Preston Ward

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1948-1959)

AVG .253
HR 50
RBI 262
H 522
OPS .706
PIV -1,049
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'4" / 190 lb
Born
7/24/1927 in Columbia, MO, USA
Died
6/2/2013 in Las Vegas, NV, USA
MLB Debut
1948-04-20
Last Game
1959-08-18

Full name: Preston Meyer Ward

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
744 2,067 219 522 83 15 50 262 7 231 315 .253 .326 .380 .706 -1,049

Career AVG .253 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .326 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .380 vs. league average .393 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .706 vs. league average .725 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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 BRO NL 42 146 9 38 9 2 1 21 0 15 23 .260 .263 (-1%) .340 (-3%) .379 (-2%) .719 (-3%) -83.8
1950 CHN NL 80 285 31 72 11 2 6 33 3 27 42 .253 .265 (-5%) .346 (-8%) .401 (-8%) .747 (-8%) -418.9
1953 CHN NL 33 100 10 23 5 0 4 12 3 18 21 .230 .264 (-13%) .335 (+3%) .397 (+1%) .733 (+2%) 62.3
1953 PIT NL 88 281 35 59 7 1 8 27 1 44 39 .210 .264 (-21%) .335 (-5%) .397 (-18%) .733 (-12%) 62.3
1954 PIT NL 117 360 37 97 16 2 7 48 0 39 61 .269 .261 (+3%) .333 (+1%) .390 (-2%) .723 (avg) -13.2
1955 PIT NL 84 179 16 38 7 4 5 25 0 22 28 .212 .258 (-18%) .332 (-11%) .393 (-4%) .726 (-7%) -245.1
1956 PIT NL 16 30 3 10 0 1 1 11 0 6 4 .333 — — — — 0.0
1956 CLE AL 87 150 18 38 10 0 6 21 0 16 20 .253 .258 (-2%) .331 (-2%) .397 (+11%) .728 (+5%) 0.0
1957 CLE AL 10 11 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .182 — — — — 0.0
1958 CLE AL 48 148 22 50 3 1 4 21 0 10 27 .338 .257 (+31%) .324 (+17%) .394 (+15%) .719 (+16%) 406.0
1958 KC1 AL 81 268 28 68 10 1 6 24 0 27 36 .254 .257 (-2%) .324 (-2%) .394 (-7%) .719 (-5%) 406.0
1959 KC1 AL 58 109 8 27 4 1 2 19 0 7 12 .248 .256 (-3%) .323 (-12%) .392 (-9%) .715 (-10%) -213.5
Career · 12 seasons 744 2,067 219 522 83 15 50 262 7 231 315 .253 — — — — -38

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 (744 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home377102212827029148.264
Away36710459125221114.241

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1959-08-18 KC1BOSL 411010100
1959-08-16 KC1CHWW 111001110
1959-08-14 KC1CHWL 101000100
1959-08-10 KC1CLEL 111000000
1959-08-09 KC1NYYL 100000000
1959-08-09 KC1NYYL 603100100
1959-08-08 KC1NYYL 100000000
1959-08-05 KC1BOSL 401000200
1959-08-04 KC1BOSL 101000100
1959-08-02 KC1NYYL 000000010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 438 169 3337 297 31 319
3B 74 62 49 104 13 6
OF 95 63 157 9 9 3

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1948 BRO 1B 38 0 268 20 3 21
1950 CHN 1B 76 0 734 73 4 78
1953 CHN 1B 7 0 49 1 0 9
1953 CHN OF 27 0 49 0 2 0
1953 PIT 1B 78 0 693 64 7 65
1954 PIT 1B 48 38 338 41 6 31
1954 PIT 3B 11 12 7 20 3 0
1954 PIT OF 42 41 74 8 6 3
1955 PIT 1B 48 38 384 35 1 41
1955 PIT OF 1 1 0 0 0 0
1956 PIT 3B 5 5 3 3 0 0
1956 PIT OF 5 4 2 0 0 0
1956 CLE 1B 60 16 226 21 3 20
1956 CLE OF 17 14 29 1 0 0
1957 CLE 1B 1 0 3 0 0 0
1958 CLE 1B 21 18 135 12 0 12
1958 CLE 3B 24 14 16 28 2 2
1958 KC1 1B 39 39 346 23 4 28
1958 KC1 3B 34 31 23 53 8 4
1958 KC1 OF 2 2 3 0 0 0
1959 KC1 1B 22 20 161 7 3 14
1959 KC1 OF 1 1 0 0 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
First Base 436
Third Base 76
Left Field 17
Center Field 27
Right Field 51

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Preston Ward (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Mike Cubbage
    .258 avg, 34 HR
  2. 92
    Billy Myers
    .257 avg, 45 HR
  3. 92
    Bill Rigney
    .259 avg, 41 HR
  4. 91
    Gavin Lux
    .256 avg, 33 HR
  5. 89
    Pete LaCock
    .257 avg, 27 HR
  6. 88
    Alex Kampouris
    .243 avg, 45 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Preston Ward

What years did Preston Ward play?
Preston Ward played in Major League Baseball from 1948 to 1959.
Was Preston Ward a pitcher?
No. Preston Ward was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Preston Ward hit?
Preston Ward hit 50 career home runs with 522 hits.