Paul Waner
Outfielder · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1926-1945)
Paul Waner was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1926 to 1945 for 4 teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 20 seasons. In 2,549 career games, he hit .333 with 3,152 hits, 113 home runs, and 1,309 RBI. Paul Waner was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1952 and was a 4-time All-Star and an MVP. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 40,296.
- 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
- Outfielder
- Bats / Throws
- L / L
- Height / Weight
- 5'8" / 153 lb
- Died
- 8/29/1965 in Sarasota, FL, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1926-04-13
- Last Game
- 1945-04-26
- Hall of Fame
- Inducted 1952 (Nominating Vote)
- Awards
- 4× All-Star · MVP
Full name: Paul Glee Waner
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,549 | 9,459 | 1,627 | 3,152 | 605 | 191 | 113 | 1,309 | 104 | 1,091 | 376 | .333 | .404 | .473 | .878 | 40,296 |
Career AVG .333 vs. league average .274 across their career seasons — +21.6% above league average.
Career OBP .404 vs. league average .339 across their career seasons — +19.3% above league average.
Career SLG .473 vs. league average .387 across their career seasons — +22.3% above league average.
Career OPS .878 vs. league average .726 across their career seasons — +20.9% above 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | PIT | NL | 144 | 536 | 101 | 180 | 35 | 22 | 8 | 79 | 11 | 66 | 19 | .336 | .279 (+20%) | .345 (+19%) | .390 (+35%) | .735 (+28%) | 3055.1 |
| 1927 | PIT | NL | 155 | 623 | 114 | 237 | 42 | 18 | 9 | 131 | 5 | 60 | 14 | .380 | .282 (+35%) | .344 (+27%) | .392 (+40%) | .736 (+34%) | 4426.2 |
| 1928 | PIT | NL | 152 | 602 | 142 | 223 | 50 | 19 | 6 | 86 | 6 | 77 | 16 | .370 | .280 (+32%) | .342 (+30%) | .395 (+38%) | .737 (+35%) | 4507.1 |
| 1929 | PIT | NL | 151 | 596 | 131 | 200 | 43 | 15 | 15 | 100 | 15 | 89 | 24 | .336 | .289 (+16%) | .353 (+20%) | .415 (+28%) | .769 (+25%) | 3341.1 |
| 1930 | PIT | NL | 145 | 589 | 117 | 217 | 32 | 18 | 8 | 77 | 18 | 57 | 18 | .368 | .293 (+25%) | .354 (+21%) | .429 (+22%) | .784 (+21%) | 2845.9 |
| 1931 | PIT | NL | 150 | 559 | 88 | 180 | 35 | 10 | 6 | 70 | 6 | 73 | 21 | .322 | .276 (+17%) | .338 (+19%) | .388 (+17%) | .726 (+18%) | 2274.8 |
| 1932 | PIT | NL | 154 | 630 | 107 | 215 | 62 | 10 | 8 | 82 | 13 | 56 | 24 | .341 | .275 (+24%) | .335 (+18%) | .391 (+30%) | .726 (+25%) | 3159.2 |
| 1933 | PIT | NL | 154 | 618 | 101 | 191 | 38 | 16 | 7 | 70 | 3 | 60 | 20 | .309 | .270 (+14%) | .329 (+13%) | .377 (+21%) | .707 (+17%) | 2096.4 |
| 1934 | PIT | NL | 146 | 599 | 122 | 217 | 32 | 16 | 14 | 90 | 8 | 68 | 24 | .362 | .278 (+30%) | .340 (+26%) | .392 (+37%) | .733 (+32%) | 4041.3 |
| 1935 | PIT | NL | 139 | 549 | 98 | 176 | 29 | 12 | 11 | 78 | 2 | 61 | 22 | .321 | .279 (+15%) | .342 (+14%) | .399 (+19%) | .742 (+17%) | 1986.0 |
| 1936 | PIT | NL | 148 | 585 | 107 | 218 | 53 | 9 | 5 | 94 | 7 | 74 | 29 | .373 | .283 (+31%) | .349 (+27%) | .404 (+29%) | .753 (+28%) | 3680.2 |
| 1937 | PIT | NL | 154 | 619 | 94 | 219 | 30 | 9 | 2 | 74 | 4 | 63 | 34 | .354 | .276 (+28%) | .342 (+21%) | .398 (+11%) | .740 (+15%) | 2189.2 |
| 1938 | PIT | NL | 148 | 625 | 77 | 175 | 31 | 6 | 6 | 69 | 2 | 47 | 28 | .280 | .272 (+3%) | .341 (-3%) | .392 (-4%) | .734 (-3%) | -398.4 |
| 1939 | PIT | NL | 125 | 461 | 62 | 151 | 30 | 6 | 3 | 45 | 0 | 35 | 18 | .328 | .274 (+19%) | .342 (+10%) | .393 (+11%) | .735 (+11%) | 935.2 |
| 1940 | PIT | NL | 89 | 238 | 32 | 69 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 32 | 0 | 23 | 14 | .290 | .267 (+9%) | .335 (+5%) | .387 (-2%) | .722 (+1%) | 67.0 |
| 1941 | BRO | NL | 11 | 35 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .171 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1941 | BSN | NL | 95 | 294 | 40 | 82 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 46 | 1 | 47 | 14 | .279 | .262 (+6%) | .332 (+14%) | .373 (-7%) | .705 (+3%) | 0.0 |
| 1942 | BSN | NL | 114 | 333 | 43 | 86 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 2 | 62 | 20 | .258 | .253 (+2%) | .323 (+16%) | .349 (-7%) | .672 (+4%) | 531.3 |
| 1943 | BRO | NL | 82 | 225 | 29 | 70 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 0 | 35 | 9 | .311 | .255 (+22%) | .324 (+25%) | .346 (+14%) | .671 (+19%) | 897.1 |
| 1944 | BRO | NL | 83 | 136 | 16 | 39 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 27 | 7 | .287 | .261 (+10%) | .325 (+24%) | .357 (-7%) | .683 (+8%) | 332.0 |
| 1944 | NYA | AL | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .143 | — | — | — | — | 332.0 |
| 1945 | NYA | AL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 22 seasons | 2,549 | 9,459 | 1,627 | 3,152 | 605 | 191 | 113 | 1,309 | 104 | 1,091 | 376 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 40,299 | ||
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 (2550 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 1284 | 4706 | 864 | 1628 | 58 | 702 | .346 |
| Away | 1266 | 4755 | 763 | 1524 | 55 | 621 | .321 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945-04-26 | NYY | PHA | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1944-09-30 | NYY | SLA | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1944-09-29 | NYY | SLA | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1944-09-24 | NYY | CLE | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1944-09-17 | NYY | PHA | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1944-09-17 | NYY | PHA | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1944-09-16 | NYY | PHA | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1944-09-10 | NYY | BOS | W | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1944-09-09 | NYY | BOS | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1944-09-01 | NYY | MIN | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 73 | 0 | 641 | 29 | 12 | 52 |
| OF | 2288 | 0 | 4872 | 241 | 132 | 53 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | PIT | OF | 139 | 0 | 307 | 21 | 8 | 3 |
| 1927 | PIT | 1B | 14 | 0 | 104 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| 1927 | PIT | OF | 143 | 0 | 326 | 20 | 7 | 4 |
| 1928 | PIT | 1B | 24 | 0 | 234 | 8 | 4 | 17 |
| 1928 | PIT | OF | 131 | 0 | 299 | 14 | 8 | 0 |
| 1929 | PIT | 1B | 7 | 0 | 70 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 1929 | PIT | OF | 143 | 0 | 328 | 15 | 5 | 5 |
| 1930 | PIT | OF | 143 | 0 | 344 | 9 | 15 | 4 |
| 1931 | PIT | 1B | 10 | 0 | 99 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| 1931 | PIT | OF | 138 | 0 | 342 | 28 | 9 | 8 |
| 1932 | PIT | OF | 154 | 0 | 367 | 13 | 10 | 3 |
| 1933 | PIT | OF | 154 | 0 | 346 | 16 | 7 | 2 |
| 1934 | PIT | OF | 145 | 0 | 323 | 15 | 5 | 1 |
| 1935 | PIT | OF | 136 | 0 | 283 | 13 | 5 | 2 |
| 1936 | PIT | OF | 145 | 0 | 323 | 15 | 14 | 7 |
| 1937 | PIT | 1B | 3 | 0 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 1937 | PIT | OF | 150 | 0 | 271 | 16 | 9 | 3 |
| 1938 | PIT | OF | 147 | 0 | 284 | 11 | 7 | 0 |
| 1939 | PIT | OF | 106 | 0 | 206 | 12 | 5 | 4 |
| 1940 | PIT | 1B | 8 | 0 | 88 | 6 | 1 | 12 |
| 1940 | PIT | OF | 45 | 0 | 62 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1941 | BRO | OF | 9 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1941 | BSN | 1B | 7 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1941 | BSN | OF | 77 | 0 | 129 | 7 | 5 | 3 |
| 1942 | BSN | OF | 94 | 0 | 150 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
| 1943 | BRO | OF | 57 | 0 | 116 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| 1944 | BRO | OF | 32 | 0 | 54 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 69 |
| Left Field | 23 |
| Center Field | 20 |
| Right Field | 2250 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1937 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | RF |
| 1937 | TSN All-Star | OF |
| 1936 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | RF |
| 1934 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | RF |
| 1928 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | OF |
| 1928 | TSN All-Star | OF |
| 1927 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | RF |
| 1927 | Most Valuable Player | |
| 1927 | TSN All-Star | OF |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Central University | Ada | OK | 1922 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 8th | 21.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1936 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 5th | 29.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1935 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 24th | 1.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1934 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 2nd | 50.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1932 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 4th | 37.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1928 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 15th | 5.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1927 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 1st | 72.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1926 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 12th | 15.0 | 80 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Paul Waner (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Paul Waner
See Paul Waner in Another Era
Paul Waner: the record in brief
April 13, 1926 and April 26, 1945 bracket Paul Waner's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Club by club, the record runs the Pittsburgh Pirates (1926 through 1940), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1941 through 1944), the Boston Braves (1941 through 1942), and the New York Yankees (1944 through 1945). Waner, born on April 16, 1903, in Harrah, OK, USA, is listed as an outfielder and threw and hit left-handed. Size on record: 5 feet, 8 inches and 153 pounds. Waner died on August 29, 1965, in Sarasota, FL, USA. The bio lists the given name Paul Glee.
Waner's career batting table shows 2,549 games, 9,459 at bats and 3,152 hits, a .333 average, along with 113 homers, 1,309 RBI, and 104 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .404 clip and slugging .473, Waner finished with a .878 OPS. Over the seasons Waner played, league hitters batted .274; the .333 career figure is 21.6% above that.
Frequently Asked Questions about Paul Waner
- What years did Paul Waner play?
- Paul Waner played in Major League Baseball from 1926 to 1945.
- Was Paul Waner a pitcher?
- No. Paul Waner was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Paul Waner hit?
- Paul Waner hit 113 career home runs with 3,152 hits.
- Is Paul Waner in the Hall of Fame?
- Yes. Paul Waner was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1952.
- What teams did Paul Waner play for?
- Paul Waner played for 4 teams: the Pittsburgh Pirates (1926–1940), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1941, 1943–1944), the Boston Braves (1941–1942), and the New York Yankees (1944–1945).
- How many MVP awards did Paul Waner win?
- Paul Waner won 1 MVP award, in 1927.
- What awards did Paul Waner win?
- Paul Waner won the MVP award (1927). He was selected to 4 All-Star Games.
- What were Paul Waner's career stats?
- In 2,549 games, Paul Waner had 3,152 hits, 113 home runs, 1,309 RBI, 1,627 runs, and 104 stolen bases, with a .333 batting average.
- What position did Paul Waner play?
- Paul Waner played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Paul Waner and how much did he weigh?
- Paul Waner was listed at 5 feet 8 inches and 153 pounds.
- How many home runs did Paul Waner hit each season?
- Paul Waner's home runs by season: 8 in 1926, 9 in 1927, 6 in 1928, 15 in 1929, 8 in 1930, 6 in 1931, 8 in 1932, 7 in 1933, 14 in 1934, 11 in 1935, 5 in 1936, 2 in 1937, 6 in 1938, 3 in 1939, 1 in 1940, 2 in 1941, 1 in 1942, 1 in 1943, and 0 in 1944. His most in one season was 15, in 1929.
- What was Paul Waner's career batting average?
- Paul Waner batted .333 over his career, with 3,152 hits in 9,459 at bats.
- How many RBI did Paul Waner have?
- Paul Waner drove in 1,309 runs in his career.
- How many All-Star Games did Paul Waner make?
- Paul Waner was selected to 4 All-Star Games.