Rudy York

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1934-1948)

Rudy York was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1934 to 1948 for 4 teams, including the Detroit Tigers, a span of 15 seasons. In 1,603 career games, he hit .275 with 1,621 hits, 277 home runs, and 1,152 RBI. Rudy York was a 7-time All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 24,140.

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 .275
HR 277
RBI 1,152
H 1,621
OPS .845
PIV 24,140
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 209 lb
Born
8/17/1913 in Ragland, AL, USA
Died
2/5/1970 in Rome, GA, USA
MLB Debut
1934-08-22
Last Game
1948-09-20
Awards
7× All-Star

Full name: Preston Rudolph York

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Career Batting Statistics

Rudy York — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,603 5,891 876 1,621 291 52 277 1,152 38 792 867 .275 .362 .483 .845 24,140

Career AVG .275 vs. league average .265 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .362 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — +8.4% above league average.

Career SLG .483 vs. league average .374 across their career seasons — +29.3% above league average.

Career OPS .845 vs. league average .708 across their career seasons — +19.4% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Rudy York Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1934 DET AL 3 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 .167 — — — — 0.0
1937 DET AL 104 375 72 115 18 3 35 103 3 41 52 .307 .276 (+11%) .342 (+9%) .398 (+63%) .740 (+38%) 2687.8
1938 DET AL 135 463 85 138 27 2 33 127 1 92 74 .298 .272 (+9%) .341 (+22%) .392 (+47%) .734 (+36%) 3598.3
1939 DET AL 102 329 66 101 16 1 20 68 5 41 50 .307 .274 (+12%) .342 (+13%) .393 (+38%) .735 (+27%) 1720.1
1940 DET AL 155 588 105 186 46 6 33 134 3 89 88 .316 .267 (+18%) .335 (+22%) .387 (+50%) .722 (+37%) 4642.1
1941 DET AL 155 590 91 153 29 3 27 111 3 92 88 .259 .262 (-1%) .332 (+8%) .373 (+22%) .705 (+16%) 1991.0
1942 DET AL 153 577 81 150 26 4 21 90 3 73 71 .260 .253 (+3%) .323 (+6%) .349 (+22%) .672 (+15%) 1633.5
1943 DET AL 155 571 90 155 22 11 34 118 5 84 88 .271 .255 (+6%) .324 (+13%) .346 (+52%) .671 (+33%) 3596.9
1944 DET AL 151 583 77 161 27 7 18 98 5 68 73 .276 .261 (+6%) .325 (+8%) .357 (+23%) .683 (+16%) 1810.9
1945 DET AL 155 595 71 157 25 5 18 87 6 60 85 .264 .260 (+1%) .328 (+1%) .354 (+16%) .683 (+9%) 956.9
1946 BOS AL 154 579 78 160 30 6 17 119 3 86 93 .276 .256 (+8%) .328 (+13%) .358 (+22%) .687 (+18%) 2131.8
1947 BOS AL 48 184 16 39 7 0 6 27 0 22 32 .212 .262 (-19%) .336 (-12%) .376 (-8%) .712 (-10%) -289.6
1947 CHA AL 102 400 40 97 18 4 15 64 1 36 55 .242 .262 (-8%) .336 (-9%) .376 (+12%) .712 (+2%) -289.6
1948 PHA AL 31 51 4 8 0 0 0 6 0 7 15 .157 .263 (-40%) .340 (-24%) .379 (-59%) .719 (-42%) -329.9
Career · 14 seasons 1,603 5,891 876 1,621 291 52 277 1,152 38 792 867 .275 — — — — 23,860

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

Rudy York — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
21 77 10 17 2 2 3 10 13 15 .221

Playoff Batting by Year

Rudy York — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1946 WS BOS 7 23 6 6 1 1 2 5 6 4 .261
1945 WS DET 7 28 1 5 1 0 0 3 3 4 .179
1940 WS DET 7 26 3 6 0 1 1 2 4 7 .231

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1603 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Rudy York — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home7922897479882158658.304
Away8112994398739119493.247

Last 10 Games — Batting

Rudy York — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1948-09-20 PHACLEL 100000000
1948-08-22 PHANYYL 100000001
1948-08-06 PHASLAL 000000010
1948-07-30 PHADETL 400000001
1948-07-28 PHACLEW 300000011
1948-07-27 PHACLEL 321000020
1948-07-25 PHADETL 400000001
1948-07-25 PHADETW 412000101
1948-07-24 PHADETW 211000001
1948-07-21 PHASLAL 201000100

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Rudy York — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1263 0 11359 963 122 1072
3B 41 0 45 66 9 5
C 239 0 883 137 19 21
OF 14 0 21 1 5 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Rudy York — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1934 DET C 2 0 4 2 0 0
1937 DET 1B 2 0 11 2 0 0
1937 DET 3B 41 0 45 66 9 5
1937 DET C 54 0 190 27 9 6
1938 DET 1B 1 0 4 0 0 1
1938 DET C 116 0 406 70 5 10
1938 DET OF 14 0 21 1 5 0
1939 DET 1B 19 0 151 1 0 17
1939 DET C 67 0 283 38 5 5
1940 DET 1B 155 0 1390 107 15 101
1941 DET 1B 155 0 1393 110 21 111
1942 DET 1B 152 0 1413 146 19 117
1943 DET 1B 155 0 1349 149 15 105
1944 DET 1B 151 0 1453 107 17 163
1945 DET 1B 155 0 1464 113 19 142
1946 BOS 1B 154 0 1327 116 8 154
1947 BOS 1B 48 0 395 36 2 45
1947 CHA 1B 102 0 932 71 5 106
1948 PHA 1B 14 0 77 5 1 10

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Rudy York Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 238
First Base 1264
Third Base 41
Left Field 14

Awards & Honors

Rudy York — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1944 Baseball Magazine All-Star 1B
1943 Baseball Magazine All-Star 1B
1943 TSN All-Star 1B

Award Voting History

Rudy York — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1946 Most Valuable Player AL 11th 28.0 336 0
1945 Most Valuable Player AL 32th 1.0 336 0
1944 Most Valuable Player AL 23th 5.0 336 0
1943 Most Valuable Player AL 3rd 152.0 336 1
1942 Most Valuable Player AL 27th 3.0 336 0
1941 Most Valuable Player AL 23th 3.0 336 0
1940 Most Valuable Player AL 8th 61.0 336 0
1939 Most Valuable Player AL 33th 1.0 336 0
1937 Most Valuable Player AL 23th 1.0 80 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Rudy York (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Kent Hrbek
    .282 avg, 293 HR
  2. 97
    Roy Sievers
    .267 avg, 318 HR
  3. 95
    Joe Gordon HOF
    .268 avg, 253 HR
  4. 89
    Vern Stephens
    .286 avg, 247 HR
  5. 83
    Justin Morneau
    .281 avg, 247 HR
  6. 80
    Anthony Rizzo
    .261 avg, 303 HR

Compare Rudy York

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against York's closest peers by position and era.

vs Hank Greenberg
vs Hal Newhouser
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vs Freddie Freeman
vs Charlie Gehringer
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Rudy York: the record in brief

August 22, 1934 and September 20, 1948 bracket Rudy York's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. York played for the Detroit Tigers (1934 through 1945), the Boston Red Sox (1946 to 1947), the Chicago White Sox (1947), and the Philadelphia Athletics (1948). York is listed as a first baseman at 6'1" and 209 pounds. York threw and hit right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is August 17, 1913, in Ragland, AL, USA. York died on February 5, 1970, in Rome, GA, USA. On the record, Rudy York was born Preston Rudolph York.

In 1,603 games and 5,891 at bats, York batted .275 with 1,621 hits, along with 277 home runs, 1,152 runs batted in, and 38 stolen bases. York's career OPS of .845 combines a .362 on-base mark with .483 slugging. York hit .275 while the league hit .265 over the same span, a figure close to average. In OPS terms, York's .845 stands 19.4% above the league's .708.

Frequently Asked Questions about Rudy York

What years did Rudy York play?
Rudy York played in Major League Baseball from 1934 to 1948.
Was Rudy York a pitcher?
No. Rudy York was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Rudy York hit?
Rudy York hit 277 career home runs with 1,621 hits.
What teams did Rudy York play for?
Rudy York played for 4 teams: the Detroit Tigers (1934, 1937–1945), the Boston Red Sox (1946–1947), the Chicago White Sox (1947), and the Philadelphia Athletics (1948).
Did Rudy York win an MVP award?
No. Rudy York did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Rudy York win?
Rudy York was selected to 7 All-Star Games.
What were Rudy York's career stats?
In 1,603 games, Rudy York had 1,621 hits, 277 home runs, 1,152 RBI, 876 runs, and 38 stolen bases, with a .275 batting average.
What position did Rudy York play?
Rudy York played primarily as a first baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Rudy York and how much did he weigh?
Rudy York was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 209 pounds.
How many home runs did Rudy York hit each season?
Rudy York's home runs by season: 0 in 1934, 35 in 1937, 33 in 1938, 20 in 1939, 33 in 1940, 27 in 1941, 21 in 1942, 34 in 1943, 18 in 1944, 18 in 1945, 17 in 1946, 21 in 1947, and 0 in 1948. His most in one season was 35, in 1937.
What was Rudy York's career batting average?
Rudy York batted .275 over his career, with 1,621 hits in 5,891 at bats.
How many RBI did Rudy York have?
Rudy York drove in 1,152 runs in his career.
Is Rudy York in the Hall of Fame?
No. Rudy York has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Rudy York make?
Rudy York was selected to 7 All-Star Games.