Max West

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1938-1948)

Max West was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1948 for the Boston Braves, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 11 seasons. In 824 career games, he hit .254 with 681 hits, 77 home runs, and 380 RBI. Max West was an All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 3,413.

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 .254
HR 77
RBI 380
H 681
OPS .751
PIV 3,413
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 182 lb
Born
11/28/1916 in Dexter, MO, USA
Died
12/31/2003 in Sierra Madre, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1938-04-19
Last Game
1948-10-01
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Max Edward West

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Career Batting Statistics

Max West — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
824 2,676 338 681 136 20 77 380 19 353 340 .254 .344 .407 .751 3,413

Career AVG .254 vs. league average .264 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .344 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .407 vs. league average .376 across their career seasons — +8.1% above league average.

Career OPS .751 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — +5.6% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Max West — 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
1938 BSN NL 123 418 47 98 16 5 10 63 5 38 38 .234 .272 (-14%) .341 (-12%) .392 (-6%) .734 (-9%) -669.7
1939 BSN NL 130 449 67 128 26 6 19 82 1 51 55 .285 .274 (+4%) .342 (+6%) .393 (+26%) .735 (+17%) 1522.1
1940 BSN NL 139 524 72 137 27 5 7 72 2 65 54 .261 .267 (-2%) .335 (+3%) .387 (-4%) .722 (-1%) -8.7
1941 BSN NL 138 484 63 134 28 4 12 68 5 72 68 .277 .262 (+6%) .332 (+12%) .373 (+14%) .705 (+13%) 1405.2
1942 BSN NL 134 452 54 115 22 0 16 56 4 68 59 .254 .253 (avg) .323 (+10%) .349 (+17%) .672 (+13%) 1292.3
1946 BSN NL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1946 CIN NL 72 202 16 43 13 0 5 18 1 32 36 .213 .256 (-17%) .328 (-2%) .358 (-2%) .687 (-2%) 0.0
1948 PIT NL 87 146 19 26 4 0 8 21 1 27 29 .178 .263 (-32%) .340 (-9%) .379 (-2%) .719 (-5%) -106.8
Career · 8 seasons 824 2,676 338 681 136 20 77 380 19 353 340 .254 — — — — 3,434

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 (824 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Max West — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home400129414334628185.267
Away424138119533549195.243

Last 10 Games — Batting

Max West — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1948-10-01 PITCINW 100000001
1948-09-26 PITCINW 100000001
1948-09-25 PITCINW 010000110
1948-09-24 PITCINL 101100100
1948-09-20 PITPHIL 200000001
1948-09-20 PITPHIL 301000011
1948-09-19 PITPHIL 100000000
1948-09-19 PITPHIL 100000000
1948-09-17 PITBSNL 100000001
1948-09-14 PITBROL 110000011

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Max West — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 161 0 1409 93 16 116
OF 591 0 1243 53 33 13

Season-by-Season Fielding

Max West — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1938 BSN 1B 7 0 63 2 1 2
1938 BSN OF 109 0 205 6 3 2
1939 BSN OF 124 0 287 8 8 2
1940 BSN 1B 36 0 338 24 5 33
1940 BSN OF 102 0 220 16 6 1
1941 BSN OF 132 0 302 13 6 5
1942 BSN 1B 85 0 807 47 8 67
1942 BSN OF 50 0 106 4 4 0
1946 BSN 1B 1 0 3 0 0 0
1946 CIN OF 58 0 112 6 6 3
1948 PIT 1B 32 0 198 20 2 14
1948 PIT OF 16 0 11 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Max West — Career Games by Position
Position Games
First Base 160
Left Field 339
Center Field 113
Right Field 174

Award Voting History

Max West — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1942 Most Valuable Player NL 27th 4.0 336 0
1940 Most Valuable Player NL 26th 6.0 336 0
1939 Most Valuable Player NL 23th 5.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Max West (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Clyde Vollmer
    .251 avg, 69 HR
  2. 97
    Carmelo Martinez
    .245 avg, 108 HR
  3. 96
    Jason Michaels
    .263 avg, 59 HR
  4. 96
    Bobby Kielty
    .254 avg, 53 HR
  5. 96
    Randy Bush
    .251 avg, 96 HR
  6. 95
    Gary Geiger
    .246 avg, 77 HR

Max West: the record in brief

The profile opens with Max West's first major league game on April 19, 1938; the last one listed came on October 1, 1948. The team column moves through the Boston Bees (1938 to 1940), the Boston Braves (1941 to 1946), the Cincinnati Reds (1946), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1948). West played primarily as an outfielder and hit left-handed while throwing right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on November 28, 1916, in Dexter, MO, USA and a listed size of 6-foot-1 and 182 pounds. The bio records the death on December 31, 2003, in Sierra Madre, CA, USA. On the record, Max West was born Max Edward West.

West finished with 681 hits from 2,676 at bats in 824 games, which works out to .254; the totals also include 77 home runs and 380 runs batted in. Reaching base at a .344 clip and slugging .407, West finished with a .751 OPS. The .254 career average is close to the .264 the league hit across the same seasons.

Frequently Asked Questions about Max West

What years did Max West play?
Max West played in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1948.
Was Max West a pitcher?
No. Max West was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Max West hit?
Max West hit 77 career home runs with 681 hits.
What was Max West's career batting average?
Max West batted .254 over his career, with 681 hits in 2,676 at bats.
How many RBI did Max West have?
Max West drove in 380 runs in his career.
Is Max West in the Hall of Fame?
No. Max West has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.