Bill Lee

Born: 10/21/1909 in Plaquemine, LA, USA

Died: 6/15/1977 in Plaquemine, LA, USA

MLB Debut: 1934-04-29 | Final Game: 1947-06-29

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 195 lbs

Full name: William Crutcher Lee

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Biography

Bill Lee, born in 1909, was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1934 until 1947. Known for his durability and competitive spirit, Lee compiled a career record of 169 wins and 157 losses, with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.54. Over his career, he struck out 998 batters and recorded 13 saves, showcasing his ability to both start games and come in for critical relief appearances. His contributions to the game were recognized with two All-Star selections, marking him as one of the top performers of his era. Lee's career unfolded during a transformative period in baseball, which saw the transition from the deadball era to a focus on power hitting and increased offensive production. His pitching style was characterized by a blend of control and guile, making him a difficult opponent for hitters of the time. Despite not being among the most celebrated stars of his era, Lee's consistent performance and competitive nature left a lasting impact on the teams he played for, and he remains a respected figure in baseball history.

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
169	157	462	378	182	29	13	2864.0	2953	1127	138	893	998	3.54	0

Career ERA 3.54 vs. league average 4.01 across their career seasons — 11.7% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1934	CHC	NL	13	14	35	29	16	4	1	214.3	218	81	74	104	3.40	4.29 (+21%)	-
1935	CHC	NL	20	6	39	32	18	3	1	252.0	241	83	84	100	2.96	4.35 (+32%)	-
1936	CHC	NL	18	11	43	33	20	4	1	258.7	238	95	93	102	3.31	4.59 (+28%)	-
1937	CHC	NL	14	15	42	33	17	2	3	272.3	289	107	73	108	3.54	4.34 (+18%)	-
1938	CHC	NL	22	9	44	37	19	9	2	291.0	281	86	74	121	2.66	4.35 (+39%)	-
1939	CHC	NL	19	15	37	36	20	1	0	282.3	295	108	85	105	3.44	4.28 (+20%)	-
1940	CHC	NL	9	17	37	30	9	1	0	211.3	246	118	70	70	5.03	4.21 (-19%)	-
1941	CHC	NL	8	14	28	22	12	0	1	167.3	179	70	43	62	3.76	3.94 (+4%)	-
1942	CHC	NL	13	13	32	30	18	1	0	219.7	221	94	67	75	3.85	3.57 (-8%)	-
1943	CHC	NL	3	7	13	12	4	0	0	78.3	83	31	27	18	3.56	3.50 (-2%)	-
1943	PHI	NL	1	5	13	7	2	0	3	60.7	70	31	21	17	4.60	3.50 (-31%)	-819.2
1944	PHI	NL	10	11	31	28	11	3	1	208.3	199	73	57	50	3.15	3.57 (+12%)	-267.7
1945	PHI	NL	3	6	13	13	2	0	0	77.3	107	40	30	13	4.66	3.67 (-27%)	240.1
1945	BSN	NL	6	3	16	13	6	1	0	106.3	112	33	36	12	2.79	3.67 (+24%)	-1560.4
1946	BSN	NL	10	9	25	21	8	0	0	140.0	148	65	45	32	4.18	3.59 (-16%)	-627.6
1947	CHC	NL	0	2	14	2	0	0	0	24.0	26	12	14	9	4.50	3.97 (-13%)	-

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
467	980	59	165	15	2	5	71	1	42	177	0.168	0.204	0.203	0.407	-6272.4

Career AVG .168 vs. league average .268 across their career seasons — 37.1% below league average.

Career OBP .204 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — 39.1% below league average.

Career SLG .203 vs. league average .377 across their career seasons — 46.2% below league average.

Career OPS 0.407 vs. league average 0.713 across their career seasons — 42.9% below 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
1934	CHC	NL	40	76	6	10	3	0	0	7	0	4	11	0.132	.278 (-53%)	.340 (-49%)	.392 (-56%)	.733 (-53%)	-708.2
1935	CHC	NL	39	102	8	24	3	0	0	11	0	2	15	0.235	.279 (-16%)	.342 (-27%)	.399 (-34%)	.742 (-31%)	-553.9
1936	CHC	NL	43	87	5	12	0	1	1	3	0	2	14	0.138	.283 (-51%)	.349 (-52%)	.404 (-52%)	.753 (-52%)	-826.4
1937	CHC	NL	42	87	4	15	2	0	1	4	0	3	23	0.172	.276 (-38%)	.342 (-42%)	.398 (-42%)	.740 (-42%)	-653.6
1938	CHC	NL	44	101	10	20	3	1	0	13	1	4	20	0.198	.272 (-27%)	.341 (-33%)	.392 (-37%)	.734 (-35%)	-641.8
1939	CHC	NL	37	103	3	13	0	0	1	3	0	4	16	0.126	.274 (-54%)	.342 (-54%)	.393 (-60%)	.735 (-57%)	-1030.1
1940	CHC	NL	37	76	4	10	2	0	0	3	0	2	20	0.132	.267 (-51%)	.335 (-51%)	.387 (-59%)	.722 (-55%)	-725.2
1941	CHC	NL	28	59	8	11	0	0	2	5	0	1	9	0.186	.262 (-29%)	.332 (-40%)	.373 (-23%)	.705 (-31%)	-313.7
1942	CHC	NL	32	69	2	11	2	0	0	7	0	7	13	0.159	.253 (-37%)	.323 (-27%)	.349 (-46%)	.672 (-37%)	-398.9
1943	CHC	NL	13	26	3	7	0	0	0	1	0	2	4	0.269	—	—	—	—	0.0
1943	PHI	NL	13	17	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0.059	—	—	—	—	0.0
1944	PHI	NL	31	72	5	14	0	0	0	4	0	4	12	0.194	.261 (-26%)	.325 (-27%)	.357 (-46%)	.683 (-37%)	-420.5
1945	PHI	NL	13	24	1	4	0	0	0	1	0	1	5	0.167	—	—	—	—	0.0
1945	BSN	NL	16	31	0	4	0	0	0	2	0	4	5	0.129	—	—	—	—	0.0
1946	BSN	NL	25	47	0	8	0	0	0	7	0	2	5	0.170	—	—	—	—	0.0
1947	CHC	NL	14	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.333	—	—	—	—	0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
4	4	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1938	WS	CHN	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.000
1935	WS	CHN	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
0	2	4	3	1	21.3	26	8	6	13	3.38

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1938	WS	CHN	0	2	2	2	0	11.0	15	3	1	8	2.45
1935	WS	CHN	0	0	2	1	1	10.3	11	5	5	5	4.35

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	462	0	163	662	58	37

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E	DP
1934	CHN	P	35	15	48	4	2
1935	CHN	P	39	12	52	7	4
1936	CHN	P	43	12	61	7	5
1937	CHN	P	42	20	70	5	5
1938	CHN	P	44	18	61	5	3
1939	CHN	P	37	15	80	5	3
1940	CHN	P	37	10	42	6	3
1941	CHN	P	28	10	39	6	3
1942	CHN	P	32	10	55	2	2
1943	CHN	P	13	4	12	1	0
1943	PHI	P	13	5	9	2	1
1944	PHI	P	31	17	47	4	2
1945	PHI	P	13	1	19	1	1
1945	BSN	P	16	4	27	0	1
1946	BSN	P	25	6	35	1	2
1947	CHN	P	14	4	5	2	0