Ron Hodges was born on Wednesday, June 22, 1949, in Rocky Mount, Virginia. Hodges was 23 years old when he broke into the big leagues on June 13, 1973, with the New York Mets. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Ron Hodges baseball stats page.
"Ron Hodges was a left-handed hitting catcher who spent 10 full seasons in the major leagues and parts of two others with the Mets. He received more than 200 plate appearances in only two seasons, including the 1983 campaign, during which he was the primary starter. Otherwise, Hodges served as the primary backup to Jerry Grote, John Stearns, Alex Trevino and Mike Fitzgerald during his extended stint in the Big Apple. He was an above-average defender and possessed outstanding plate discipline that led to more career walks (224) than strikeouts (217) in 1,683 trips to the plate. Hailing from Rocky Mount, Virginia, and one of nine children, Hodges was not related to former Mets manager Gil Hodges, although he roomed with Gil Hodges, Jr., in 1972 at Class A Pompano Beach." - Ballew, Bill. Author. Major League Baseball Players of the 1970s: A Biographical Dictionary from Aase to Zisk. McFarland Publishing. 19 December 2022. Page 222.
Ron HodgesRon Hodges Autograph on a 1975 Topps Baseball Card (#134 | Checklist) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ron HodgesRon Hodges Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
- | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
Ron HodgesRon Hodges Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1973 | 24 | Mets | 45 | 127 | 5 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 11 | 2 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | .260 | .314 | .299 |
1974 | 25 | Mets | 59 | 136 | 16 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 19 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | .221 | .310 | .338 |
1975 | 26 | Mets | 9 | 34 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .206 | .229 | .412 |
1976 | 27 | Mets | 56 | 155 | 21 | 35 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 27 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .226 | .339 | .342 |
1977 | 28 | Mets | 66 | 117 | 6 | 31 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .265 | .317 | .325 |
1978 | 29 | Mets | 47 | 102 | 4 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | .255 | .322 | .314 |
1979 | 30 | Mets | 59 | 86 | 4 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 19 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .163 | .311 | .209 |
1980 | 31 | Mets | 36 | 42 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .238 | .377 | .286 |
1981 | 32 | Mets | 35 | 43 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .302 | .375 | .419 |
1982 | 33 | Mets | 80 | 228 | 26 | 56 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 27 | 41 | 6 | 40 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 5 | .246 | .358 | .373 |
1983 | 34 | Mets | 110 | 250 | 20 | 65 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 49 | 6 | 42 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | .260 | .383 | .308 |
1984 | 35 | Mets | 64 | 106 | 5 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 23 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .208 | .351 | .264 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
12 Years | 666 | 1,426 | 119 | 342 | 56 | 2 | 19 | 1 | 147 | 224 | 26 | 217 | 14 | 15 | 4 | 34 | .240 | .342 | .322 |
Ron HodgesRon Hodges Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1973 Mets | C | 40 | 37 | 956 | 256 | 6.4 | 254 | 241 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 9 | .992 | 7.17 |
1974 Mets | C | 44 | 35 | 1,019 | 253 | 5.8 | 241 | 227 | 14 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 32 | 8 | .953 | 6.39 |
1975 Mets | C | 9 | 8 | 265 | 70 | 7.8 | 70 | 69 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 1.000 | 7.13 |
1976 Mets | C | 52 | 46 | 1,186 | 287 | 5.5 | 280 | 262 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 27 | 11 | .976 | 6.37 |
1977 Mets | C | 27 | 22 | 570 | 132 | 4.9 | 131 | 112 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 21 | 11 | .992 | 6.21 |
1978 Mets | C | 30 | 25 | 678 | 168 | 5.6 | 165 | 145 | 20 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 14 | .982 | 6.57 |
1979 Mets | C | 22 | 17 | 457 | 100 | 4.5 | 98 | 82 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 9 | .980 | 5.79 |
1980 Mets | C | 9 | 9 | 201 | 57 | 6.3 | 56 | 47 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 6 | .982 | 7.52 |
1981 Mets | C | 7 | 5 | 125 | 24 | 3.4 | 24 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 1.000 | 5.18 |
1982 Mets | C | 74 | 65 | 1,774 | 405 | 5.5 | 397 | 362 | 35 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 63 | 28 | .980 | 6.04 |
1983 Mets | C | 96 | 73 | 2,056 | 417 | 4.3 | 405 | 360 | 45 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 82 | 32 | .971 | 5.32 |
1984 Mets | C | 35 | 27 | 690 | 189 | 5.4 | 185 | 165 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 28 | 10 | .979 | 7.24 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
C Totals | 445 | 369 | 9,977 | 2,358 | 5.3 | 2,306 | 2,095 | 211 | 52 | 26 | 31 | 326 | 144 | .978 | 6.24 | |
12 Years | 445 | 369 | 9,977 | 2,358 | 5.3 | 2,306 | 2,095 | 211 | 52 | 26 | 31 | 326 | 144 | .978 | 6.24 |
Ron HodgesRon Hodges Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1973 Mets | 0 | 1 | .000 | 5 | 0 | n/a | 127.0 | 6.7 | 7.1 | - | - | - |
1974 Mets | 0 | 0 | .000 | 16 | 0 | n/a | 34.0 | 12.4 | 9.7 | - | - | - |
1975 Mets | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 17.0 | 5.7 | 8.5 | - | - | - |
1976 Mets | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 7 | 0 | n/a | 38.8 | 9.7 | 6.5 | - | - | - |
1977 Mets | 0 | 2 | .000 | 41 | 0 | n/a | 117.0 | 6.9 | 23.4 | - | - | - |
1978 Mets | 1 | 2 | .333 | 19 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 9.3 | 14.6 | - | - | - |
1979 Mets | 0 | 0 | .000 | 39 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 5.4 | 17.2 | - | - | - |
1980 Mets | 1 | 1 | .500 | 27 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 3.2 | 8.4 | - | - | - |
1981 Mets | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 29 | 0 | n/a | 43.0 | 5.4 | 7.2 | - | - | - |
1982 Mets | 4 | 3 | .571 | 13 | 0 | n/a | 45.6 | 5.7 | 8.4 | - | - | - |
1983 Mets | 0 | 3 | .000 | 20 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 6.0 | 11.9 | - | - | - |
1984 Mets | 1 | 1 | .500 | 30 | 0 | n/a | 106.0 | 5.9 | 9.6 | - | - | - |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
12 Years | 10 | 13 | .435 | 246 | 0 | n/a | 75.1 | 6.6 | 9.7 | - | - | - |
Ron HodgesRon Hodges Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1973 New York Mets | 42 | $15,000.00 | - | Stats |
1974 New York Mets | 42 | $15,250.00 | - | - |
1975 New York Mets | 42 | $16,775.00 | - | - |
1976 New York Mets | 42 | $30,000.00 | - | - |
1977 New York Mets | 42 | $40,000.00 | - | - |
1978 New York Mets | 42 | $75,000.00 | - | - |
1979 New York Mets | 42 | $100,000.00 | - | - |
1980 New York Mets | 42 | $120,000.00 | - | - |
1981 New York Mets | 42 | $120,000.00 | - | - |
1982 New York Mets | 42 | $120,000.00 | - | - |
1983 New York Mets | 42 | $270,000.00 | - | - |
1984 New York Mets | 42 | $325,000.00 | - | - |
Ron Hodges Stats by Baseball Almanac |
Ronald Wray Hodges was a Major League Baseball player who spent his entire 12-year career behind-the-plate with the New York Mets (1973-1984). When Ron, his nickname, made his big league debut on June 13, 1973, he became the first former Franklin County High School (Rocky Mount, VA) student to play in the majors.
Hodges was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the sixth round of the 1970 Baseball Draft, but Ron refused to sign. He was then drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the first round of the 1971 Baseball Draft (January / Secondary), but he refused to sign, again. The Atlanta Braves tried next, drafting Hodges in the first round of the 1971 Baseball Draft (June / Secondary A), but once again, Ron refused to sign. When the Mets selected Hodges in the second round of the 1972 Baseball Draft (January / Secondary), Ron (finally signed). Hodges was not the first Appalachian State University player selected in a baseball draft, but he was the first Mountaineer from a draft to play in the majors.
Ron Hodges Rookie Card | 1974 Topps Baseball Card (#448 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Research Library
Did you know that Ron Hodges was the fifth player – and first catcher – in Mets history to wear #42 in a regular season game? In 1997, Major League Baseball retired number 42 across all major league teams, to honor Jackie Robinson. Upon doing so, they made Hodges the "record holder" for most seasons (12) wearing #42 with the Mets, well ahead of second place, a Mets pitcher who wore it five seasons, from 1967 through 1971. Who was it? [Answer]
Ron Hodges retired in 1984, catching 445 games with the Mets. At the time of his retirement, only one player (Ed Kranepool) in franchise history had a longer career where every single season (18 of them) was played wearing a Mets uniform. On Friday, November 24, 2023, Ron Hodges died at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, in Roanoke, Virginia. He was 74-years-old.