Willie Adams
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1912-1919)
Willie Adams was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1919 for the St. Louis Browns, the Pittsburgh Rebels, and the Philadelphia Athletics, a span of 8 seasons. Across 65 career appearances, he went 8-16 with a 4.37 ERA and 74 strikeouts.
- W (Wins):
- Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
- ERA (Earned Run Average):
- Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
- SO (Strikeouts):
- For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
- WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
- Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.
Data updated
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'4" / 180 lb
- Died
- 6/18/1937 in Albany, NY, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1912-06-30
- Last Game
- 1919-09-06
Full name: James Irvin Adams
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | SLA | AL | 2 | 3 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46.1 | 50 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 3.88 | 3.36 (-16%) | -202.3 |
| 1913 | SLA | AL | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 10.00 | 3.07 (-226%) | 0.0 |
| 1914 | PTF | FL | 1 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 55.1 | 70 | 23 | 22 | 14 | 3.74 | 2.93 (-28%) | -1680.1 |
| 1918 | PHA | AL | 5 | 12 | 32 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 169.0 | 164 | 83 | 97 | 39 | 4.42 | 2.83 (-56%) | -4610.1 |
| 1919 | PHA | AL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3.86 | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 5 seasons | 8 | 16 | 65 | 21 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 284.1 | 303 | 138 | 144 | 74 | 4.37 | — | -6,493 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | 88 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 27 | .102 | .132 | .136 | .268 | -410 |
Career AVG .102 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 60.7% below league average.
Career OBP .132 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 59.4% below league average.
Career SLG .136 vs. league average .344 across their career seasons — 60.3% below league average.
Career OPS .268 vs. league average .669 across their career seasons — 59.9% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | SLA | AL | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1913 | SLA | AL | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1914 | PTF | FL | 15 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .067 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1918 | PHA | AL | 32 | 57 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 16 | .140 | .255 (-45%) | .318 (-47%) | .326 (-52%) | .645 (-49%) | -410.2 |
| 1919 | PHA | AL | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 5 seasons | 65 | 88 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 27 | .102 | — | — | — | — | -410 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (130 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 34 | 44 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | .114 |
| Away | 31 | 45 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | .089 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 34 | 150.0 | 156 | 65 | 75 | 43 | 3.90 |
| Away | 31 | 134.2 | 147 | 76 | 69 | 29 | 5.08 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919-09-06 | PHA | BOS | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1918-08-26 | PHA | CLE | L | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918-08-22 | PHA | CHW | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918-08-19 | PHA | DET | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918-08-15 | PHA | SLA | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1918-08-13 | PHA | MIN | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918-08-11 | PHA | MIN | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1918-08-07 | PHA | SLA | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918-08-04 | PHA | CHW | L | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918-07-31 | PHA | CLE | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919-09-06 | PHA | BOS | — | 4.2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1918-08-26 | PHA | CLE | L | 9.0 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 0 |
| 1918-08-22 | PHA | CHW | W | 9.0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 1918-08-19 | PHA | DET | — | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918-08-15 | PHA | SLA | — | 6.0 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918-08-13 | PHA | MIN | — | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1918-08-11 | PHA | MIN | L | 8.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918-08-07 | PHA | SLA | L | 7.0 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1918-08-04 | PHA | CHW | L | 8.0 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1918-07-31 | PHA | CLE | L | 3.0 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 65 |
Willie Adams: the record in brief
Between the debut on June 30, 1912 and the final game on September 6, 1919, Willie Adams built the record summarized on this page. Adams played for the St. Louis Browns (1912 to 1913), the Pittsburgh Rebels (1914), and the Philadelphia Athletics (1918 to 1919). Adams is listed as a pitcher at 180 pounds on a 6-foot-4 frame. The bio says Adams both batted and threw right-handed. The recorded birth is September 27, 1890, in Clearfield, PA, USA. Adams's death is recorded on June 18, 1937, in Albany, NY, USA. The given name on file is James Irvin Adams.
Adams pitched in 65 games, starting 21, and finished with a 8-16 record and 4.37 ERA. Also on Adams's record: 74 strikeouts. Against a 3.05 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.37 mark was 43.4% worse. The best win total was 5, in 1918. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 4.42 in 1918, when the league's was 2.83.
Frequently Asked Questions about Willie Adams
- What years did Willie Adams play?
- Willie Adams played in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1919.
- Was Willie Adams a pitcher?
- Yes. Willie Adams pitched in the major leagues, recording 8 wins and 74 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Willie Adams hit?
- Willie Adams hit 0 career home runs with 9 hits.
- What teams did Willie Adams play for?
- Willie Adams played for 3 teams: the St. Louis Browns (1912–1913), the Pittsburgh Rebels (1914), and the Philadelphia Athletics (1918–1919).
- What were Willie Adams's career stats?
- In 65 games, Willie Adams went 8-16 with a 4.37 ERA, 74 strikeouts, 284.1 innings pitched, and 2 saves.
- What position did Willie Adams play?
- Willie Adams played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Willie Adams and how much did he weigh?
- Willie Adams was listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 180 pounds.
- What was Willie Adams's career ERA?
- Willie Adams finished with a 4.37 career ERA, going 8-16 with 74 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Willie Adams have?
- Willie Adams recorded 74 career strikeouts.
- Is Willie Adams in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Willie Adams has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.