Jim Bottomley
First Baseman · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1922-1937)
Jim Bottomley was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1922 to 1937 for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cincinnati Reds, and the St. Louis Browns, a span of 16 seasons. In 1,991 career games, he hit .310 with 2,313 hits, 219 home runs, and 1,422 RBI. Jim Bottomley was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 and was an MVP. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 25,340.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- First Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- L / L
- Height / Weight
- 6'0" / 180 lb
- Died
- 12/11/1959 in St. Louis, MO, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1922-08-18
- Last Game
- 1937-09-16
- Hall of Fame
- Inducted 1974 (BBWAA)
- Awards
- MVP
Full name: James Leroy Bottomley
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,991 | 7,471 | 1,177 | 2,313 | 465 | 151 | 219 | 1,422 | 58 | 664 | 591 | .310 | .369 | .500 | .869 | 25,340 |
Career AVG .310 vs. league average .282 across their career seasons — +9.8% above league average.
Career OBP .369 vs. league average .344 across their career seasons — +7.3% above league average.
Career SLG .500 vs. league average .398 across their career seasons — +25.8% above league average.
Career OPS .869 vs. league average .742 across their career seasons — +17.2% above 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | SLN | NL | 37 | 151 | 29 | 49 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 35 | 3 | 6 | 13 | .325 | .285 (+14%) | .345 (+4%) | .397 (+37%) | .743 (+21%) | 488.3 |
| 1923 | SLN | NL | 134 | 523 | 79 | 194 | 34 | 14 | 8 | 94 | 4 | 45 | 44 | .371 | .282 (+31%) | .344 (+23%) | .390 (+37%) | .734 (+31%) | 3226.8 |
| 1924 | SLN | NL | 137 | 528 | 87 | 167 | 31 | 12 | 14 | 111 | 5 | 35 | 35 | .316 | .283 (+11%) | .345 (+5%) | .389 (+28%) | .734 (+17%) | 1674.6 |
| 1925 | SLN | NL | 153 | 619 | 92 | 227 | 44 | 12 | 21 | 128 | 3 | 47 | 36 | .367 | .288 (+27%) | .349 (+18%) | .407 (+42%) | .756 (+31%) | 3981.0 |
| 1926 | SLN | NL | 154 | 603 | 98 | 180 | 40 | 14 | 19 | 120 | 4 | 58 | 52 | .299 | .279 (+7%) | .345 (+5%) | .390 (+30%) | .735 (+18%) | 2122.1 |
| 1927 | SLN | NL | 152 | 574 | 95 | 174 | 31 | 15 | 19 | 124 | 8 | 74 | 49 | .303 | .282 (+7%) | .344 (+12%) | .392 (+30%) | .736 (+22%) | 2620.9 |
| 1928 | SLN | NL | 149 | 576 | 123 | 187 | 42 | 20 | 31 | 136 | 10 | 71 | 54 | .325 | .280 (+16%) | .342 (+17%) | .395 (+59%) | .737 (+40%) | 4587.0 |
| 1929 | SLN | NL | 146 | 560 | 108 | 176 | 31 | 12 | 29 | 137 | 3 | 70 | 54 | .314 | .289 (+9%) | .353 (+11%) | .415 (+37%) | .769 (+25%) | 2928.0 |
| 1930 | SLN | NL | 131 | 487 | 92 | 148 | 33 | 7 | 15 | 97 | 5 | 44 | 36 | .304 | .293 (+3%) | .354 (+4%) | .429 (+15%) | .784 (+10%) | 982.4 |
| 1931 | SLN | NL | 108 | 382 | 73 | 133 | 34 | 5 | 9 | 75 | 3 | 34 | 24 | .348 | .276 (+26%) | .338 (+19%) | .388 (+38%) | .726 (+29%) | 2089.9 |
| 1932 | SLN | NL | 91 | 311 | 45 | 92 | 16 | 3 | 11 | 48 | 2 | 25 | 32 | .296 | .275 (+8%) | .335 (+4%) | .391 (+21%) | .726 (+13%) | 733.6 |
| 1933 | CIN | NL | 145 | 549 | 57 | 137 | 23 | 9 | 13 | 83 | 3 | 42 | 28 | .250 | .270 (-8%) | .329 (-6%) | .377 (+5%) | .707 (avg) | -76.4 |
| 1934 | CIN | NL | 142 | 556 | 72 | 158 | 31 | 11 | 11 | 78 | 1 | 33 | 40 | .284 | .278 (+2%) | .340 (-5%) | .392 (+12%) | .733 (+4%) | 245.1 |
| 1935 | CIN | NL | 107 | 399 | 44 | 103 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 49 | 3 | 18 | 24 | .258 | .279 (-8%) | .342 (-14%) | .399 (-19%) | .742 (-17%) | -1127.1 |
| 1936 | SLA | AL | 140 | 544 | 72 | 162 | 39 | 11 | 12 | 95 | 0 | 44 | 55 | .298 | .283 (+5%) | .349 (+1%) | .404 (+18%) | .753 (+10%) | 978.3 |
| 1937 | SLA | AL | 65 | 109 | 11 | 26 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 18 | 15 | .239 | .276 (-14%) | .342 (+1%) | .398 (-17%) | .740 (-9%) | -114.4 |
| Career · 16 seasons | 1,991 | 7,471 | 1,177 | 2,313 | 465 | 151 | 219 | 1,422 | 58 | 664 | 591 | .310 | — | — | — | — | 25,340 | ||
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 (1991 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 991 | 3598 | 595 | 1154 | 103 | 697 | .321 |
| Away | 1000 | 3874 | 581 | 1158 | 116 | 738 | .299 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937-09-16 | SLA | PHA | L | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1937-09-15 | SLA | PHA | W | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1937-09-15 | SLA | PHA | L | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1937-09-14 | SLA | PHA | W | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1937-09-12 | SLA | CLE | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1937-09-12 | SLA | CLE | L | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1937-09-11 | SLA | CLE | W | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1937-09-09 | SLA | CHW | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1937-09-06 | SLA | DET | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1937-09-05 | SLA | CLE | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 1885 | 0 | 18337 | 814 | 223 | 1562 |
| 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | SLN | 1B | 34 | 0 | 346 | 12 | 5 | 22 |
| 1923 | SLN | 1B | 130 | 0 | 1264 | 43 | 18 | 95 |
| 1924 | SLN | 1B | 133 | 0 | 1297 | 48 | 24 | 110 |
| 1924 | SLN | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1925 | SLN | 1B | 153 | 0 | 1466 | 74 | 21 | 133 |
| 1926 | SLN | 1B | 154 | 0 | 1607 | 54 | 19 | 118 |
| 1927 | SLN | 1B | 152 | 0 | 1656 | 70 | 20 | 149 |
| 1928 | SLN | 1B | 148 | 0 | 1454 | 52 | 20 | 113 |
| 1929 | SLN | 1B | 145 | 0 | 1347 | 75 | 13 | 122 |
| 1930 | SLN | 1B | 124 | 0 | 1164 | 41 | 12 | 127 |
| 1931 | SLN | 1B | 93 | 0 | 897 | 43 | 12 | 95 |
| 1932 | SLN | 1B | 74 | 0 | 662 | 41 | 10 | 67 |
| 1933 | CIN | 1B | 145 | 0 | 1511 | 72 | 15 | 112 |
| 1934 | CIN | 1B | 139 | 0 | 1303 | 77 | 15 | 106 |
| 1935 | CIN | 1B | 97 | 0 | 934 | 53 | 8 | 74 |
| 1936 | SLA | 1B | 140 | 0 | 1250 | 47 | 10 | 103 |
| 1937 | SLA | 1B | 24 | 0 | 179 | 12 | 1 | 16 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 1885 |
| Second Base | 1 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1928 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 1B |
| 1928 | Most Valuable Player | |
| 1925 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | 1B |
| 1925 | TSN All-Star | 1B |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 17th | 6.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1931 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 15th | 8.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1928 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 1st | 76.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1927 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 13th | 6.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1925 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 7th | 28.0 | 80 | 0 |
| 1924 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 17th | 4.0 | 80 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Jim Bottomley (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Jim Bottomley
Jim Bottomley: the record in brief
Between the debut on August 18, 1922 and the final game on September 16, 1937, Jim Bottomley built the record summarized on this page. Bottomley played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1922 to 1932), the Cincinnati Reds (1933 through 1935), and the St. Louis Browns (1936 through 1937). Bottomley, a first baseman by primary position, threw and hit left-handed. Height and weight on file: 6-foot-0 and 180 pounds. Bottomley was born on April 23, 1900, in Oglesby, IL, USA. The bio records the death on December 11, 1959, in St. Louis, MO, USA. Bottomley's full given name, per the bio, is James Leroy Bottomley.
The batting record for Bottomley: 1,991 games, 2,313 hits in 7,471 at bats, and a .310 average, plus 219 home runs, 1,422 runs batted in, and 58 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .369 and the slugging percentage .500, for an OPS of .869. Set against a .282 league average for the same years, Bottomley's .310 average sits 9.8% above it.
Frequently Asked Questions about Jim Bottomley
- What years did Jim Bottomley play?
- Jim Bottomley played in Major League Baseball from 1922 to 1937.
- Was Jim Bottomley a pitcher?
- No. Jim Bottomley was a position player (First Baseman).
- How many home runs did Jim Bottomley hit?
- Jim Bottomley hit 219 career home runs with 2313 hits.
- Is Jim Bottomley in the Hall of Fame?
- Yes. Jim Bottomley was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.
- What was Jim Bottomley's career batting average?
- Jim Bottomley batted .310 over his career, with 2,313 hits in 7,471 at bats.
- How many RBI did Jim Bottomley have?
- Jim Bottomley drove in 1,422 runs in his career.