | 8 | 5 |
| 1945 | CHA | C | 150 | 0 | 575 | 102 | 11 | 7 |
| 1946 | CHA | C | 79 | 0 | 330 | 48 | 2 | 13 |
| 1947 | CHA | C | 89 | 0 | 313 | 38 | 9 | 10 |
| 1948 | CHA | C | 34 | 0 | 99 | 16 | 2 | 1 |
| 1949 | CLE | C | 38 | 0 | 71 | 8 | 0 | 3 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 1019 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 11th | 33.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1940 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 20th | 4.0 | 336 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Mike Tresh (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Mike Tresh: the record in brief
According to the bio, Mike Tresh debuted on September 4, 1938 and played a final game on September 25, 1949. The team column moves through the Chicago White Sox (1938 to 1948) and the Cleveland Indians (1949). Tresh, born on February 23, 1914, in Hazleton, PA, USA, is listed as a catcher and batted and threw right-handed. The bio gives 170 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame. The bio records the death on October 4, 1966, in Detroit, MI, USA. Tresh's full given name, per the bio, is Michael Tresh.
Tresh collected 788 hits in 3,169 at bats across 1,027 games, good for a .249 batting average, along with 2 home runs and 297 RBI. Tresh got on base at a .335 rate and slugged .283 (.619 OPS). Measured against the leagues Tresh played in, the .249 career average compares with a .263 league average over the same seasons, 5.4% below the league. The OPS comparison is .619 to a league .704, 12.2% below average. Tresh collected a career-high 135 hits in 1940. In 1940, a season of regular play, Tresh hit .281 while the league hit .267.
Frequently Asked Questions about Mike Tresh
- What years did Mike Tresh play?
- Mike Tresh played in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1949.
- Was Mike Tresh a pitcher?
- No. Mike Tresh was a position player (Catcher).
- How many home runs did Mike Tresh hit?
- Mike Tresh hit 2 career home runs with 788 hits.
- What was Mike Tresh's career batting average?
- Mike Tresh batted .249 over his career, with 788 hits in 3,169 at bats.
- How many RBI did Mike Tresh have?
- Mike Tresh drove in 297 runs in his career.
- Is Mike Tresh in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Mike Tresh has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.