Pete Runnels Stats

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.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"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 Runnels

Pete Runnels Autograph on a 1960 Topps Baseball Card (#15 | <a href='../baseball_cards/baseball_cards_oneset.php?s=1960top01' title='1960 Topps Baseball Card Checklist'>Checklist</a>)

Pete Runnels Autograph on a 1960 Topps Baseball Card (#15 | Checklist)

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Birth Name:   James Edward Runnells
Nickname:   Pete
Born On:   01-28-1928  (Aquarius)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Lufkin, Texas
Year of Death Data Died On:   05-20-1991 (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Pasadena, Texas
Cemetery:   Forest Park East Cemetery, Webster, Texas
High School:   Lufkin High School (Lufkin, TX)
College:   None Attended
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Left   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   6-00   Player Weight Chart Weight:   170
First Game:   07-01-1951 (Age 23)
Last Game:   05-14-1964
Draft:   Not Applicable

Pete Runnels

Pete Runnels Pitching Stats

- - Did Not Pitch - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Pete Runnels

Pete Runnels Hitting Stats

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
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 Runnels

Pete Runnels Fielding Stats

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
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 Runnels

Pete Runnels Miscellaneous Stats

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 - - -
14 Years 37 51 .420 111 8 n/a 130.1 10.2 10.1 - - -

Pete Runnels

Pete Runnels Miscellaneous Items of Interest

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 - -

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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, Record Tying Doubleheader

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]