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 Pete Runnels Photo Gallery

OK…I had heard of Pete Runnels and knew he played for the Red Sox, and had a vague recollection that he was a good hitter, but, as a National League fan back then, that was about the extent of my knowledge of his career. Today, we welcome back Ron Christensen who sets the record straight on this fine ball player, including winning two batting titles! I think you’ll find interesting what Ron has for us today -GL

Another Edition of Baseball’s Forgotten Stars:

Pete Runnels

The Most Underrated Hitter You’ve Never Heard of! 

“I was thinking in my heart, I hope Pete Runnels wins [the 1958 batting title]. I’m not going to give it to him, but I hope he wins it. He’s never won a batting championship, and I’ve won five – Ted Williams

Pete Runnels.  Ever heard of him?  If you were asked this question outside the context of a baseball history newsletter, you might scratch your head to know how to place him, assuming you recall having ever heard the name.  To most of us Pete Runnels is an unknown, overlooked in our focus on more famous stars of baseball’s yesteryear – like Mickey Mantle, who was runner-up for the 1962 American League batting championship to – Pete Runnels! (1)  That one might actually make a good trivia question.  

But Runnels might be best remembered for a rather dubious baseball record.  In 1952 he set the single-season record for stolen base attempts without a stolen base. (2)  In ten attempts Runnels was caught stealing ten times.  There are others who attempted but failed to steal a base in a given season, but since Runnels has the most attempts, history remembers him as holding this record all by himself.  (3)

In the featured photo, we see Pete Runnels with his mentor, Ted Williams (Getty photos)

Nineteen fifty-two was Runnels’ first full year in the major leagues, at age 24.  In 1951 he played in 78 games, during which he had three stolen base attempts and not surprisingly was caught each time.  Combining this with his 1952 attempts and Runnels was 0-13 to begin his professional career, a rather inauspicious start. (4)

Why Runnels was such a poor base stealer is anyone’s guess.  To set this dubious record at age 24, long before age takes its toll on a player’s legs, leads me to believe this had more to do with inexperience than with speed.  Maybe he just wasn’t good at reading the pitcher or wasn’t confident enough to take a sufficient lead, or quick enough to get a sufficient jump when the pitch was thrown.  Maybe he just wasn’t selective enough to make his attempts against pitchers who didn’t hold runners well, or against catchers with notoriously poor throwing arms.  Or maybe he really just wasn’t that fast, like sort of a human changeup when running the bases.  

Runnels also has another dubious record worth mentioning.  He won the American League batting title in 1960 with a .320 average and had only 35 RBIs and two home runs.  His 35 RBIs remain the American League record for the lowest RBI total by an American League batting champion*, and his two home runs stand as the “almost” American League record for the lowest home run total, tied with Ty Cobb’s two home runs in 1914 and Tris Speaker’s two home runs in 1916, and surpassed only by Cobb’s single home run in 1919. (5)

“Almost” because Cobb and Speaker achieved their low bars during the Deadball Era, a period in baseball history when run scoring was low, home runs were rare and the ball itself was “dead” by both design and overuse. (6)  Runnels’ low totals were achieved with a livelier ball that was cleaner and often replaced throughout the game; and one that was free of nicks, emery board scuffs, and spit or other substances intended to influence the ball’s motion.  Had Cobb and Speaker had the same advantage in the evolution of the baseball during their respective years of low home run totals, I believe their totals would have exceeded Runnels’ two home runs in 1960.  This, of course, is pure speculation, but it seems very plausible. 

Runnels began his career with the Washington Senators in 1951.  He remained with the Senators for seven years, hitting .273 in 921 games before being traded to the Red Sox in January 1958. (7) As a left-handed batter, Runnels flourished with the Sox thanks to the tutelage provided him by his new hitting mentor, Ted Williams.  Williams taught Runnels to be more patient with pitch selection and to hit the ball to the opposite field, good advice in Fenway Park with the opportunity to bounce balls off the Green Monster. (8)

In his five seasons with the Red Sox, Runnels compiled a .320 average, never hitting below .314.  He won two batting titles, one in 1960 and another in 1962. (9)  He narrowly missed a third title in 1958 when he lost on the final day of the season to his mentor, Ted Williams. That year Runnels was named ‘American League Comeback Player of the Year’. (10)

Runnels also holds another major league batting record, this one shared with seven other players,  for most hits in a doubleheader (nine) which Runnels achieved on August 30, 19, in a twin-bill against the Tigers. (11)  

Runnels finished his career with the Houston Colt 45’s in 1964.  He returned to the Red Sox as a coach in 1965 and 1966 and was named interim manager for the final 16 games of 1966 after the Sox fired Manager Billy Herman. (12)  Over his 14-year career, Runnels had a .291 lifetime average, batted over .300 six times, received MVP votes in six seasons, and played in  All-Star games**.   He even hit a pinch-hit home run in his final All-Star game appearance.  (13)

Pete Runnels was elected to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1982, and to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2004. (14) In researching this essay I came to realize how much his accomplishments overshadow the dubious attributes that first led me to him.  Yes, I admit I was one of those who wouldn’t have recognized his name if asked the question, “Who was Pete Runnels?”, and candidly now I wonder how it was I didn’t.  Runnels was a solid, consistent ballplayer throughout his career.  And though he couldn’t steal, Pete Runnels could hit a baseball.

He may be the most underrated hitter you never heard of!

Ron Christensen

*DJ LeMahieu won the AL batting title in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and had only 27 RBI’ – eight less than Runnels’ total of 35 in 1960. (15) I have dismissed this as the American League record as LeMahieu played in only 50 games and the season itself was shortened to only 60 games.  

**MLB experimented with two All-Star games from 1959 to 1962, primarily to raise money for the players’ pension fund. The format returned to a single game in 1963. (16)  Runnels was selected to the American League All-Star team in 1959, 1960, and 1962. (17)

We’d love to hear what you think about this or any other related baseball history topic…please leave comments below.

REFERENCE CITATIONS:

1. Wikipedia / List of MLB Batting Champions
2. Baseball Almanac / Pete Runnels Stats
3. Baseball Reference // Reddit – Awful Base Stealing Seasons
4. Baseball Reference
5. Baseball Reference // Baseball Almanac
6. Wikipedia / Dead Ball Era
7. Baseball Reference
8. SABR – Pete Runnels, by Hugh Poland // Baseball Reference – Player Bio
9. Baseball Reference
10. SABR (Poland Article)
11. SABR (Poland Article)
12. SABR (Poland Article)
13. Baseball Reference
14. Texas Sports Hall of Fame // SABR (Poland Article)
15. Baseball Reference
16. Wikipedia / MLB All Star Game // Baseball Hall of Fame / The Two All Star Game Era, by Henry Schulman
17. Baseball Reference

Opening quote from the Pete Runnels SABR biography, by Hugh Poland 

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