What years did Bob James play?

Bob James played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1987.

Was Bob James a pitcher?

Yes. Bob James pitched in the major leagues, recording 24 wins and 340 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Bob James hit?

Bob James hit 0 career home runs with 4 hits.

What was Bob James's career batting average?

Bob James batted .190 over his career, with 4 hits in 21 at bats.

How many RBI did Bob James have?

Bob James drove in 2 runs in his career.

What was Bob James's career ERA?

Bob James finished with a 3.80 career ERA, going 24-26 with 340 strikeouts.

Bob James

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1978-1987)

Bob James was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1987 for the Montreal Expos, the Detroit Tigers, and the Chicago White Sox, a span of 10 seasons. Across 279 career appearances, he went 24-26 with a 3.80 ERA, 340 strikeouts, and 73 saves. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 4247.6.

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 October 12, 2026

W–L 24–26

ERA 3.80

WHIP 1.31

SO 340

Pitcher PIV 4247.6

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'4" / 215 lb
Born: 8/15/1958 in Glendale, CA, USA
MLB Debut: 1978-09-07
Last Game: 1987-10-02

Full name: Robert Harvey James

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Career Pitching Statistics

Bob James — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
24	26	279	2	0	0	73	407.0	377	172	39	157	340	3.80	4247.6

Career ERA 3.80 vs. league average 3.92 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob James Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1978	MON	NL	0	1	4	1	0	4.0	4	4	4	3	9.00	—	0.0
1979	MON	NL	0	0	2	0	0	2.0	2	3	3	1	13.50	—	0.0
1982	MON	NL	0	0	7	0	0	9.0	10	6	8	11	6.00	3.86 (-55%)	0.0
1982	DET	AL	0	2	12	1	0	19.2	22	11	8	20	5.03	3.86 (-30%)	-336.4
1983	DET	AL	0	0	4	0	0	4.0	5	5	3	4	11.25	—	0.0
1983	MON	NL	1	0	27	0	7	50.0	37	16	23	56	2.88	3.87 (+26%)	1284.7
1984	MON	NL	6	6	62	0	10	96.0	92	39	45	91	3.66	3.81 (+4%)	1455.9
1985	CHA	AL	8	7	69	0	32	110.0	90	26	23	88	2.13	3.89 (+45%)	4320.8
1986	CHA	AL	5	4	49	0	14	58.1	61	34	23	32	5.25	3.97 (-32%)	-1272.8
1987	CHA	AL	4	6	43	0	10	54.0	54	28	17	34	4.67	4.29 (-9%)	-1204.7
Career · 10 seasons			24	26	279	2	73	407.0	377	172	157	340	3.80	—	4,248

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

Bob James — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
279	21	0	4	0	0	0	2	0	0	15	.190	.190	.190	.381	0

Career AVG .190 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 26.8% below league average.

Career OBP .190 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — 41.5% below league average.

Career SLG .190 vs. league average .393 across their career seasons — 51.5% below league average.

Career OPS .381 vs. league average .718 across their career seasons — 47.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Bob James Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	H	RBI	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1978	MON	NL	4	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1979	MON	NL	2	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	MON	NL	7	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1982	DET	AL	12	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1983	DET	AL	4	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1983	MON	NL	27	7	2	1	4	.286	—	—	—	—	0.0
1984	MON	NL	62	14	2	1	11	.143	—	—	—	—	0.0
1985	CHA	AL	69	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1986	CHA	AL	49	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1987	CHA	AL	43	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 10 seasons			279	21	4	2	15	.190	—	—	—	—	0

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 (558 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Bob James — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	138	10	0	2	0	1	.200
Away	141	11	0	2	0	1	.182

Pitching — Home / Away

Bob James — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	138	213.1	202	93	90	185	3.92
Away	141	193.2	175	79	67	155	3.67

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bob James — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1987-10-02	CHW	OAK	L	2.0	2	2	2	2	0	0
1987-09-26	CHW	OAK	W	2.2	0	0	0	0	3	0
1987-09-22	CHW	LAA	L	0.1	1	2	2	1	0	0
1987-09-16	CHW	MIN	—	1.0	2	3	3	1	2	0
1987-09-14	CHW	MIN	—	0.1	1	0	0	0	0	0
1987-09-12	CHW	SEA	—	1.0	2	1	1	0	1	0
1987-09-07	CHW	MIN	—	1.1	4	3	3	1	1	0
1987-09-04	CHW	KCR	—	2.0	2	0	0	0	1	0
1987-07-22	CHW	BAL	—	1.0	1	1	1	0	1	1
1987-07-17	CHW	CLE	W	2.2	1	0	0	1	3	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bob James — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	279	2	28	47	13	2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Bob James — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1978	MON	P	4	1	0	1	0	0
1979	MON	P	2	0	0	0	0	0
1982	MON	P	7	0	1	0	0	0
1982	DET	P	12	1	0	4	3	0
1983	DET	P	4	0	0	0	0	0
1983	MON	P	27	0	4	12	2	1
1984	MON	P	62	0	5	7	4	0
1985	CHA	P	69	0	12	8	1	0
1986	CHA	P	49	0	3	6	0	0
1987	CHA	P	43	0	3	9	3	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bob James Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	279

Awards & Honors

Bob James — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1983	Player of the Week	Week of 1983-09-16

Salary History

Bob James — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1987	CHA	AL	$470,000
1986	CHA	AL	$555,000
1985	CHA	AL	$265,000
Total Career Earnings			$1,290,000

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

Bob James: the record in brief

September 7, 1978 and October 2, 1987 bracket Bob James's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. By club, James's seasons break down as the Montreal Expos (1978 to 1984), the Detroit Tigers (1982 to 1983), and the Chicago White Sox (1985 to 1987). James, born on August 15, 1958, in Glendale, CA, USA, is listed as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. James's listed size is 6 feet, 4 inches and 215 pounds. The given name on file is Robert Harvey James.

James went 24-26 with a 3.80 ERA in 279 games, 2 of them starts. The totals include 340 strikeouts and 73 saves. James's 3.80 ERA was close to the 3.92 league figure for those seasons. The best win total was 8, in 1985. James struck out 91 batters in 1984, a career high. The most saves in one season was 32, in 1985.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bob James

What years did Bob James play?: Bob James played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1987.
Was Bob James a pitcher?: Yes. Bob James pitched in the major leagues, recording 24 wins and 340 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bob James hit?: Bob James hit 0 career home runs with 4 hits.
What was Bob James's career batting average?: Bob James batted .190 over his career, with 4 hits in 21 at bats.
How many RBI did Bob James have?: Bob James drove in 2 runs in his career.
What was Bob James's career ERA?: Bob James finished with a 3.80 career ERA, going 24-26 with 340 strikeouts.