James Brown

Left Fielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records

James Brown was a left fielder who played in Major League Baseball for the Newark Eagles and the Cincinnati-Indianapolis Clowns. In 76 career games, he hit .259 with 59 hits, 1 home runs, and 21 RBI. He also pitched in 23 games, going 6-5 with a 5.38 ERA. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 273.5.

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

AVG .259
HR 1
RBI 21
H 59
OPS .644
PIV -308
Position
Left Fielder
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 180 lb
Born
5/14/1919 in Scotland County, NC, USA
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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

James Brown — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
257.0 237.0 31.0 74.0 16.0 2.0 2.0 18.0 18.0 1.0 2.0 .312 .358 .422 .780

Pitching

James Brown — Pitching
W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
10 6 15 7 10 0 122.1 111 95 6 3 59 41 0.44 1.39

Career Batting Statistics

James Brown — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
76 228 29 59 14 2 1 21 4 11 2 .259 .293 .351 .644 -308

Career AVG .259 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .293 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — 11.7% below league average.

Career SLG .351 vs. league average .367 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .644 vs. league average .699 across their career seasons — 7.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

James Brown — 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
1939 NE NN2 11 19 0 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 .158 — — — — 0.0
1941 NE NN2 25 71 11 23 4 0 0 10 2 5 1 .324 .262 (+24%) .332 (+11%) .373 (+2%) .705 (+6%) 74.4
1942 NE NN2 26 92 12 17 6 0 1 3 2 4 0 .185 .253 (-27%) .323 (-32%) .349 (-19%) .672 (-25%) -382.2
1943 NE NN2 11 39 4 14 3 1 0 6 0 2 0 .359 — — — — 0.0
1947 CIC NAL 3 7 2 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 .286 — — — — 0.0
Career · 5 seasons 76 228 29 59 14 2 1 21 4 11 2 .259 — — — — -308

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 Pitching Statistics

James Brown — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
6 5 23 12 6 2 0 105.3 108 63 4 51 48 5.38 273.5

Career ERA 5.38 vs. league average 3.85 across their career seasons — 39.9% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

James Brown — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1939 NE NN2 4 2 11 7 3 2 0 45.0 35 16 23 22 3.20 4.28 (+25%) -57.5
1941 NE NN2 2 1 6 4 3 0 0 39.0 53 35 16 18 8.08 3.94 (-105%) 330.9
1942 NE NN2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 6.7 8 3 5 1 4.05 — 0.0
1943 NE NN2 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 5.0 3 2 3 2 3.60 — 0.0
1947 CIC NAL 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 9.7 9 7 4 5 6.52 3.97 (-64%) 0.0
Career · 5 seasons 6 5 23 12 6 2 0 105.1 108 63 51 48 5.38 — 273

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 (92 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

James Brown — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home3376152417.316
Away37103123209.311

Pitching — Home / Away

James Brown — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home739.22652381.13
Away1559.060123210.15

Last 10 Games — Batting

James Brown — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1947-07-04 IN9KCMW 000000000
1947-06-26 IN9CVBL 000000000
1947-06-25 IN9CVBL 100000000
1947-06-23 IN9CVBL 000000000
1947-06-10 IN9KCML 522000000
1947-06-08 IN9KCML 000000000
1943-06-13 NW2BLGW 513200000
1943-06-12 NW2BLGL 511000000
1943-06-11 NW2BLGW 402000100
1943-06-10 NW2PH5L 000000100

Last 10 Games — Pitching

James Brown — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1947-06-26 IN9CVB — 4.00100001
1947-06-25 IN9CVB — 3.0100120
1947-06-23 IN9CVB — 4.0000000
1947-06-10 IN9KCM L 8.010130401
1941-08-22 NW2HOM W 9.0950350
1941-08-12 NW2HOM L 8.01380141
1941-08-08 NW2NY6 — 4.2110220
1941-07-25 NW2BLG — 0.0000000
1941-07-18 NW2BLG — 0.0000000
1941-06-30 NW2BLG W 9.01160430

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

James Brown — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 49 43 59 4 5 0
P 23 12 4 26 1 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

James Brown — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1939 NE P 11 7 1 17 0 0
1941 NE OF 16 11 21 4 0 0
1941 NE P 6 4 2 3 0 0
1942 NE OF 24 23 25 0 5 0
1942 NE P 2 0 0 1 0 0
1943 NE OF 9 9 13 0 0 0
1943 NE P 2 1 0 2 0 0
1947 CIC P 2 0 1 3 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

James Brown — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 23
Left Field 29
Center Field 4
Right Field 16

Frequently Asked Questions about James Brown

Was James Brown a pitcher?
Both. James Brown pitched in 23 games, going 6-5 with a 5.38 ERA, but spent most of his career as a Left Fielder.
How many home runs did James Brown hit?
James Brown hit 1 career home runs with 59 hits.
What was James Brown's career batting average?
James Brown batted .259 over his career, with 59 hits in 228 at bats.
How many RBI did James Brown have?
James Brown drove in 21 runs in his career.
What was James Brown's career ERA?
James Brown finished with a 5.38 career ERA, going 6-5 with 48 strikeouts.
Is James Brown in the Hall of Fame?
No. James Brown has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.