Whitey Witt
Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1916-1926)
Whitey Witt was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1916 to 1926 for the Philadelphia Athletics, the New York Yankees, and the Brooklyn Dodgers, a span of 11 seasons. In 1,139 career games, he hit .287 with 1,195 hits, 18 home runs, and 302 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 4,023.
- 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 / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'7" / 150 lb
- Died
- 7/14/1988 in Salem County, NJ, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1916-04-12
- Last Game
- 1926-08-19
Full name: Lawton Walter Witt
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,139 | 4,171 | 632 | 1,195 | 144 | 62 | 18 | 302 | 78 | 489 | 309 | .287 | .362 | .364 | .726 | 4,023 |
Career AVG .287 vs. league average .275 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .362 vs. league average .337 across their career seasons — +7.5% above league average.
Career SLG .364 vs. league average .376 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OPS .726 vs. league average .713 across their career seasons — near 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1916 | PHA | AL | 143 | 563 | 64 | 138 | 16 | 15 | 2 | 36 | 19 | 55 | 71 | .245 | .248 (-1%) | .314 (avg) | .326 (+3%) | .640 (+2%) | 134.0 |
| 1917 | PHA | AL | 128 | 452 | 62 | 114 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 28 | 12 | 65 | 45 | .252 | .248 (+1%) | .312 (+11%) | .323 (-8%) | .635 (+1%) | 380.0 |
| 1919 | PHA | AL | 122 | 460 | 56 | 123 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 33 | 11 | 46 | 26 | .267 | .262 (+2%) | .322 (+3%) | .347 (-6%) | .670 (-2%) | -44.2 |
| 1920 | PHA | AL | 65 | 218 | 29 | 70 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 2 | 27 | 16 | .321 | .271 (+18%) | .331 (+19%) | .363 (+14%) | .694 (+16%) | 689.3 |
| 1921 | PHA | AL | 154 | 629 | 100 | 198 | 31 | 11 | 4 | 45 | 16 | 77 | 52 | .315 | .286 (+10%) | .344 (+13%) | .395 (+6%) | .739 (+9%) | 1439.3 |
| 1922 | NYA | AL | 140 | 528 | 98 | 157 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 40 | 5 | 89 | 29 | .297 | .285 (+4%) | .345 (+16%) | .397 (-8%) | .743 (+3%) | 733.1 |
| 1923 | NYA | AL | 146 | 596 | 113 | 187 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 56 | 2 | 67 | 42 | .314 | .282 (+11%) | .344 (+12%) | .390 (+5%) | .734 (+8%) | 1170.2 |
| 1924 | NYA | AL | 147 | 600 | 88 | 178 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 36 | 9 | 45 | 20 | .297 | .283 (+5%) | .345 (avg) | .389 (-7%) | .734 (-4%) | -341.9 |
| 1925 | NYA | AL | 31 | 40 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | .200 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1926 | BRO | NL | 63 | 85 | 13 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 6 | .259 | .279 (-7%) | .345 (+1%) | .390 (-25%) | .735 (-12%) | -136.8 |
| Career · 10 seasons | 1,139 | 4,171 | 632 | 1,195 | 144 | 62 | 18 | 302 | 78 | 489 | 309 | .287 | — | — | — | — | 4,023 | ||
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
Playoff Batting by Year
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1139 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 586 | 2118 | 320 | 608 | 12 | 143 | .287 |
| Away | 553 | 2055 | 309 | 585 | 6 | 153 | .285 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926-08-19 | BRO | STL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926-08-18 | BRO | STL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926-08-17 | BRO | STL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1926-08-14 | BRO | BSN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926-08-14 | BRO | BSN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926-08-11 | BRO | PIT | W | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926-08-10 | BRO | PIT | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926-08-09 | BRO | PIT | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926-08-07 | BRO | STL | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926-08-07 | BRO | STL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2B | 66 | 0 | 161 | 189 | 17 | 30 |
| 3B | 8 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| OF | 729 | 0 | 1601 | 59 | 50 | 10 |
| SS | 255 | 0 | 489 | 778 | 116 | 100 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1916 | PHA | SS | 142 | 0 | 299 | 423 | 78 | 59 |
| 1917 | PHA | 3B | 6 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| 1917 | PHA | OF | 7 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1917 | PHA | SS | 111 | 0 | 190 | 354 | 38 | 41 |
| 1919 | PHA | 2B | 56 | 0 | 132 | 162 | 15 | 25 |
| 1919 | PHA | 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1919 | PHA | OF | 59 | 0 | 134 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 1920 | PHA | 2B | 10 | 0 | 29 | 27 | 2 | 5 |
| 1920 | PHA | OF | 50 | 0 | 70 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 1920 | PHA | SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1921 | PHA | OF | 154 | 0 | 288 | 15 | 13 | 3 |
| 1922 | NYA | OF | 139 | 0 | 312 | 9 | 8 | 1 |
| 1923 | NYA | OF | 144 | 0 | 357 | 14 | 8 | 4 |
| 1924 | NYA | OF | 144 | 0 | 362 | 11 | 9 | 1 |
| 1925 | NYA | OF | 10 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926 | BRO | OF | 22 | 0 | 44 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Second Base | 66 |
| Third Base | 9 |
| Shortstop | 256 |
| Left Field | 52 |
| Center Field | 452 |
| Right Field | 227 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Whitey Witt (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Whitey Witt: the record in brief
Whitey Witt's major league career runs from a debut on April 12, 1916 to a final game on August 19, 1926. The season rows list, in order, the Philadelphia Athletics (1916 through 1921), the New York Yankees (1922 through 1925), and the Brooklyn Robins (1926). Witt is listed as an outfielder at 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds. Witt batted left-handed and threw right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is September 28, 1895, in Orange, MA, USA. Witt died on July 14, 1988, in Salem County, NJ, USA. The bio lists the given name Lawton Walter.
The batting record for Witt: 1,139 games, 1,195 hits in 4,171 at bats, and a .287 average, along with 18 homers, 302 runs batted in, and 78 stolen bases. Witt got on base at a .362 rate and slugged .364 (.726 OPS). Against a .275 league average for those years, Witt's .287 average was near the norm. 1921 produced Witt's most hits, 198 of them for the Philadelphia Athletics.
Frequently Asked Questions about Whitey Witt
- What years did Whitey Witt play?
- Whitey Witt played in Major League Baseball from 1916 to 1926.
- Was Whitey Witt a pitcher?
- No. Whitey Witt was a position player (Outfielder).
- How many home runs did Whitey Witt hit?
- Whitey Witt hit 18 career home runs with 1195 hits.
- What was Whitey Witt's career batting average?
- Whitey Witt batted .287 over his career, with 1,195 hits in 4,171 at bats.
- How many RBI did Whitey Witt have?
- Whitey Witt drove in 302 runs in his career.
- Is Whitey Witt in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Whitey Witt has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.