Bill James

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

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

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
37 21 84 61 44 5 2 541.7 469 137 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.

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 0 135.7 134 42 57 73 2.79 3.07 (+9%) -837.0
1914 BSN NL 26 7 46 37 30 4 2 332.3 261 70 118 156 1.90 2.93 (+35%) -426.5
1915 BSN NL 5 4 13 10 4 0 0 68.3 68 23 22 23 3.03 2.90 (-5%) -806.3
1919 BSN NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5.3 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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home51106112505.236
Away379372105.226

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home48309.0279961161662.80
Away36233.01925683902.16

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

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

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 84 0 13 148 17 9

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.

Position Games
Pitcher 84

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1914 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3

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

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.