Jim Finigan

Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1954-1959)

Jim Finigan was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1959 for 5 teams, including the Philadelphia Athletics, a span of 6 seasons. In 512 career games, he hit .264 with 422 hits, 19 home runs, and 168 RBI. Jim Finigan was a 2-time All-Star.

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 .264
HR 19
RBI 168
H 422
OPS .709
PIV -7
Position
Third Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 175 lb
Born
8/19/1928 in Quincy, IL, USA
Died
5/16/1981 in Quincy, IL, USA
MLB Debut
1954-04-25
Last Game
1959-07-05
Awards
2× All-Star

Full name: James Leroy Finigan

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Career Batting Statistics

Jim Finigan — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
512 1,600 195 422 74 17 19 168 8 190 176 .264 .342 .367 .709 -7

Career AVG .264 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .342 vs. league average .328 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .367 vs. league average .393 across their career seasons — 6.7% below league average.

Career OPS .709 vs. league average .721 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jim Finigan — 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
1954 PHA AL 136 487 57 147 25 6 7 51 2 64 66 .302 .261 (+16%) .333 (+14%) .390 (+8%) .723 (+11%) 1199.6
1955 KC1 AL 150 545 72 139 30 7 9 68 1 61 49 .255 .258 (-1%) .332 (avg) .393 (-2%) .726 (-1%) -83.8
1956 KC1 AL 91 250 29 54 7 2 2 21 3 30 28 .216 .258 (-16%) .331 (-10%) .397 (-29%) .728 (-20%) -796.5
1957 DET AL 64 174 20 47 4 2 0 17 1 23 18 .270 .257 (+5%) .323 (+10%) .391 (-19%) .715 (-6%) -83.1
1958 SFN NL 23 25 3 5 2 0 0 1 0 3 5 .200 — — — — 0.0
1959 BAL AL 48 119 14 30 6 0 1 10 1 9 10 .252 .256 (-2%) .323 (-7%) .392 (-16%) .715 (-12%) -243.2
Career · 6 seasons 512 1,600 195 422 74 17 19 168 8 190 176 .264 — — — — -7

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 (512 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Jim Finigan — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home2678291062331290.281
Away24577189189778.245

Last 10 Games — Batting

Jim Finigan — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1959-07-05 BALBOSL 300000001
1959-07-04 BALBOSW 522001100
1959-07-03 BALBOSW 411000011
1959-06-28 BALDETL 421100000
1959-06-26 BALDETW 100000001
1959-06-26 BALDETW 000000000
1959-06-25 BALCLEL 100000000
1959-06-24 BALCLEW 400000101
1959-06-20 BALKC1L 401000000
1959-06-19 BALKC1W 300000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jim Finigan — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 159 130 368 355 21 113
3B 332 297 323 685 55 67
SS 2 0 0 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jim Finigan — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1954 PHA 3B 136 133 151 305 25 34
1955 KC1 2B 90 87 236 228 12 72
1955 KC1 3B 59 59 55 135 8 13
1956 KC1 2B 52 39 114 105 7 35
1956 KC1 3B 32 29 29 70 9 7
1957 DET 2B 3 2 8 4 1 2
1957 DET 3B 59 46 58 108 8 9
1958 SFN 2B 8 2 4 7 1 2
1958 SFN 3B 4 1 0 3 1 0
1959 BAL 2B 6 0 6 11 0 2
1959 BAL 3B 42 29 30 64 4 4
1959 BAL SS 2 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jim Finigan — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Second Base 159
Third Base 332
Shortstop 2

College History

Jim Finigan — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
St. Ambrose University Davenport IA 1947

Award Voting History

Jim Finigan — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1954 Most Valuable Player AL 12th 19.0 336 0
1954 Rookie of the Year AL 2nd 8.0 24 8

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Jim Finigan (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Bill Brubaker
    .264 avg, 22 HR
  2. 97
    Warren Morris
    .267 avg, 26 HR
  3. 97
    Harry Davis
    .264 avg, 7 HR
  4. 95
    Akinori Iwamura
    .267 avg, 16 HR
  5. 95
    Dario Lodigiani
    .260 avg, 16 HR
  6. 91
    Pete Kilduff
    .270 avg, 4 HR

Jim Finigan: the record in brief

Jim Finigan's major league career runs from a debut on April 25, 1954 to a final game on July 5, 1959. Finigan played for the Philadelphia Athletics (1954), the Kansas City Athletics (1955 through 1956), the Detroit Tigers (1957), the San Francisco Giants (1958), and the Baltimore Orioles (1959). The bio lists Finigan as a third baseman who threw and hit right-handed. Height and weight on file: 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds. Finigan was born on August 19, 1928, in Quincy, IL, USA. The bio records the death on May 16, 1981, in Quincy, IL, USA. Finigan's full given name, per the bio, is James Leroy Finigan.

Finigan finished with 422 hits from 1,600 at bats in 512 games, which works out to .264; the totals also include 19 home runs and 168 runs batted in. Finigan's career OPS of .709 combines a .342 on-base mark with .367 slugging. Finigan hit .264 while the league hit .258 over the same span, a figure close to average. The hits column peaks at 147, in 1954.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jim Finigan

What years did Jim Finigan play?
Jim Finigan played in Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1959.
Was Jim Finigan a pitcher?
No. Jim Finigan was a position player (Third Baseman).
How many home runs did Jim Finigan hit?
Jim Finigan hit 19 career home runs with 422 hits.
What teams did Jim Finigan play for?
Jim Finigan played for 4 teams: the Kansas City Athletics (1954–1956), the Detroit Tigers (1957), the San Francisco Giants (1958), and the Baltimore Orioles (1959).
Did Jim Finigan win an MVP award?
No. Jim Finigan did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Jim Finigan win?
Jim Finigan was selected to 2 All-Star Games.
What were Jim Finigan's career stats?
In 512 games, Jim Finigan had 422 hits, 19 home runs, 168 RBI, 195 runs, and 8 stolen bases, with a .264 batting average.
What position did Jim Finigan play?
Jim Finigan played primarily as a third baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Jim Finigan and how much did he weigh?
Jim Finigan was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 175 pounds.
How many home runs did Jim Finigan hit each season?
Jim Finigan's home runs by season: 7 in 1954, 9 in 1955, 2 in 1956, 0 in 1957, 0 in 1958, and 1 in 1959. His most in one season was 9, in 1955.
What was Jim Finigan's career batting average?
Jim Finigan batted .264 over his career, with 422 hits in 1,600 at bats.
How many RBI did Jim Finigan have?
Jim Finigan drove in 168 runs in his career.
Is Jim Finigan in the Hall of Fame?
No. Jim Finigan has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Jim Finigan make?
Jim Finigan was selected to 2 All-Star Games.