Orlando Varona
Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records
Orlando Varona was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball for the Memphis Red Sox. In 9 career games, he hit .185 with 5 hits, 1 home runs, and 3 RBI. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020.
- 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
- Shortstop
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'0" / 170 lb
- Died
- 3/2/1977 in New York, NY, USA
Full name: Orlando Clemente Varona
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.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 27 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .185 | .241 | .296 | .538 | 0 |
Career AVG .185 vs. league average .264 across their career seasons — 29.7% below league average.
Career OBP .241 vs. league average .340 across their career seasons — 29.0% below league average.
Career SLG .296 vs. league average .379 across their career seasons — 21.9% below league average.
Career OPS .538 vs. league average .719 across their career seasons — 25.2% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | MRS | NAL | 9 | 27 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .185 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 1 season | 9 | 27 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .185 | — | — | — | — | 0 | ||
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 (25 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | .750 |
| Away | 24 | 76 | 9 | 17 | 2 | 8 | .224 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949-08-24 | MEM | NY6 | L | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1949-08-23 | MEM | BLG | W | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-21 | MEM | BLG | L | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1949-08-21 | MEM | BLG | L | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-05 | MEM | KCM | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-08-04 | MEM | KCM | W | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-07-27 | MEM | BIR | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-07-09 | MEM | BIR | L | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-07-03 | MEM | BIR | W | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1949-07-03 | MEM | BIR | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Third Base | 4 |
| Shortstop | 6 |
Orlando Varona: the record in brief
The season rows for Orlando Varona begin in 1948. Every season row on the page belongs to the Memphis Red Sox, in 1948. Varona played primarily as a shortstop and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on December 8, 1925, in Havana, La Habana, Cuba and a listed size of 6'0" and 170 pounds. The bio records the death on March 2, 1977, in New York, NY, USA. Varona's full given name, per the bio, is Orlando Clemente Varona.
Varona finished with 5 hits from 27 at bats in 9 games, which works out to .185; the totals also include 1 home run and 3 RBI. Set against a .264 league average for the same years, Varona's .185 average sits 29.7% below it. Varona's lone season row is 1948 with the Memphis Red Sox: 9 games, 5 hits in 27 at bats.
Varona's separate Negro Leagues table shows a .250 average on 22 hits. That section also lists 3 home runs and 11 RBI. Those Negro Leagues figures come from surviving box scores and are shown in their own table, apart from the season rows.
Frequently Asked Questions about Orlando Varona
- Was Orlando Varona a pitcher?
- No. Orlando Varona was a position player (Shortstop).
- How many home runs did Orlando Varona hit?
- Orlando Varona hit 1 career home run with 5 hits.
- What teams did Orlando Varona play for?
- Orlando Varona played for one team, the Memphis Red Sox (1948).
- What were Orlando Varona's career stats?
- In 9 games, Orlando Varona had 5 hits, 1 home runs, 3 RBI, 1 runs, and 1 stolen bases, with a .185 batting average.
- What position did Orlando Varona play?
- Orlando Varona played primarily as a shortstop, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Orlando Varona and how much did he weigh?
- Orlando Varona was listed at 6 feet and 170 pounds.
- What was Orlando Varona's career batting average?
- Orlando Varona batted .185 over his career, with 5 hits in 27 at bats.
- How many RBI did Orlando Varona have?
- Orlando Varona drove in 3 runs in his career.
- Is Orlando Varona in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Orlando Varona has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.