What years did Johnny James play?

Johnny James played in Major League Baseball from 1958 to 1961.

Was Johnny James a pitcher?

Yes. Johnny James pitched in the major leagues, recording 5 wins and 73 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Johnny James hit?

Johnny James hit 0 career home runs.

What was Johnny James's career batting average?

Johnny James batted .000 over his career, with 0 hits in 17 at bats.

What was Johnny James's career ERA?

Johnny James finished with a 4.76 career ERA, going 5-3 with 73 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Johnny James have?

Johnny James recorded 73 career strikeouts.

Johnny James

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1958-1961)

Johnny James was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1958 to 1961 for the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, a span of 4 seasons. Across 66 career appearances, he went 5-3 with a 4.76 ERA and 73 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 October 12, 2026

W–L 5–3

ERA 4.76

WHIP 1.61

SO 73

Pitcher PIV -3762.2

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / R
Height / Weight: 5'10" / 160 lb
Born: 7/23/1933 in Bonner's Ferry, ID, USA
MLB Debut: 1958-09-06
Last Game: 1961-10-01

Full name: John Phillip James

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Career Pitching Statistics

Johnny James — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
5	3	66	3	0	0	2	119.0	107	63	15	84	73	4.76	-3762.2

Career ERA 4.76 vs. league average 3.91 across their career seasons — 21.9% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Johnny James — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1958	NYA	AL	0	0	1	0	0	3.0	2	0	4	1	0.00	—	0.0
1960	NYA	AL	5	1	28	0	2	43.1	38	21	26	29	4.36	3.82 (-14%)	-302.3
1961	NYA	AL	0	0	1	0	0	1.1	1	0	0	2	0.00	—	0.0
1961	LAA	AL	0	2	36	3	0	71.1	66	42	54	41	5.30	4.03 (-32%)	-3459.9
Career · 4 seasons			5	3	66	3	2	119.0	107	63	84	73	4.76	—	-3,762

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

Johnny James — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
73	17	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	.000	.056	.000	.056	0

Career AVG .000 vs. league average .257 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OBP .056 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — 82.9% below league average.

Career SLG .000 vs. league average .394 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OPS .056 vs. league average .720 across their career seasons — 92.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Johnny James — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1958	NYA	AL	1	1	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1960	NYA	AL	28	3	0	2	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1961	NYA	AL	1	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1961	LAA	AL	43	13	3	5	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 4 seasons			73	17	3	8	.000	—	—	—	—	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 (139 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Johnny James — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	34	7	2	0	0	0	.000
Away	39	10	1	0	0	0	.000

Pitching — Home / Away

Johnny James — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	31	53.1	51	37	44	38	6.24
Away	35	65.2	57	26	40	36	3.56

Last 10 Games — Batting

Johnny James — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	BB	SO
1961-10-01	LAA	CLE	L	0	0	0	0
1961-09-27	LAA	TEX	W	0	1	0	0
1961-09-17	LAA	CHW	L	0	0	0	0
1961-09-05	LAA	KC1	L	2	0	0	1
1961-08-31	LAA	KC1	L	0	0	0	0
1961-08-30	LAA	BAL	L	1	0	0	0
1961-08-29	LAA	BAL	W	0	0	0	0
1961-08-28	LAA	BAL	L	0	0	1	0
1961-08-25	LAA	BOS	L	1	0	0	0
1961-08-16	LAA	TEX	L	0	0	0	0

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Johnny James — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1961-09-17	LAA	CHW	—	1.2	3	4	4	2	0	1
1961-09-05	LAA	KC1	—	4.1	2	0	0	3	2	0
1961-08-31	LAA	KC1	—	2.0	5	3	3	1	1	0
1961-08-30	LAA	BAL	—	1.2	2	3	3	0	4	2
1961-08-28	LAA	BAL	—	3.1	1	2	1	2	3	1
1961-08-25	LAA	BOS	—	2.2	3	4	4	4	2	2
1961-08-15	LAA	TEX	—	1.2	2	0	0	1	0	0
1961-08-03	LAA	BOS	—	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0
1961-07-29	LAA	CLE	—	2.1	4	1	1	0	2	0
1961-07-26	LAA	DET	—	2.0	2	1	1	1	0	1

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Johnny James — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	66	3	4	21	0	1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Johnny James — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	DP
1958	NYA	P	1	0	1	0	0
1960	NYA	P	28	0	2	9	0
1961	NYA	P	1	0	0	0	0
1961	LAA	P	36	3	1	12	1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Johnny James — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	66

Johnny James: the record in brief

Johnny James's major league career runs from a debut on September 6, 1958 to a final game on October 1, 1961. The team column moves through the New York Yankees (1958 through 1961) and the Los Angeles Angels (1961). James played primarily as a pitcher and batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Born on July 23, 1933, in Bonner's Ferry, ID, USA, James was listed at 5'10" and 160 pounds. On the record, Johnny James was born John Phillip James.

Across 66 games (3 starts), James recorded 5 wins against 3 losses with a 4.76 ERA. Also on James's record: 73 strikeouts. Against a 3.91 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.76 mark was 21.9% worse. The best win total was 5, in 1960. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 4.36 in 1960, when the league's was 3.82.

James appears at one position only: pitcher, in 66 games. On the mound, the fielding record shows 0 errors alongside 4 putouts and 21 assists.

Frequently Asked Questions about Johnny James

What years did Johnny James play?: Johnny James played in Major League Baseball from 1958 to 1961.
Was Johnny James a pitcher?: Yes. Johnny James pitched in the major leagues, recording 5 wins and 73 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Johnny James hit?: Johnny James hit 0 career home runs.
What was Johnny James's career batting average?: Johnny James batted .000 over his career, with 0 hits in 17 at bats.
What was Johnny James's career ERA?: Johnny James finished with a 4.76 career ERA, going 5-3 with 73 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Johnny James have?: Johnny James recorded 73 career strikeouts.