Josh Billings

Born: 11/30/1891 in Grantville, KS, USA

Died: 12/30/1981 in Santa Monica, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1913-09-09 | Final Game: 1923-08-24

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 165 lbs

Full name: John Augustus Billings

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Biography

Josh Billings was a professional baseball player born in 1891, who played in the major leagues from 1913 until his retirement in 1923. A versatile position player, Billings had a career that spanned a decade, during which he appeared in 243 games. He recorded 106 hits with a batting average of .217, contributing 29 runs batted in and five stolen bases to his teams. His playing style was characterized by speed on the base paths, despite not being known for his power, as he did not hit any home runs during his career. Billings played during a transformative period in baseball, navigating the early years of the modern game when the sport was beginning to evolve toward the offensive explosion that would characterize the following decades. Though his individual statistics may not reflect the prowess of some of his contemporaries, Billings's contributions to the teams he played for were invaluable in the context of the era, when the game was marked by strategic play and a focus on speed and contact hitting. His legacy remains a part of the rich tapestry of early 20th-century baseball history.

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
243	488	44	106	12	5	0	29	5	23	73	0.217	0.268	0.262	0.530	-909.8

Career AVG .217 vs. league average .265 across their career seasons — 18.0% below league average.

Career OBP .268 vs. league average .328 across their career seasons — 18.2% below league average.

Career SLG .262 vs. league average .355 across their career seasons — 26.1% below league average.

Career OPS 0.530 vs. league average 0.683 across their career seasons — 22.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1913	CLE	AL	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1914	CLE	AL	11	8	2	2	1	0	0	1	1	1	0.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1915	CLE	AL	8	21	2	4	1	0	0	1	0	6	0.190	—	—	—	—	0.0
1916	CLE	AL	22	31	2	5	0	0	1	0	2	11	0.161	—	—	—	—	0.0
1917	CLE	AL	66	129	8	23	3	2	9	2	8	21	0.178	.248 (-28%)	.312 (-22%)	.323 (-28%)	.635 (-25%)	-533.0
1918	CLE	AL	2	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.333	—	—	—	—	0.0
1919	SLA	AL	38	76	9	15	1	1	3	0	1	12	0.197	.262 (-25%)	.322 (-32%)	.347 (-32%)	.670 (-32%)	-406.9
1920	SLA	AL	66	155	19	43	5	2	11	1	11	10	0.277	.271 (+2%)	.331 (+6%)	.363 (-8%)	.694 (-1%)	30.2
1921	SLA	AL	20	46	2	10	0	0	4	0	0	7	0.217	—	—	—	—	0.0
1922	SLA	AL	5	7	0	3	1	0	1	0	0	0	0.429	—	—	—	—	0.0
1923	SLA	AL	4	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	PO	A	E	DP
1B	1	0	1	1	0
C	157	489	157	20	9
OF	1	1	0	0	0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E	DP
1913	CLE	C	1	4	2	1	0
1914	CLE	C	3	10	3	3	0
1915	CLE	C	7	29	6	0	0
1915	CLE	OF	1	1	0	0	0
1916	CLE	C	12	38	13	1	3
1917	CLE	C	48	134	51	5	2
1918	CLE	C	1	2	0	0	0
1919	SLA	1B	1	0	1	1	0
1919	SLA	C	26	76	33	2	2
1920	SLA	C	40	138	36	6	1
1921	SLA	C	12	45	9	1	0
1922	SLA	C	3	5	1	0	0
1923	SLA	C	4	8	3	1	1