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

W–L 65–71
ERA 3.20
WHIP 1.43
SO 408
Pitcher PIV -17495.3
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
B / R
Height / Weight
6'4" / 195 lb
Born
1/20/1887 in Detroit, MI, USA
Died
5/25/1942 in Venice, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1911-06-12
Last Game
1919-09-17

Full name: William Henry James

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bill James — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
65 71 203 147 68 9 4 1179.7 1,110 420 16 578 408 3.20 -17495.3

Career ERA 3.20 vs. league average 2.98 across their career seasons — 7.5% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill James (b. 1887) Stats, Bio & Career Records
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 51.7 58 28 32 21 4.88 3.37 (-45%) -1085.7
1912 CLE AL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 13.7 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 1 170.3 155 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 1 151.7 141 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 9.3 12 6 7 3 5.79 3.09 (-88%) 0.0
1919 BOS AL 3 5 13 7 4 0 0 72.7 74 33 39 12 4.09 3.09 (-32%) -2147.5
1919 CHA AL 3 2 5 5 3 2 0 39.3 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

Bill James — 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

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill James (b. 1887) 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
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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Bill James — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Bill James — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1919 WS CHA 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Bill James — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 1 0 0 4.7 8 3 3 2 5.79

Playoff Pitching by Year

Bill James — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1919 WS CHA 0 0 1 0 0 4.7 8 3 3 2 5.79

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (407 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bill James — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home90129111705.132
Away114228143408.149

Pitching — Home / Away

Bill James — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home90511.14731612361762.83
Away113665.06512723492353.68

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bill James — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1919-09-17 CHWNYYW 522000000
1919-09-09 CHWMINW 200000001
1919-08-30 CHWCLEL 200000001
1919-08-25 CHWNYYL 200000100
1919-08-22 CHWMINW 300000000
1919-07-30 BOSDETW 101000000
1919-07-15 BOSCHWL 301000000
1919-07-10 BOSSLAL 000000000
1919-07-05 BOSPHAL 200000002
1919-07-04 BOSPHAW 000000010

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bill James — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1919-09-17 CHWNYY W 9.0921210
1919-09-09 CHWMIN W 9.0500420
1919-08-30 CHWCLE L 7.0944430
1919-08-25 CHWNYY L 5.11166110
1919-08-22 CHWMIN W 9.0500340
1919-07-30 BOSDET W 7.0822710
1919-07-15 BOSCHW L 8.0833510
1919-07-10 BOSSLA L 1.2122310
1919-07-05 BOSPHA — 9.0551310
1919-07-04 BOSPHA — 2.0332210

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bill James — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 203 0 50 384 31 15

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bill James — 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

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bill James (b. 1887) Stats, Bio & Career Records
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%.

Career Spans

Bill James (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Elmer Riddle
    65-52, 3.40 ERA
  2. 91
    Buster Brown
    51-103, 3.21 ERA
  3. 85
    Doc Scanlan
    65-71, 3.00 ERA
  4. 84
    Al Schulz
    47-62, 3.32 ERA
  5. 83
    Vern Bickford
    66-57, 3.71 ERA
  6. 83
    Bill Bailey
    38-76, 3.57 ERA

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 was Bill James's career batting average?
Bill James batted .142 over his career, with 51 hits in 358 at bats.
How many RBI did Bill James have?
Bill James drove in 12 runs in his career.
What was Bill James's career ERA?
Bill James finished with a 3.20 career ERA, going 65-71 with 408 strikeouts.