Jim Bagby
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1912-1923)
Jim Bagby was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1923 for the Cincinnati Reds, the Cleveland Guardians, and the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 12 seasons. Across 316 career appearances, he went 127-88 with a 3.11 ERA, 450 strikeouts, and 29 saves. He also batted .218 with 2 home runs.
- 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
- B / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'0" / 170 lb
- Died
- 7/28/1954 in Marietta, GA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1912-04-22
- Last Game
- 1923-09-07
Full name: James Charles Jacob Bagby
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 | CIN | NL | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17.1 | 17 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 3.12 | 3.36 (+7%) | -610.8 |
| 1916 | CLE | AL | 16 | 16 | 48 | 27 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 272.2 | 253 | 79 | 67 | 88 | 2.61 | 2.78 (+6%) | 945.8 |
| 1917 | CLE | AL | 23 | 13 | 49 | 37 | 26 | 8 | 7 | 320.2 | 277 | 70 | 73 | 83 | 1.96 | 2.69 (+27%) | -447.6 |
| 1918 | CLE | AL | 17 | 16 | 45 | 31 | 23 | 2 | 6 | 271.1 | 274 | 81 | 78 | 57 | 2.69 | 2.83 (+5%) | 517.7 |
| 1919 | CLE | AL | 17 | 11 | 35 | 32 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 241.1 | 258 | 75 | 44 | 61 | 2.80 | 3.09 (+9%) | 2083.6 |
| 1920 | CLE | AL | 31 | 12 | 48 | 38 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 339.2 | 338 | 109 | 79 | 73 | 2.89 | 3.45 (+16%) | -39.9 |
| 1921 | CLE | AL | 14 | 12 | 40 | 26 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 191.2 | 238 | 100 | 44 | 37 | 4.70 | 4.02 (-17%) | -2206.2 |
| 1922 | CLE | AL | 4 | 5 | 25 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 98.1 | 134 | 69 | 39 | 25 | 6.32 | 4.18 (-51%) | -1105.1 |
| 1923 | PIT | NL | 3 | 2 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 68.2 | 95 | 40 | 25 | 16 | 5.24 | 4.03 (-30%) | -1385.2 |
| Career · 9 seasons | 127 | 88 | 316 | 208 | 133 | 16 | 29 | 1,821.2 | 1,884 | 629 | 458 | 450 | 3.11 | — | -2,248 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 325 | 660 | 69 | 144 | 35 | 6 | 2 | 60 | 3 | 32 | 91 | .218 | .256 | .298 | .555 | -1,577 |
Career AVG .218 vs. league average .269 across their career seasons — 19.0% below league average.
Career OBP .256 vs. league average .331 across their career seasons — 22.6% below league average.
Career SLG .298 vs. league average .362 across their career seasons — 17.6% below league average.
Career OPS .555 vs. league average .693 across their career seasons — 20.0% 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 | CIN | NL | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1916 | CLE | AL | 51 | 90 | 12 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 18 | .167 | .248 (-33%) | .314 (-30%) | .326 (-35%) | .640 (-33%) | -434.3 |
| 1917 | CLE | AL | 49 | 108 | 12 | 25 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 19 | .231 | .248 (-7%) | .312 (-19%) | .323 (-6%) | .635 (-12%) | -226.8 |
| 1918 | CLE | AL | 47 | 99 | 5 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 9 | .212 | .255 (-17%) | .318 (-19%) | .326 (-26%) | .645 (-23%) | -326.4 |
| 1919 | CLE | AL | 37 | 89 | 8 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 13 | .258 | .262 (-1%) | .322 (-1%) | .347 (-3%) | .670 (-2%) | -21.1 |
| 1920 | CLE | AL | 49 | 131 | 17 | 33 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 17 | .252 | .271 (-7%) | .331 (-14%) | .363 (+3%) | .694 (-5%) | -155.3 |
| 1921 | CLE | AL | 41 | 76 | 8 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 8 | .197 | .286 (-31%) | .344 (-43%) | .395 (-20%) | .739 (-31%) | -412.9 |
| 1922 | CLE | AL | 25 | 42 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .262 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1923 | PIT | NL | 21 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | .050 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 9 seasons | 325 | 660 | 69 | 144 | 35 | 6 | 2 | 60 | 3 | 32 | 91 | .218 | — | — | — | — | -1,577 | ||
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 (641 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 160 | 302 | 31 | 64 | 1 | 26 | .212 |
| Away | 165 | 355 | 38 | 80 | 1 | 43 | .225 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 156 | 895.1 | 918 | 296 | 214 | 205 | 2.98 |
| Away | 160 | 926.2 | 967 | 340 | 257 | 248 | 3.30 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923-09-07 | PIT | CHC | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923-08-29 | PIT | CHC | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923-08-18 | PIT | PHI | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923-08-12 | PIT | BRO | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923-08-08 | PIT | BRO | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923-07-30 | PIT | NY1 | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923-07-20 | PIT | BSN | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923-07-14 | PIT | BRO | W | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923-07-10 | PIT | NY1 | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1923-07-04 | PIT | STL | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923-09-07 | PIT | CHC | — | 0.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923-08-29 | PIT | CHC | — | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923-08-18 | PIT | PHI | — | 1.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923-08-12 | PIT | BRO | — | 3.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923-08-08 | PIT | BRO | — | 2.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923-07-30 | PIT | NY1 | — | 3.0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1923-07-20 | PIT | BSN | — | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923-07-14 | PIT | BRO | W | 9.0 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 1923-07-10 | PIT | NY1 | L | 4.1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 1923-07-04 | PIT | STL | — | 4.2 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
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 | 316 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P1 |
| 1920 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | P2 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Jim Bagby (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Jim Bagby: the record in brief
Jim Bagby's major league career runs from a debut on April 22, 1912 to a final game on September 7, 1923. Bagby played for the Cincinnati Reds (1912), the Cleveland Indians (1916 through 1922), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1923). Bagby is listed as a pitcher at 6-foot-0 and 170 pounds. The bio says Bagby switch-hit and threw right-handed. The recorded birth is October 5, 1889, in Barnett, GA, USA. The bio records the death on July 28, 1954, in Marietta, GA, USA. On the record, Jim Bagby was born James Charles Jacob Bagby.
Bagby went 127-88 with a 3.11 ERA in 316 games, 208 of them starts. The same table counts 450 strikeouts, 133 complete games, 16 shutouts, and 29 saves. That 3.11 ERA compares with a 3.43 league average across the same seasons, 9.5% better. The best win total was 31, in 1920. The strikeout high was 88 in 1916. 1917 was Bagby's sharpest full season, a 1.96 ERA against the league's 2.69.
Frequently Asked Questions about Jim Bagby
- What years did Jim Bagby play?
- Jim Bagby played in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1923.
- Was Jim Bagby a pitcher?
- Yes. Jim Bagby pitched in the major leagues, recording 127 wins and 450 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Jim Bagby hit?
- Jim Bagby hit 2 career home runs with 144 hits.
- What teams did Jim Bagby play for?
- Jim Bagby played for 3 teams: the Cincinnati Reds (1912), the Cleveland Indians (1916–1922), and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1923).
- What were Jim Bagby's career stats?
- In 316 games, Jim Bagby went 127-88 with a 3.11 ERA, 450 strikeouts, 1,821.2 innings pitched, and 29 saves. At the plate he had 144 hits and 2 home runs.
- What position did Jim Bagby play?
- Jim Bagby played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Jim Bagby and how much did he weigh?
- Jim Bagby was listed at 6 feet and 170 pounds.
- What was Jim Bagby's career ERA?
- Jim Bagby finished with a 3.11 career ERA, going 127-88 with 450 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Jim Bagby have?
- Jim Bagby recorded 450 career strikeouts.
- Is Jim Bagby in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Jim Bagby has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.