Jim Gilliam

Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1953-1966)

Jim Gilliam was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1953 to 1966 for the Baltimore Elite Giants, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, a span of 14 seasons. In 2,094 career games, he hit .266 with 2,021 hits, 65 home runs, and 624 RBI. Jim Gilliam was a 3-time All-Star and a Rookie of the Year. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 4,555.

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 .266
HR 65
RBI 624
H 2,021
OPS .715
PIV 4,555
Position
Second Baseman
Bats / Throws
B / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 175 lb
Born
10/17/1928 in Nashville, TN, USA
Died
10/8/1978 in Inglewood, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1953-04-14
Last Game
1966-09-30
Awards
3× All-Star · Rookie of the Year

Full name: James William Gilliam

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Jim Gilliam — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
931.0 795.0 164.0 223.0 31.0 21.0 6.0 82.0 111.0 2.0 27.0 .281 .369 .395 .764

Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Jim Gilliam — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1949 269.0 223.0 54.0 64.0 7.0 10.0 3.0 36.0 39.0 2.0 4.0 .287 .393 .448 .841
1950 4.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 0 0 1.0 1.0 0 0 0 .333 .333 1.333 1.666
Listed seasons · 2 273 226 55 65 7 10 4 37 39 2 4 .288 — — —

Career Batting Statistics

Jim Gilliam — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
2,094 7,600 1,255 2,021 325 80 65 624 219 1,102 416 .266 .360 .355 .715 4,555

Career AVG .266 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .360 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — +10.9% above league average.

Career SLG .355 vs. league average .384 across their career seasons — 7.5% below league average.

Career OPS .715 vs. league average .709 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jim Gilliam Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1946 BEG NN2 21 48 4 14 2 2 0 6 1 5 0 .292 — — — — 108.4
1947 BEG NN2 59 214 40 55 10 3 0 27 7 26 0 .257 .262 (-2%) .336 (+1%) .376 (-12%) .712 (-6%) -167.9
1948 BEG NN2 58 219 48 63 9 4 0 33 8 35 0 .288 .263 (+9%) .340 (+14%) .379 (-4%) .719 (+5%) 282.3
1953 BRO NL 151 605 125 168 31 17 6 63 21 100 38 .278 .264 (+5%) .335 (+14%) .397 (+4%) .733 (+9%) 1318.8
1954 BRO NL 146 607 107 171 28 8 13 52 8 76 30 .282 .261 (+8%) .333 (+8%) .390 (+7%) .723 (+8%) 1042.5
1955 BRO NL 147 538 110 134 20 8 7 40 15 70 37 .249 .258 (-4%) .332 (+3%) .393 (-10%) .726 (-4%) -247.0
1956 BRO NL 153 594 102 178 23 8 6 43 21 95 39 .300 .258 (+16%) .331 (+20%) .397 (avg) .728 (+9%) 1538.8
1957 BRO NL 149 617 89 154 26 4 2 37 26 64 31 .250 .257 (-3%) .323 (avg) .391 (-20%) .715 (-11%) -936.9
1958 LAN NL 147 555 81 145 25 5 2 43 18 78 22 .261 .257 (+1%) .324 (+8%) .394 (-15%) .719 (-4%) -166.3
1959 LAN NL 145 553 91 156 18 4 3 34 23 96 25 .282 .256 (+10%) .323 (+19%) .392 (-12%) .715 (+2%) 738.6
1960 LAN NL 151 557 96 138 20 2 5 40 12 96 28 .248 .255 (-3%) .323 (+11%) .387 (-18%) .711 (-5%) -90.8
1961 LAN NL 144 439 74 107 26 3 4 32 8 79 34 .244 .258 (-6%) .328 (+9%) .399 (-14%) .727 (-3%) -30.6
1962 LAN NL 160 588 83 159 24 1 4 43 17 93 35 .270 .257 (+5%) .326 (+13%) .393 (-15%) .719 (-2%) 178.8
1963 LAN NL 148 525 77 148 27 4 6 49 19 60 28 .282 .246 (+14%) .308 (+15%) .371 (+3%) .680 (+8%) 968.7
1964 LAN NL 116 334 44 76 8 3 2 27 4 42 21 .228 .250 (-9%) .312 (+2%) .377 (-24%) .690 (-12%) -510.7
1965 LAN NL 111 372 54 104 19 4 4 39 9 53 31 .280 .245 (+14%) .310 (+20%) .371 (+3%) .682 (+11%) 954.5
1966 LAN NL 88 235 30 51 9 0 1 16 2 34 17 .217 .248 (-13%) .309 (+2%) .376 (-29%) .685 (-15%) -426.4
Career · 17 seasons 2,094 7,600 1,255 2,021 325 80 65 624 219 1,102 416 .266 — — — — 4,555

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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Jim Gilliam — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
43 162 18 36 7 0 2 13 24 9 .222

Playoff Batting by Year

Jim Gilliam — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1966 WS LAN 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 .000
1965 WS LAN 7 28 2 6 1 0 0 2 1 0 .214
1963 WS LAN 4 13 3 2 0 0 0 0 3 1 .154
1959 WS LAN 6 25 2 6 0 0 0 0 2 2 .240
1956 WS BRO 7 24 2 2 0 0 0 2 7 3 .083
1955 WS BRO 7 24 2 7 1 0 0 3 8 1 .292
1953 WS BRO 6 27 4 8 3 0 2 4 0 2 .296
1948 NLC BEG 4 15 3 5 2 0 0 1 1 0 .333

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (2146 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Jim Gilliam — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home11293932695105230311.268
Away10173832601101840317.266

Last 10 Games — Batting

Jim Gilliam — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1966-09-30 LADPHIL 100000000
1966-09-25 LADCHCL 100000001
1966-09-12 LADNYNW 200000020
1966-09-11 LADHOUW 100000001
1966-09-11 LADHOUW 200000001
1966-09-10 LADHOUW 301000011
1966-09-07 LADSFGL 400000020
1966-09-06 LADSFGL 300000000
1966-09-05 LADSFGW 411000010
1966-09-04 LADCINW 402100211

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jim Gilliam — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 2 0 1 0 0 0
2B 1166 940 2549 3096 132 696
3B 767 602 536 1269 91 110
OF 222 207 407 13 7 3
SS 12 10 21 30 1 5

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jim Gilliam — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1946 BEG 2B 11 8 18 23 1 5
1946 BEG 3B 6 4 3 4 1 0
1946 BEG SS 3 2 3 6 1 0
1947 BEG 2B 51 51 122 152 12 24
1947 BEG SS 9 8 18 24 0 5
1948 BEG 2B 58 58 130 197 12 39
1953 BRO 2B 149 0 332 426 19 102
1954 BRO 2B 143 139 340 388 17 99
1954 BRO OF 4 5 9 0 0 0
1955 BRO 2B 99 91 213 269 16 64
1955 BRO OF 46 43 96 2 3 0
1956 BRO 2B 102 98 233 326 11 64
1956 BRO OF 56 54 107 6 1 1
1957 BRO 2B 148 148 407 390 11 90
1957 BRO OF 2 1 9 0 0 0
1958 LAN 2B 32 26 65 68 1 19
1958 LAN 3B 44 39 38 103 9 16
1958 LAN OF 75 71 142 5 2 2
1959 LAN 2B 8 6 16 13 1 2
1959 LAN 3B 132 127 121 245 16 18
1959 LAN OF 3 4 6 0 0 0
1960 LAN 2B 30 23 51 69 1 12
1960 LAN 3B 130 119 101 262 15 21
1961 LAN 2B 71 66 133 179 6 45
1961 LAN 3B 74 35 48 104 7 9
1961 LAN OF 11 9 14 0 0 0
1962 LAN 2B 113 96 192 262 9 60
1962 LAN 3B 90 60 51 126 11 12
1962 LAN OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1963 LAN 2B 119 110 242 277 8 61
1963 LAN 3B 55 27 25 66 5 6
1964 LAN 2B 25 17 47 50 6 8
1964 LAN 3B 86 62 54 121 12 7
1964 LAN OF 2 0 0 0 0 0
1965 LAN 2B 5 3 6 7 1 2
1965 LAN 3B 80 77 55 135 8 13
1965 LAN OF 22 20 24 0 1 0
1966 LAN 1B 2 0 1 0 0 0
1966 LAN 2B 2 0 2 0 0 0
1966 LAN 3B 70 52 40 103 7 8

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jim Gilliam Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 2
Second Base 1162
Third Base 771
Shortstop 12
Left Field 203
Center Field 5
Right Field 29

Awards & Honors

Jim Gilliam — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1963 TSN All-Star 2B
1953 Rookie of the Year
1953 TSN Rookie of the Year

Award Voting History

Jim Gilliam — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1965 Most Valuable Player NL 30th 3.0 280 0
1963 Most Valuable Player NL 6th 62.0 280 1
1958 Most Valuable Player NL 19th 4.0 336 0
1956 Most Valuable Player NL 5th 103.0 336 4
1953 Rookie of the Year NL 1st 11.0 24 11

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Willie Randolph
    .276 avg, 54 HR
  2. 93
    Dave Bancroft HOF
    .279 avg, 32 HR
  3. 84
    Pee Wee Reese HOF
    .269 avg, 126 HR
  4. 82
    Ossie Bluege
    .272 avg, 43 HR
  5. 81
    Roger Peckinpaugh
    .259 avg, 48 HR
  6. 76
    Fred Tenney
    .294 avg, 22 HR

Compare Jim Gilliam

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Gilliam's closest peers by position and era.

vs Jackie Robinson
vs Jose Altuve
vs Bobby Doerr
vs Ketel Marte
vs Brandon Lowe
vs Luis Arraez

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Jim Gilliam: the record in brief

The rows for Jim Gilliam start in 1946, in the Negro Leagues, well before the April 14, 1953 debut listed in the bio, and the final game as September 30, 1966. The season rows list, in order, the Baltimore Elite Giants (1946 to 1948), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1953 to 1957), and the Los Angeles Dodgers (1958 to 1966). At 175 pounds on a 5-foot-10 frame, Gilliam is listed as a second baseman. The bio says Gilliam batted from both sides and threw right-handed. Gilliam was born on October 17, 1928, in Nashville, TN, USA. Gilliam's death is recorded on October 8, 1978, in Inglewood, CA, USA. Jim Gilliam was the playing name; the full given name is James William.

Gilliam collected 2,021 hits in 7,600 at bats across 2,094 games, good for a .266 batting average, along with 65 homers, 624 runs batted in, and 219 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .360 clip and slugging .355, Gilliam finished with a .715 OPS.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jim Gilliam

What years did Jim Gilliam play?
Jim Gilliam played in Major League Baseball from 1953 to 1966.
Was Jim Gilliam a pitcher?
No. Jim Gilliam was a position player (Second Baseman).
How many home runs did Jim Gilliam hit?
Jim Gilliam hit 65 career home runs with 2,021 hits.
What teams did Jim Gilliam play for?
Jim Gilliam played for 2 teams: the Baltimore Elite Giants (1946–1948) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (1953–1966).
Did Jim Gilliam win an MVP award?
No. Jim Gilliam did not win the MVP award.
What awards did Jim Gilliam win?
Jim Gilliam won the Rookie of the Year award (1953). He was selected to 3 All-Star Games.
What were Jim Gilliam's career stats?
In 2,094 games, Jim Gilliam had 2,021 hits, 65 home runs, 624 RBI, 1,255 runs, and 219 stolen bases, with a .266 batting average.
What position did Jim Gilliam play?
Jim Gilliam played primarily as a second baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Jim Gilliam and how much did he weigh?
Jim Gilliam was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 175 pounds.
How many home runs did Jim Gilliam hit each season?
Jim Gilliam's home runs by season: 0 in 1946, 0 in 1947, 0 in 1948, 6 in 1953, 13 in 1954, 7 in 1955, 6 in 1956, 2 in 1957, 2 in 1958, 3 in 1959, 5 in 1960, 4 in 1961, 4 in 1962, 6 in 1963, 2 in 1964, 4 in 1965, and 1 in 1966. His most in one season was 13, in 1954.
What was Jim Gilliam's career batting average?
Jim Gilliam batted .266 over his career, with 2,021 hits in 7,600 at bats.
How many RBI did Jim Gilliam have?
Jim Gilliam drove in 624 runs in his career.
Is Jim Gilliam in the Hall of Fame?
No. Jim Gilliam has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Jim Gilliam make?
Jim Gilliam was selected to 3 All-Star Games.