Babe Young

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1936-1948)

Babe Young was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1936 to 1948 for the New York Giants, the Cincinnati Reds, and the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 13 seasons. In 728 career games, he hit .273 with 656 hits, 79 home runs, and 415 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 5,591.

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 .273
HR 79
RBI 415
H 656
OPS .788
PIV 5,591
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'2" / 185 lb
Born
7/1/1915 in Astoria, NY, USA
Died
12/25/1983 in Everett, MA, USA
MLB Debut
1936-09-26
Last Game
1948-10-02

Full name: Norman Robert Young

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Career Batting Statistics

Babe Young — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
728 2,403 320 656 121 17 79 415 9 274 161 .273 .352 .436 .788 5,591

Career AVG .273 vs. league average .265 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .352 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .436 vs. league average .378 across their career seasons — +15.5% above league average.

Career OPS .788 vs. league average .714 across their career seasons — +10.4% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Babe Young 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
1936 NY1 NL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1939 NY1 NL 22 75 8 23 4 0 3 14 0 5 6 .307 .274 (+12%) .342 (+9%) .393 (+22%) .735 (+16%) 210.5
1940 NY1 NL 149 556 75 159 27 4 17 101 4 69 28 .286 .267 (+7%) .335 (+9%) .387 (+14%) .722 (+12%) 1432.7
1941 NY1 NL 152 574 90 152 28 5 25 104 1 66 39 .265 .262 (+1%) .332 (+4%) .373 (+24%) .705 (+14%) 1629.6
1942 NY1 NL 101 287 37 80 17 1 11 59 1 34 22 .279 .253 (+10%) .323 (+13%) .349 (+32%) .672 (+23%) 1192.0
1946 NY1 NL 104 291 30 81 11 0 7 33 3 30 21 .278 .256 (+8%) .328 (+5%) .358 (+8%) .687 (+7%) 380.8
1947 NY1 NL 14 14 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .071 — — — — 0.0
1947 CIN NL 95 364 55 103 21 3 14 79 0 35 26 .283 .262 (+8%) .336 (+4%) .376 (+26%) .712 (+15%) 0.0
1948 CIN NL 49 130 11 30 7 2 1 12 0 19 12 .231 .263 (-12%) .340 (-3%) .379 (-11%) .719 (-7%) -142.8
1948 SLN NL 41 111 14 27 5 2 1 13 0 16 6 .243 .263 (-8%) .340 (avg) .379 (-7%) .719 (-4%) -142.8
Career · 10 seasons 728 2,403 320 656 121 17 79 415 9 274 161 .273 — — — — 4,560

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 (728 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Babe Young — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home365117116832350221.276
Away363123315233429193.271

Last 10 Games — Batting

Babe Young — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1948-10-02 STLCHCW 511000000
1948-10-01 STLCHCW 110000000
1948-09-30 STLPITW 411000001
1948-09-26 STLCHCW 400000101
1948-09-25 STLCHCL 402000000
1948-09-21 STLBSNL 300000010
1948-09-21 STLBSNL 400000000
1948-09-19 STLNY1W 201000010
1948-09-18 STLBROL 201000000
1948-09-17 STLBROW 412001200

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Babe Young — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 545 0 4982 303 58 410
OF 79 0 143 4 4 2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Babe Young — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1939 NY1 1B 22 0 214 9 4 18
1940 NY1 1B 147 0 1505 86 13 112
1941 NY1 1B 150 0 1395 87 21 124
1942 NY1 1B 18 0 159 12 3 11
1942 NY1 OF 54 0 101 4 3 2
1946 NY1 1B 49 0 452 24 6 25
1946 NY1 OF 24 0 40 0 1 0
1947 CIN 1B 93 0 730 56 8 66
1948 CIN 1B 31 0 261 21 2 31
1948 CIN OF 1 0 2 0 0 0
1948 SLN 1B 35 0 266 8 1 23

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Babe Young Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 544
Center Field 71
Right Field 8

College History

Babe Young — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Fordham University New York NY 1934, 1935, 1936

Award Voting History

Babe Young — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1941 Most Valuable Player NL 21th 10.0 336 0
1940 Most Valuable Player NL 26th 6.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Babe Young (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Willie Aikens
    .271 avg, 110 HR
  2. 94
    Conor Jackson
    .271 avg, 52 HR
  3. 94
    Sean Berry
    .272 avg, 81 HR
  4. 93
    Marcus Giles
    .277 avg, 76 HR
  5. 92
    Ed Bouchee
    .265 avg, 61 HR
  6. 92
    Ryan Garko
    .275 avg, 55 HR

Babe Young: the record in brief

According to the bio, Babe Young debuted on September 26, 1936 and played a final game on October 2, 1948. Club by club, the record runs the New York Giants (1936 to 1947), the Cincinnati Reds (1947 to 1948), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1948). The bio lists Young as a first baseman who threw and hit left-handed. Young is listed at 6'2" and 185 pounds. The birth record reads July 1, 1915, in Astoria, NY, USA. Young died on December 25, 1983, in Everett, MA, USA. On the record, Babe Young was born Norman Robert Young.

Young finished with 656 hits from 2,403 at bats in 728 games, which works out to .273, adding 79 home runs and 415 runs batted in. Young got on base at a .352 rate and slugged .436 (.788 OPS). Against a .265 league average for those years, Young's .273 average was near the norm. For power, 1941 stands out: 25 home runs with the New York Giants.

Frequently Asked Questions about Babe Young

What years did Babe Young play?
Babe Young played in Major League Baseball from 1936 to 1948.
Was Babe Young a pitcher?
No. Babe Young was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Babe Young hit?
Babe Young hit 79 career home runs with 656 hits.
What teams did Babe Young play for?
Babe Young played for 3 teams: the New York Giants (1936, 1939–1942, 1946–1947), the Cincinnati Reds (1947–1948), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1948).
What were Babe Young's career stats?
In 728 games, Babe Young had 656 hits, 79 home runs, 415 RBI, 320 runs, and 9 stolen bases, with a .273 batting average.
What position did Babe Young play?
Babe Young played primarily as a first baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Babe Young and how much did he weigh?
Babe Young was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 185 pounds.
How many home runs did Babe Young hit each season?
Babe Young's home runs by season: 0 in 1936, 3 in 1939, 17 in 1940, 25 in 1941, 11 in 1942, 7 in 1946, 14 in 1947, and 2 in 1948. His most in one season was 25, in 1941.
What was Babe Young's career batting average?
Babe Young batted .273 over his career, with 656 hits in 2,403 at bats.
How many RBI did Babe Young have?
Babe Young drove in 415 runs in his career.
Is Babe Young in the Hall of Fame?
No. Babe Young has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.