Jake Virtue

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1890-1894)

Jake Virtue was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1890 to 1894 for the Cleveland Spiders, a span of 5 seasons. In 474 career games, he hit .274 with 483 hits, 7 home runs, and 256 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 3,927.

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 .274
HR 7
RBI 256
H 483
OPS .753
PIV 3,927
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
B / L
Height / Weight
5'9" / 165 lb
Born
3/2/1865 in Philadelphia, PA, USA
Died
2/3/1943 in Camden, NJ, USA
MLB Debut
1890-07-21
Last Game
1894-07-20

Full name: Jacob Kitchline Virtue

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Career Batting Statistics

Jake Virtue — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
474 1,764 321 483 60 50 7 256 50 275 140 .274 .376 .376 .753 3,927

Career AVG .274 vs. league average .267 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .376 vs. league average .342 across their career seasons — +10.1% above league average.

Career SLG .376 vs. league average .363 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .753 vs. league average .705 across their career seasons — +6.8% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jake Virtue — 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
1890 CL4 NL 62 223 39 68 6 5 2 25 9 49 15 .305 .260 (+17%) .336 (+28%) .351 (+15%) .687 (+21%) 1056.8
1891 CL4 NL 139 517 82 135 19 14 2 72 15 75 40 .261 .254 (+3%) .331 (+10%) .343 (+6%) .675 (+8%) 921.6
1892 CL4 NL 147 557 98 157 15 20 2 89 14 84 68 .282 .244 (+15%) .316 (+20%) .327 (+19%) .644 (+20%) 2248.5
1893 CL4 NL 97 378 87 100 16 10 1 60 11 54 14 .265 .279 (-5%) .356 (avg) .379 (-3%) .735 (-1%) -70.0
1894 CL4 NL 29 89 15 23 4 1 0 10 1 13 3 .258 .309 (-16%) .379 (-5%) .435 (-25%) .814 (-16%) -230.0
Career · 5 seasons 474 1,764 321 483 60 50 7 256 50 275 140 .274 — — — — 3,927

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.

Career Pitching Statistics

Jake Virtue — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 2 0 0 0 0 5.0 3 1 0 4 2 1.80 0.0

Career ERA 1.80 vs. league average 4.99 across their career seasons — 64.0% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jake Virtue — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1893 CL4 NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5.0 3 1 3 2 1.80 — 0.0
1894 CL4 NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0.00 — 0.0
Career · 2 seasons 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 5.0 3 1 4 2 1.80 — 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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Jake Virtue — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
6 24 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 5 .125

Playoff Batting by Year

Jake Virtue — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1892 CS CL4 6 24 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 5 .125

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jake Virtue — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 423 0 4391 174 103 212
2B 3 0 6 4 1 0
3B 5 0 6 13 3 2
OF 34 0 69 5 8 0
P 2 0 0 0 0 0
SS 5 0 11 14 2 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jake Virtue — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1890 CL4 1B 62 0 633 21 12 33
1891 CL4 1B 139 0 1465 44 44 70
1892 CL4 1B 147 0 1500 61 26 61
1893 CL4 1B 73 0 777 47 21 48
1893 CL4 3B 5 0 6 13 3 2
1893 CL4 OF 13 0 26 2 2 0
1893 CL4 P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1893 CL4 SS 5 0 11 14 2 0
1894 CL4 1B 2 0 16 1 0 0
1894 CL4 2B 3 0 6 4 1 0
1894 CL4 OF 21 0 43 3 6 0
1894 CL4 P 1 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jake Virtue — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 2
First Base 423
Second Base 3
Third Base 5
Shortstop 5
Center Field 25
Right Field 9

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Jake Virtue (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Benny McCoy
    .269 avg, 16 HR
  2. 97
    Bobby Brown
    .279 avg, 22 HR
  3. 96
    Ed Lennox
    .274 avg, 18 HR
  4. 95
    Jim Viox
    .273 avg, 7 HR
  5. 92
    Topper Rigney
    .288 avg, 13 HR
  6. 92
    Willie Clark
    .286 avg, 2 HR

Jake Virtue: the record in brief

According to the bio, Jake Virtue debuted on July 21, 1890 and played a final game on July 20, 1894. Every season row on the page belongs to the Cleveland Spiders, from 1890 through 1894. Virtue played primarily as a first baseman and batted from both sides and threw left-handed. Born on March 2, 1865, in Philadelphia, PA, USA, Virtue was listed at 165 pounds on a 5-foot-9 frame. Virtue died on February 3, 1943, in Camden, NJ, USA. The given name on file is Jacob Kitchline Virtue.

Virtue collected 483 hits in 1,764 at bats across 474 games, good for a .274 batting average, plus 7 home runs, 256 RBI, and 50 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .376 and the slugging percentage .376, for an OPS of .753. The .274 career average is close to the .267 the league hit across the same seasons. 1892 produced Virtue's most hits, 157 of them for the Cleveland Spiders. The RBI column peaks at 89 in 1892.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jake Virtue

What years did Jake Virtue play?
Jake Virtue played in Major League Baseball from 1890 to 1894.
Was Jake Virtue a pitcher?
No. Jake Virtue was a position player (First Baseman), though he did pitch in 2 career games.
How many home runs did Jake Virtue hit?
Jake Virtue hit 7 career home runs with 483 hits.
What was Jake Virtue's career batting average?
Jake Virtue batted .274 over his career, with 483 hits in 1,764 at bats.
How many RBI did Jake Virtue have?
Jake Virtue drove in 256 runs in his career.
What was Jake Virtue's career ERA?
Jake Virtue finished with a 1.80 career ERA, going 0-0 with 2 strikeouts.