Jim Gardner

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1895-1902)

Jim Gardner was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1895 to 1902 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs, a span of 8 seasons. Across 59 career appearances, he went 25-22 with a 3.85 ERA and 115 strikeouts. He also batted .179 with 1 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 1217.9.

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

W–L 25–22
ERA 3.85
WHIP 1.41
SO 115
Pitcher PIV 1217.9
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
— / R
Born
10/4/1873 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Died
4/24/1905 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
MLB Debut
1895-06-20
Last Game
1902-05-23

Full name: James Andrew Gardner

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Career Pitching Statistics

Jim Gardner — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
25 22 59 49 37 1 0 423.1 468 181 9 130 115 3.85 1217.9

Career ERA 3.85 vs. league average 3.87 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jim Gardner — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1895 PIT NL 8 2 11 10 8 0 0 85.1 99 25 27 31 2.64 4.77 (+45%) 1317.5
1897 PIT NL 5 5 14 11 8 0 0 95.1 115 55 32 35 5.19 4.30 (-21%) -272.0
1898 PIT NL 10 13 25 22 19 1 0 185.1 179 66 48 41 3.21 3.59 (+11%) 771.5
1899 PIT NL 1 0 6 3 0 0 0 32.1 52 27 13 2 7.52 3.85 (-95%) -463.8
1902 CHN NL 1 2 3 3 2 0 0 25.0 23 8 10 6 2.88 3.17 (+9%) -135.3
Career · 5 seasons 25 22 59 49 37 1 0 423.1 468 181 130 115 3.85 — 1,218

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

Jim Gardner — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
82 224 29 40 5 1 1 16 5 28 40 .179 .278 .223 .502 -871

Career AVG .179 vs. league average .280 across their career seasons — 36.3% below league average.

Career OBP .278 vs. league average .342 across their career seasons — 18.5% below league average.

Career SLG .223 vs. league average .367 across their career seasons — 39.2% below league average.

Career OPS .502 vs. league average .708 across their career seasons — 29.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jim Gardner — 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
1895 PIT NL 11 34 5 9 2 0 0 3 1 3 6 .265 — — — — 0.0
1897 PIT NL 27 76 13 12 2 1 1 8 3 9 11 .158 .291 (-46%) .354 (-25%) .387 (-35%) .741 (-31%) -380.7
1898 PIT NL 35 91 8 14 0 0 0 3 1 14 16 .154 .270 (-43%) .333 (-20%) .347 (-56%) .680 (-38%) -490.6
1899 PIT NL 6 13 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 .231 — — — — 0.0
1902 CHN NL 3 10 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 3 .200 — — — — 0.0
Career · 5 seasons 82 224 29 40 5 1 1 16 5 28 40 .179 — — — — -871

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 (79 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Jim Gardner — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home23556902.164
Away226051003.167

Pitching — Home / Away

Jim Gardner — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home15107.11004136243.44
Away19135.11546239254.12

Last 10 Games — Batting

Jim Gardner — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1902-05-23 CHCPHIL 301000002
1902-05-17 CHCBSNL 300000001
1902-04-19 CHCCINW 401000210
1899-06-30 PITBROW 100000000
1899-06-26 PITBSNL 422000001
1899-06-08 PITBLNL 401100001
1899-06-05 PITPHIL 200000000
1899-06-02 PITPHIL 000000000
1899-06-01 PITWSNW 210000010
1899-05-02 PITSTLW 100000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Jim Gardner — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1902-05-23 CHCPHI L 9.01054430
1902-05-17 CHCBSN L 9.0332710
1902-04-19 CHCCIN W 7.01042320
1899-06-30 PITBRO — 3.11188300
1899-06-26 PITBSN — 6.0764220
1899-06-08 PITBLN — 7.21075200
1899-06-05 PITPHI — 6.0865201
1899-06-01 PITWSN W 6.01296200
1899-05-02 PITSTL — 3.1411200
1898-10-13 PITCHC L 9.0952200

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jim Gardner — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 2 0 1 2 1 0
3B 14 0 21 22 8 0
OF 6 0 8 1 1 0
P 59 0 21 77 8 2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jim Gardner — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1895 PIT P 11 0 3 16 2 1
1897 PIT 2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1897 PIT 3B 6 0 6 7 6 0
1897 PIT OF 6 0 8 1 1 0
1897 PIT P 14 0 3 20 3 0
1898 PIT 2B 1 0 1 1 1 0
1898 PIT 3B 8 0 15 15 2 0
1898 PIT P 25 0 10 34 2 1
1899 PIT P 6 0 3 0 1 0
1902 CHN P 3 0 2 7 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jim Gardner — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 59
Second Base 2
Third Base 14
Left Field 3
Right Field 3

College History

Jim Gardner — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA 1896

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Ken Burkhart
    27-20, 3.84 ERA
  2. 97
    Rasty Wright
    24-19, 4.05 ERA
  3. 91
    Ed Scott
    23-26, 4.01 ERA
  4. 90
    Cowboy Jones
    25-34, 3.61 ERA
  5. 89
    Ed Murphy
    25-25, 3.64 ERA
  6. 88
    Xavier Rescigno
    19-22, 4.13 ERA

Jim Gardner: the record in brief

Jim Gardner played a first major league game on June 20, 1895 and a last one on May 23, 1902. Gardner played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1895 through 1899) and the Chicago Orphans (1902). Gardner played primarily as a pitcher. Gardner was born on October 4, 1873, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Gardner's death is recorded on April 24, 1905, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. On the record, Jim Gardner was born James Andrew Gardner.

Gardner's career pitching line is 25 wins, 22 losses and a 3.85 ERA over 59 appearances. The same table counts 115 strikeouts and 37 complete games. Gardner's 3.85 ERA was close to the 3.87 league figure for those seasons. No season topped the 10 wins of 1898. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 3.21 in 1898, when the league's was 3.59. By Pitcher PIV, Baseball Data Hub's measure of run prevention relative to each season's league, Gardner's career adds up to 1,217.9.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jim Gardner

What years did Jim Gardner play?
Jim Gardner played in Major League Baseball from 1895 to 1902.
Was Jim Gardner a pitcher?
Yes. Jim Gardner pitched in the major leagues, recording 25 wins and 115 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Jim Gardner hit?
Jim Gardner hit 1 career home run with 40 hits.
What teams did Jim Gardner play for?
Jim Gardner played for 2 teams: the Pittsburgh Pirates (1895, 1897–1899) and the Chicago Orphans (1902).
What were Jim Gardner's career stats?
In 59 games, Jim Gardner went 25-22 with a 3.85 ERA, 115 strikeouts, and 423.1 innings pitched. At the plate he had 40 hits and 1 home runs.
What position did Jim Gardner play?
Jim Gardner played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
What was Jim Gardner's career ERA?
Jim Gardner finished with a 3.85 career ERA, going 25-22 with 115 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Jim Gardner have?
Jim Gardner recorded 115 career strikeouts.
Is Jim Gardner in the Hall of Fame?
No. Jim Gardner has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.