Bill James

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1913-1919)

Bill James was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1913 to 1919 for the Boston Braves, a span of 7 seasons. Across 84 career appearances, he went 37-21 with a 2.28 ERA and 253 strikeouts.

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 37–21
ERA 2.28
WHIP 1.23
SO 253
Pitcher PIV -2069.8
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 196 lb
Born
3/12/1892 in Iowa Hill, CA, USA
Died
3/10/1971 in Oroville, CA, USA
MLB Debut
1913-04-17
Last Game
1919-06-04

Full name: William Lawrence 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
37 21 84 61 44 5 2 541.2 469 137 14 199 253 2.28 -2069.8

Career ERA 2.28 vs. league average 2.98 across their career seasons — 23.5% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill James — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1913 BSN NL 6 10 24 14 10 1 0 135.2 134 42 57 73 2.79 3.07 (+9%) -837.0
1914 BSN NL 26 7 46 37 30 4 2 332.1 261 70 118 156 1.90 2.93 (+35%) -426.5
1915 BSN NL 5 4 13 10 4 0 0 68.1 68 23 22 23 3.03 2.90 (-5%) -806.3
1919 BSN NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5.1 6 2 2 1 3.38 — 0.0
Career · 4 seasons 37 21 84 61 44 5 2 541.2 469 137 199 253 2.28 — -2,070

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
88 199 18 46 5 0 0 9 2 2 44 .231 .243 .256 .499 -371

Career AVG .231 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — 9.7% below league average.

Career OBP .243 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — 24.6% below league average.

Career SLG .256 vs. league average .340 across their career seasons — 24.6% below league average.

Career OPS .499 vs. league average .662 across their career seasons — 24.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bill James — 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
1913 BSN NL 24 47 5 12 2 0 0 0 2 1 12 .255 — — — — 0.0
1914 BSN NL 49 129 9 33 3 0 0 9 0 0 20 .256 .255 (avg) .322 (-19%) .339 (-18%) .661 (-18%) -371.3
1915 BSN NL 14 21 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 11 .048 — — — — 0.0
1919 BSN NL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 4 seasons 88 199 18 46 5 0 0 9 2 2 44 .231 — — — — -371

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
2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .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
1914 WS BSN 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

Bill James — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 0 2 1 0 11.0 2 0 6 9 0.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Bill James — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1914 WS BSN 2 0 2 1 0 11.0 2 0 6 9 0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (172 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bill James — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home51106112505.236
Away379372105.226

Pitching — Home / Away

Bill James — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home48309.0279961161662.80
Away36233.01925683902.16

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bill James — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1919-06-04 BSNBROL 200000001
1915-07-30 BSNCINL 200000000
1915-07-17 BSNCINW 000000000
1915-07-07 BSNBROL 100000001
1915-07-06 BSNBROL 000000000
1915-06-25 BSNNY1L 300000001
1915-06-03 BSNNY1L 000000000
1915-05-28 BSNPHIW 320000011
1915-05-24 BSNCHCL 200000001
1915-05-22 BSNCHCL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bill James — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1919-06-04 BSNBRO — 5.1622220
1915-07-30 BSNCIN L 5.0544210
1915-07-17 BSNCIN W 1.0200000
1915-07-07 BSNBRO — 5.0200010
1915-06-25 BSNNY1 — 6.0200210
1915-06-03 BSNNY1 L 2.0331120
1915-05-28 BSNPHI W 9.01344121
1915-05-24 BSNCHC L 6.01477111
1915-05-22 BSNCHC L 2.0110200
1915-05-18 BSNPIT W 9.0420740

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bill James — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 84 0 13 148 17 9

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bill James — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1913 BSN P 24 0 7 35 7 2
1914 BSN P 46 0 4 85 10 7
1915 BSN P 13 0 2 25 0 0
1919 BSN P 1 0 0 3 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bill James — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 84

Awards & Honors

Bill James — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1914 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3

Award Voting History

Bill James — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1914 Most Valuable Player NL 3rd 33.0 64 0

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
    Wheezer Dell
    19-23, 2.55 ERA
  2. 93
    Buck O'Brien
    29-25, 2.62 ERA
  3. 88
    Glenn Liebhardt
    36-35, 2.17 ERA
  4. 88
    Rube Foster
    58-33, 2.36 ERA
  5. 82
    Doc Watson
    22-21, 2.70 ERA
  6. 82
    Ernie White
    30-21, 2.78 ERA

Bill James: the record in brief

April 17, 1913 and June 4, 1919 bracket Bill James's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. James's only club in the season tables is the Boston Braves. James played primarily as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on March 12, 1892, in Iowa Hill, CA, USA and a listed size of 196 pounds on a 6-foot-3 frame. James's death is recorded on March 10, 1971, in Oroville, CA, USA. On the record, Bill James was born William Lawrence James.

James went 37-21 with a 2.28 ERA in 84 games, 61 of them starts. The totals include 253 strikeouts, 44 complete games, and 5 shutouts. That 2.28 ERA compares with a 2.98 league average across the same seasons, 23.5% better. No season topped the 26 wins of 1914. In 1914, one of the busiest seasons, James posted a 1.90 ERA; the league figure that year was 2.93.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bill James

What years did Bill James play?
Bill James played in Major League Baseball from 1913 to 1919.
Was Bill James a pitcher?
Yes. Bill James pitched in the major leagues, recording 37 wins and 253 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bill James hit?
Bill James hit 0 career home runs with 46 hits.
What was Bill James's career batting average?
Bill James batted .231 over his career, with 46 hits in 199 at bats.
How many RBI did Bill James have?
Bill James drove in 9 runs in his career.
What was Bill James's career ERA?
Bill James finished with a 2.28 career ERA, going 37-21 with 253 strikeouts.