Pete Runnels was born on Saturday, January 28, 1928, in Lufkin, Texas. Runnels was 23 years old when he broke into the big leagues on July 1, 1951, with the Washington Senators. 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 Pete Runnels baseball stats page.
"After a dozen years in the American League, Pete Runnels has returned home as a member of the new Colt .45s of the National League. 'Never dreamed I would return as major leaguer,' smiled Runnels, awaiting his turn in batting practice at Geronimo Park on the desert 30 miles east of Phoenix. Runnels was a student at Rice University when he signed his first professional contract. He resides in suburban Houston. Runnels, easily the most under-publicized good hitter in baseball, always has led off or batted second. With the light-firing Colt .45s, Pistol Pete suddenly becomes a big gun as a cleanup man. 'I'm going to put him where we can get the most out of the 183 hits he gets a year,' said Harry Craft, whose Cowpokes scored less than any other NL outfit last trip. 'Pete doubles, triples, and gets his share of home runs.'" - The Standard Speaker (March 7, 1963, Houston Makes Cleanup Hitter of Leadoff Man Pete Runnels, Page 24)
Pete RunnelsPete Runnels Autograph on a 1960 Topps Baseball Card (#15 | Checklist) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pete RunnelsPete Runnels 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 |
Pete RunnelsPete Runnels 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 |
1951 | 23 | Senators | 78 | 273 | 31 | 76 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 31 | 3 | 24 | 2 | - | 1 | 5 | .278 | .354 | .337 |
1952 | 24 | Senators | 152 | 555 | 70 | 158 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 64 | 72 | 6 | 55 | 4 | - | 1 | 14 | .285 | .368 | .333 |
1953 | 25 | Senators | 137 | 486 | 64 | 125 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 64 | 2 | 36 | 6 | - | 3 | 18 | .257 | .347 | .321 |
1954 | 26 | Senators | 139 | 488 | 75 | 131 | 17 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 56 | 78 | 7 | 60 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | .268 | .368 | .383 |
1955 | 27 | Senators | 134 | 503 | 66 | 143 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 55 | 2 | 51 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 14 | .284 | .353 | .344 |
1956 | 28 | Senators | 147 | 578 | 72 | 179 | 29 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 76 | 58 | 2 | 64 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 18 | .310 | .372 | .433 |
1957 | 29 | Senators | 134 | 473 | 53 | 109 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 55 | 5 | 51 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 7 | .230 | .310 | .298 |
1958 | 30 | Red Sox | 147 | 568 | 103 | 183 | 32 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 59 | 87 | 0 | 49 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 15 | .322 | .416 | .438 |
1959 | 31 | Red Sox | 147 | 560 | 95 | 176 | 33 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 57 | 95 | 1 | 48 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | .314 | .415 | .427 |
1960 | 32 | Red Sox | 143 | 528 | 80 | 169 | 29 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 71 | 2 | 51 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 16 | .320 | .401 | .394 |
1961 | 33 | Red Sox | 143 | 360 | 49 | 114 | 20 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 38 | 46 | 2 | 32 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 12 | .317 | .396 | .414 |
1962 | 34 | Red Sox | 152 | 562 | 80 | 183 | 33 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 60 | 79 | 11 | 57 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 5 | .326 | .408 | .456 |
1963 | 35 | Colt .45s | 124 | 388 | 35 | 98 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 45 | 2 | 42 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 20 | .253 | .332 | .296 |
1964 | 36 | Colt .45s | 22 | 51 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .196 | .305 | .216 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
14 Years | 1,799 | 6,373 | 876 | 1,854 | 282 | 64 | 49 | 0 | 630 | 844 | 46 | 627 | 49 | 34 | 28 | 174 | .291 | .375 | .378 |
Pete RunnelsPete Runnels Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1951 Senators | SS | 73 | 72 | 1,830 | 353 | 4.8 | 335 | 159 | 176 | 18 | 41 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .949 | 4.94 |
1952 Senators | 2B | 1 | 1 | 21 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 11.57 |
1952 Senators | SS | 147 | 146 | 39 | 745 | 5.1 | 720 | 314 | 406 | 25 | 97 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .966 | 498.46 |
1953 Senators | 2B | 11 | 10 | 276 | 54 | 4.9 | 51 | 24 | 27 | 3 | 7 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .944 | 4.99 |
1953 Senators | SS | 121 | 116 | 3,042 | 542 | 4.5 | 519 | 195 | 324 | 23 | 87 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .958 | 4.61 |
1954 Senators | 2B | 27 | 27 | 708 | 154 | 5.7 | 149 | 90 | 59 | 5 | 23 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .968 | 5.68 |
1954 Senators | LF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1954 Senators | SS | 107 | 104 | 2,748 | 511 | 4.8 | 487 | 174 | 313 | 24 | 69 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .953 | 4.78 |
1955 Senators | 2B | 132 | 129 | 3,411 | 704 | 5.3 | 687 | 349 | 338 | 17 | 107 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .976 | 5.44 |
1955 Senators | SS | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 1.5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .667 | 9.00 |
1956 Senators | 1B | 81 | 79 | 2,094 | 746 | 9.2 | 742 | 693 | 49 | 4 | 73 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .995 | 9.57 |
1956 Senators | 2B | 69 | 65 | 1,674 | 366 | 5.3 | 356 | 179 | 177 | 10 | 56 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .973 | 5.74 |
1956 Senators | SS | 3 | 0 | 18 | 6 | 2.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 9.00 |
1957 Senators | 1B | 72 | 70 | 1,809 | 663 | 9.2 | 660 | 616 | 44 | 3 | 59 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .995 | 9.85 |
1957 Senators | 2B | 23 | 17 | 492 | 97 | 4.2 | 95 | 52 | 43 | 2 | 13 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .979 | 5.21 |
1957 Senators | 3B | 32 | 32 | 852 | 107 | 3.3 | 104 | 31 | 73 | 3 | 12 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .972 | 3.30 |
1958 Red Sox | 1B | 42 | 40 | 1,059 | 381 | 9.1 | 379 | 364 | 15 | 2 | 41 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .995 | 9.66 |
1958 Red Sox | 2B | 106 | 106 | 2,799 | 596 | 5.6 | 587 | 267 | 320 | 9 | 88 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .985 | 5.66 |
1959 Red Sox | 1B | 44 | 42 | 1,089 | 415 | 9.4 | 415 | 387 | 28 | 0 | 48 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 10.29 |
1959 Red Sox | 2B | 101 | 101 | 2,616 | 555 | 5.5 | 545 | 273 | 272 | 10 | 82 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .982 | 5.63 |
1959 Red Sox | SS | 9 | 1 | 75 | 10 | 1.1 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 3.60 |
1960 Red Sox | 1B | 57 | 7 | 444 | 154 | 2.7 | 153 | 142 | 11 | 1 | 15 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .994 | 9.30 |
1960 Red Sox | 2B | 129 | 127 | 3,054 | 643 | 5.0 | 634 | 274 | 360 | 9 | 99 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .986 | 5.61 |
1960 Red Sox | 3B | 3 | 3 | 78 | 11 | 3.7 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .909 | 3.46 |
1961 Red Sox | 1B | 113 | 75 | 2,205 | 755 | 6.7 | 751 | 701 | 50 | 4 | 92 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .995 | 9.20 |
1961 Red Sox | 2B | 7 | 2 | 69 | 17 | 2.4 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 6.65 |
1961 Red Sox | 3B | 11 | 11 | 246 | 39 | 3.5 | 37 | 8 | 29 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .949 | 4.06 |
1961 Red Sox | SS | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1962 Red Sox | 1B | 151 | 151 | 4,032 | 1,423 | 9.4 | 1,413 | 1,309 | 104 | 10 | 125 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .993 | 9.46 |
1963 Colt .45s | 1B | 70 | 65 | 1,662 | 570 | 8.1 | 566 | 526 | 40 | 4 | 31 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .993 | 9.19 |
1963 Colt .45s | 2B | 36 | 33 | 804 | 130 | 3.6 | 128 | 64 | 64 | 2 | 18 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .985 | 4.30 |
1963 Colt .45s | 3B | 3 | 3 | 78 | 10 | 3.3 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 3.46 |
1964 Colt .45s | 1B | 14 | 13 | 345 | 145 | 10.4 | 143 | 138 | 5 | 2 | 8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .986 | 11.19 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1B Totals | 644 | 542 | 14,739 | 5,252 | 8.2 | 5,222 | 4,876 | 346 | 30 | 492 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .994 | 9.57 | |
2B Totals | 642 | 618 | 15,924 | 3,325 | 5.2 | 3,258 | 1,583 | 1,675 | 67 | 500 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .980 | 5.52 | |
SS Totals | 463 | 439 | 7,764 | 2,170 | 4.7 | 2,079 | 848 | 1,231 | 91 | 297 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .958 | 7.23 | |
3B Totals | 49 | 49 | 1,254 | 167 | 3.4 | 161 | 46 | 115 | 6 | 13 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .964 | 3.47 | |
LF Totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 | |
14 Years | 1,799 | 1,648 | 39,681 | 10,914 | 6.1 | 10,720 | 7,353 | 3,367 | 194 | 1,302 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .982 | 7.29 |
Pete RunnelsPete Runnels 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 |
1951 Senators | 0 | 3 | .000 | 5 | 1 | n/a | 0.0 | 11.4 | 10.9 | - | - | - |
1952 Senators | 0 | 10 | .000 | 5 | 0 | n/a | 555.0 | 10.1 | 8.7 | - | - | - |
1953 Senators | 3 | 4 | .429 | 9 | 0 | n/a | 243.0 | 13.5 | 9.7 | - | - | - |
1954 Senators | 2 | 3 | .400 | 6 | 0 | n/a | 162.7 | 8.1 | 8.7 | - | - | - |
1955 Senators | 3 | 9 | .250 | 5 | 0 | n/a | 251.5 | 9.9 | 10.3 | - | - | - |
1956 Senators | 5 | 5 | .500 | 3 | 0 | n/a | 72.3 | 9.0 | 7.6 | - | - | - |
1957 Senators | 2 | 3 | .400 | 13 | 0 | n/a | 236.5 | 9.3 | 13.5 | - | - | - |
1958 Red Sox | 1 | 2 | .333 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 71.0 | 11.6 | 9.6 | - | - | - |
1959 Red Sox | 6 | 5 | .545 | 2 | 0 | n/a | 93.3 | 11.7 | 9.8 | - | - | - |
1960 Red Sox | 5 | 2 | .714 | 2 | 0 | n/a | 264.0 | 10.4 | 15.1 | - | - | - |
1961 Red Sox | 5 | 1 | .833 | 31 | 6 | n/a | 120.0 | 11.3 | 9.5 | - | - | - |
1962 Red Sox | 3 | 4 | .429 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 56.2 | 9.9 | 9.4 | - | - | - |
1963 Colt .45s | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 20 | 1 | n/a | 194.0 | 9.2 | 16.9 | - | - | - |
1964 Colt .45s | 0 | 0 | .000 | 8 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 7.3 | 17.0 | - | - | - |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
14 Years | 37 | 51 | .420 | 111 | 8 | n/a | 130.1 | 10.2 | 10.1 | - | - | - |
Pete RunnelsPete Runnels Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1951 Washington Senators | 35 | Undetermined | - | - |
1952 Washington Senators | 35 | Undetermined | - | - |
1953 Washington Senators | 35 | Undetermined | - | - |
1954 Washington Senators | 5 | Undetermined | - | - |
1955 Washington Senators | 5 | Undetermined | - | - |
1956 Washington Senators | 5 | Undetermined | - | - |
1957 Washington Senators | 5 | Undetermined | - | - |
1958 Boston Red Sox | 3 | Undetermined | - | - |
1959 Boston Red Sox | 3 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1960 Boston Red Sox | 3 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1961 Boston Red Sox | 3 | Undetermined | - | - |
1962 Boston Red Sox | 3 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1963 Houston Colt .45s | 3 | Undetermined | - | - |
1964 Houston Colt .45s | 3 | Undetermined | - | - |
Pete Runnels Stats by Baseball Almanac |
James Edward Runnels was a Major League Baseball player with the Washington Senators (1951-1957), Boston Red Sox (1958-1962), and Houston Colt .45s (1963-1964). Pete, his nickname, was an outstanding hitter (two batting titles, a 1.35 walk-to-strikeout ratio, six-time .300 hitter), and a terrible base stealer (in 1952 he became the first—and through today only—player with ten-or-more attempts in a season, without a single successful steal).
Pete Runnels had six hits in the first game of a doubleheader on August 30, 1960, including a game-winning double in the 15th inning. In game two of the twinbill, Runnels had three more hits, tying the Major League record for hits in a doubleheader.
Pete Runnels was the first player from the Boston Red Sox with a record tying nine-hits in a doubleheader, one of only four in American League history—George Case, Ray Morehart and Lee Thomas are the other three.
Pete Runnels Hits Record (Game 1 / Game 2) | Ironwood Daily Globe | August 31, 1960 | Page 12
Did you know that Pete Runnels won two batting titles? In 1960, Runnels led all American League batters with a .320 batting average (Top 25). In 1962, Pete led them all again with a .326 batting average (Top 25). Both batting titles were won when Runnels wore Red Sox, making Pete the second player from Boston with two batting championships. The first? Ted Williams (1941, 1942, 1947, 1948, 1957, 1958).
On April 9, 1963, Pete Runnels took the field wearing #11, the first Houston Astros (who were the Colt .45s at the time) player to wear that number in franchise history! It was also the first regular season game ever played in team history, making Runnels their first first-baseman! He was batting third that historic day, and in the first frame he became the first Astro to ground into a double play! Do you know who was on base, having just recorded the team's first hit? [Answer]