Bill James
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1911-1919)
Bill James was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1911 to 1919 for 5 teams, including the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 9 seasons. Across 203 career appearances, he went 65-71 with a 3.20 ERA and 408 strikeouts. He also batted .142 with 0 home runs.
- 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- B / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'4" / 195 lb
- Died
- 5/25/1942 in Venice, CA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1911-06-12
- Last Game
- 1919-09-17
Full name: William Henry James
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 | CLE | AL | 2 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 51.2 | 58 | 28 | 32 | 21 | 4.88 | 3.37 (-45%) | -1085.7 |
| 1912 | CLE | AL | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 | 15 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 4.61 | 3.36 (-37%) | -256.1 |
| 1914 | SLA | AL | 15 | 14 | 44 | 35 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 284.0 | 269 | 90 | 109 | 109 | 2.85 | 2.93 (+3%) | -1164.9 |
| 1915 | SLA | AL | 7 | 10 | 34 | 23 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 170.1 | 155 | 68 | 92 | 58 | 3.59 | 2.90 (-24%) | -3134.2 |
| 1915 | DET | AL | 7 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 67.0 | 57 | 18 | 33 | 24 | 2.42 | 2.90 (+17%) | -797.3 |
| 1916 | DET | AL | 8 | 12 | 30 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 151.2 | 141 | 62 | 79 | 61 | 3.68 | 2.78 (-32%) | -2488.1 |
| 1917 | DET | AL | 13 | 10 | 34 | 23 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 198.0 | 163 | 46 | 96 | 62 | 2.09 | 2.69 (+22%) | -3626.3 |
| 1918 | DET | AL | 6 | 11 | 19 | 18 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 122.0 | 127 | 51 | 68 | 42 | 3.76 | 2.83 (-33%) | -2715.0 |
| 1919 | DET | AL | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.1 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 5.79 | 3.09 (-88%) | 0.0 |
| 1919 | BOS | AL | 3 | 5 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 72.2 | 74 | 33 | 39 | 12 | 4.09 | 3.09 (-32%) | -2147.5 |
| 1919 | CHA | AL | 3 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 39.1 | 39 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 2.52 | 3.09 (+18%) | -80.3 |
| Career · 11 seasons | 65 | 71 | 203 | 147 | 68 | 9 | 4 | 1,179.2 | 1,110 | 420 | 578 | 408 | 3.20 | — | -17,495 | ||
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
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 203 | 358 | 25 | 51 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 27 | 138 | .142 | .209 | .165 | .374 | -816 |
Career AVG .142 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — 44.5% below league average.
Career OBP .209 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — 35.2% below league average.
Career SLG .165 vs. league average .339 across their career seasons — 51.3% below league average.
Career OPS .374 vs. league average .661 across their career seasons — 43.5% below 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 | CLE | AL | 8 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .059 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1912 | CLE | AL | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1914 | SLA | AL | 44 | 89 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 38 | .112 | .255 (-56%) | .322 (-53%) | .339 (-57%) | .661 (-55%) | -738.8 |
| 1915 | SLA | AL | 34 | 42 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 18 | .190 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1915 | DET | AL | 11 | 21 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | .286 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1916 | DET | AL | 30 | 44 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 24 | .068 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1917 | DET | AL | 34 | 57 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 20 | .211 | .248 (-15%) | .312 (+5%) | .323 (-35%) | .635 (-15%) | -77.0 |
| 1918 | DET | AL | 19 | 46 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | .109 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1919 | DET | AL | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .250 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1919 | BOS | AL | 13 | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | .143 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1919 | CHA | AL | 5 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .143 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 11 seasons | 203 | 358 | 25 | 51 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 27 | 138 | .142 | — | — | — | — | -816 | ||
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 (407 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 90 | 129 | 11 | 17 | 0 | 5 | .132 |
| Away | 114 | 228 | 14 | 34 | 0 | 8 | .149 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 90 | 511.1 | 473 | 161 | 236 | 176 | 2.83 |
| Away | 113 | 665.0 | 651 | 272 | 349 | 235 | 3.68 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919-09-17 | CHW | NYY | W | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1919-09-09 | CHW | MIN | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1919-08-30 | CHW | CLE | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1919-08-25 | CHW | NYY | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1919-08-22 | CHW | MIN | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1919-07-30 | BOS | DET | W | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1919-07-15 | BOS | CHW | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1919-07-10 | BOS | SLA | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1919-07-05 | BOS | PHA | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1919-07-04 | BOS | PHA | W | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919-09-17 | CHW | NYY | W | 9.0 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1919-09-09 | CHW | MIN | W | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 1919-08-30 | CHW | CLE | L | 7.0 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| 1919-08-25 | CHW | NYY | L | 5.1 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1919-08-22 | CHW | MIN | W | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 1919-07-30 | BOS | DET | W | 7.0 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 1919-07-15 | BOS | CHW | L | 8.0 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 1919-07-10 | BOS | SLA | L | 1.2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1919-07-05 | BOS | PHA | — | 9.0 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1919-07-04 | BOS | PHA | — | 2.0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 | CLE | P | 8 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| 1912 | CLE | P | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 1914 | SLA | P | 44 | 0 | 11 | 105 | 3 | 5 |
| 1915 | SLA | P | 34 | 0 | 12 | 58 | 6 | 2 |
| 1915 | DET | P | 11 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 2 | 1 |
| 1916 | DET | P | 30 | 0 | 4 | 46 | 6 | 1 |
| 1917 | DET | P | 34 | 0 | 4 | 61 | 5 | 1 |
| 1918 | DET | P | 19 | 0 | 5 | 43 | 1 | 3 |
| 1919 | DET | P | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1919 | BOS | P | 13 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 3 | 2 |
| 1919 | CHA | P | 5 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 203 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Bill James (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Bill James: the record in brief
Between the debut on June 12, 1911 and the final game on September 17, 1919, Bill James built the record summarized on this page. The season rows list, in order, the Cleveland Naps (1911 through 1912), the St. Louis Browns (1914 to 1915), the Detroit Tigers (1915 through 1919), the Boston Red Sox (1919), and the Chicago White Sox (1919). Listed as a pitcher, James batted from both sides and threw right-handed. James is listed at 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds. James was born on January 20, 1887, in Detroit, MI, USA. James's death is recorded on May 25, 1942, in Venice, CA, USA. Bill James was the playing name; the full given name is William Henry.
James went 65-71 with a 3.20 ERA in 203 games, 147 of them starts. James had 408 strikeouts, 68 complete games, and 9 shutouts. The league ERA over James's seasons was 2.98, so the 3.20 figure ran 7.5% worse than average. 1914 brought James a season-high 15 wins.
Frequently Asked Questions about Bill James
- What years did Bill James play?
- Bill James played in Major League Baseball from 1911 to 1919.
- Was Bill James a pitcher?
- Yes. Bill James pitched in the major leagues, recording 65 wins and 408 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Bill James hit?
- Bill James hit 0 career home runs with 51 hits.
- What teams did Bill James play for?
- Bill James played for 5 teams: the Cleveland Naps (1911–1912), the St. Louis Browns (1914–1915), the Detroit Tigers (1915–1919), the Boston Red Sox (1919), and the Chicago White Sox (1919).
- What were Bill James's career stats?
- In 203 games, Bill James went 65-71 with a 3.20 ERA, 408 strikeouts, 1,179.2 innings pitched, and 4 saves. At the plate he had 51 hits and 0 home runs.
- What position did Bill James play?
- Bill James played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Bill James and how much did he weigh?
- Bill James was listed at 6 feet 4 inches and 195 pounds.
- What was Bill James's career ERA?
- Bill James finished with a 3.20 career ERA, going 65-71 with 408 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Bill James have?
- Bill James recorded 408 career strikeouts.
- Is Bill James in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Bill James has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.