Monte Irvin

⭐ Hall of Fame 1973

Born: 2/25/1919 in Haleburg, AL, USA

Died: 1/11/2016 in Houston, TX, USA

MLB Debut: 1949-07-08 | Final Game: 1956-09-30

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 195 lbs

Full name: Monford Merrill Irvin

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Biography

Monte Irvin was a prominent American baseball player who made significant contributions to the game during his career, which spanned from 1949 to 1956. Born in 1919, Irvin played primarily as a position player and was known for his powerful hitting and versatility on the field. Over the course of 764 games, he recorded 731 hits, achieved a batting average of .293, and hit 99 home runs while driving in 443 runs. Additionally, he showcased his speed on the bases with 28 stolen bases, demonstrating a well-rounded offensive skill set. Irvin's career coincided with a transformative period in Major League Baseball, particularly in the context of racial integration. As an African American player, he was part of the movement that broke down racial barriers in the sport, following in the footsteps of pioneers like Jackie Robinson. His contributions were recognized with an All-Star selection and culminated in his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, solidifying his legacy as one of the significant figures of his era. Irvin's impact extended beyond his on-field performance, as he became a role model for future generations of players, embodying the spirit of perseverance and excellence in baseball.

Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1358.0	1191.0	253.0	429.0	63.0	17.0	54.0	215.0	146.0	9.0	31.0	0.360	0.431	0.578	1.009

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Season	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1938	11.0	8.0	0	1.0	0	0	0	0	2.0	0	0	0.125	0.300	0.125	0.425
1939	151.0	134.0	23.0	43.0	5.0	1.0	3.0	19.0	14.0	2.0	0	0.321	0.383	0.440	0.823
1940	181.0	163.0	34.0	57.0	10.0	5.0	5.0	25.0	15.0	3.0	3.0	0.350	0.411	0.564	0.975
1941	212.0	185.0	43.0	77.0	14.0	2.0	12.0	44.0	21.0	1.0	8.0	0.416	0.471	0.708	1.179
1942	22.0	19.0	7.0	11.0	3.0	1.0	1.0	10.0	3.0	0	1.0	0.579	0.636	1.000	1.636
1943	4.0	4.0	1.0	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.250	0.250	0.250	0.500
1945	30.0	27.0	7.0	19.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	8.0	2.0	0	0	0.704	0.724	0.926	1.650
1946	300.0	274.0	66.0	106.0	18.0	5.0	13.0	50.0	26.0	2.0	5.0	0.387	0.440	0.631	1.071
1947	258.0	216.0	45.0	70.0	5.0	1.0	13.0	37.0	40.0	0	6.0	0.324	0.434	0.537	0.971
1948	189.0	161.0	27.0	44.0	7.0	1.0	6.0	22.0	23.0	1.0	8.0	0.273	0.368	0.441	0.809

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1055	3570	593	1091	159	46	140	693	54	484	231	0.306	0.392	0.494	0.886	15640.5

Career AVG .306 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — +16.7% above league average.

Career OBP .392 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — +17.3% above league average.

Career SLG .494 vs. league average .379 across their career seasons — +30.3% above league average.

Career OPS 0.886 vs. league average 0.713 across their career seasons — +24.2% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1938	NE	NN2	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1939	NE	NN2	32	115	22	33	6	3	3	22	2	14	4	0.287	.274 (+5%)	.342 (+9%)	.393 (+19%)	.735 (+15%)	295.2
1940	NE	NN2	40	146	32	54	11	4	4	36	3	16	3	0.370	.267 (+38%)	.335 (+31%)	.387 (+50%)	.722 (+41%)	1038.7
1941	NE	NN2	53	200	47	77	15	2	11	54	7	22	2	0.385	.262 (+47%)	.332 (+35%)	.373 (+73%)	.705 (+55%)	1878.1
1942	NE	NN2	5	22	7	11	3	1	1	10	1	1	0	0.500	—	—	—	—	0.0
1943	NE	NN2	1	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.250	—	—	—	—	0.0
1945	NE	NN2	2	9	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.111	—	—	—	—	0.0
1946	NE	NN2	57	217	52	80	17	2	6	54	2	28	1	0.369	.256 (+44%)	.328 (+35%)	.358 (+53%)	.687 (+44%)	1667.2
1947	NE	NN2	57	206	41	62	6	1	11	47	6	32	1	0.301	.262 (+15%)	.336 (+18%)	.376 (+33%)	.712 (+26%)	998.5
1948	NE	NN2	43	151	25	41	4	2	5	27	5	20	0	0.272	.263 (+3%)	.340 (+6%)	.379 (+12%)	.719 (+9%)	251.0
1949	NY1	NL	36	76	7	17	3	2	0	7	0	17	11	0.224	.262 (-15%)	.343 (+6%)	.384 (-18%)	.727 (-6%)	-45.5
1950	NY1	NL	110	374	61	112	19	5	15	66	3	52	41	0.299	.265 (+13%)	.346 (+13%)	.401 (+24%)	.747 (+19%)	1466.2
1951	NY1	NL	151	558	94	174	19	11	24	121	12	89	44	0.312	.260 (+20%)	.336 (+23%)	.385 (+33%)	.721 (+29%)	3544.0
1952	NY1	NL	46	126	10	39	2	1	4	21	0	10	11	0.310	.252 (+23%)	.326 (+12%)	.369 (+18%)	.696 (+15%)	319.1
1953	NY1	NL	124	444	72	146	21	5	21	97	2	55	34	0.329	.264 (+24%)	.335 (+21%)	.397 (+36%)	.733 (+29%)	2651.1
1954	NY1	NL	135	432	62	113	13	3	19	64	7	70	23	0.262	.261 (avg)	.333 (+9%)	.390 (+12%)	.723 (+11%)	1071.3
1955	NY1	NL	51	150	16	38	7	1	1	17	3	17	15	0.253	.258 (-2%)	.332 (+2%)	.393 (-15%)	.726 (-8%)	-172.7
1956	CHC	NL	111	339	44	92	13	3	15	50	1	41	41	0.271	.258 (+5%)	.331 (+5%)	.397 (+16%)	.728 (+11%)	678.4

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
21	71	14	28	3	1	3	13	9	5	0.394

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1954	WS	NY1	4	9	1	2	1	0	0	2	0	3	0.222
1951	WS	NY1	6	24	3	11	0	1	0	2	2	1	0.458
1946	NWS	NE	7	26	10	12	2	0	3	8	4	1	0.462
1939	NLP1	NE	4	12	0	3	0	0	0	1	3	0	0.250

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	108	2	872	102	20	115
2B	20	19	47	60	8	8
3B	41	30	20	54	10	2
OF	730	384	1490	56	30	7
SS	106	96	192	259	33	43

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1938	NE	SS	1	0	0	2	0	0
1939	NE	1B	2	0	5	0	0	0
1939	NE	3B	23	22	9	26	6	1
1939	NE	OF	9	9	17	2	0	0
1940	NE	2B	3	3	9	15	2	0
1940	NE	3B	5	4	3	8	0	0
1940	NE	OF	23	23	53	0	2	0
1940	NE	SS	10	10	15	23	4	3
1941	NE	3B	3	2	2	5	1	0
1941	NE	OF	13	13	24	1	0	0
1941	NE	SS	38	38	84	99	13	17
1942	NE	OF	5	5	18	1	0	1
1943	NE	OF	1	1	2	0	0	0
1945	NE	2B	1	1	4	3	0	1
1945	NE	OF	1	1	0	2	0	0
1946	NE	OF	27	23	34	1	3	0
1946	NE	SS	36	33	61	86	13	16
1947	NE	2B	16	15	34	42	6	7
1947	NE	OF	27	26	49	1	1	0
1947	NE	SS	21	15	32	49	3	7
1948	NE	1B	2	2	18	1	1	1
1948	NE	3B	3	2	4	3	1	0
1948	NE	OF	39	38	60	3	2	0
1949	NY1	1B	5	0	40	3	0	5
1949	NY1	3B	5	0	1	11	1	1
1949	NY1	OF	10	0	15	3	0	0
1950	NY1	1B	59	0	459	48	11	62
1950	NY1	3B	1	0	1	1	0	0
1950	NY1	OF	49	0	109	2	1	0
1951	NY1	1B	39	0	348	50	8	47
1951	NY1	OF	112	0	237	10	1	1
1952	NY1	OF	32	0	44	3	0	1
1953	NY1	OF	113	0	244	10	7	4
1954	NY1	1B	1	0	2	0	0	0
1954	NY1	3B	1	0	0	0	1	0
1954	NY1	OF	128	118	274	7	7	0
1955	NY1	OF	45	39	94	4	4	0
1956	CHN	OF	96	88	216	6	2	0