What years did Lefty James play?

Lefty James played in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1914.

Was Lefty James a pitcher?

Yes. Lefty James pitched in the major leagues, recording 2 wins and 36 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Lefty James hit?

Lefty James hit 0 career home runs with 3 hits.

What teams did Lefty James play for?

Lefty James played for one team, the Cleveland Naps (1912–1914).

What were Lefty James's career stats?

In 31 games, Lefty James went 2-6 with a 3.39 ERA, 36 strikeouts, 95.2 innings pitched, and 1 saves.

What position did Lefty James play?

Lefty James played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Lefty James and how much did he weigh?

Lefty James was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 175 pounds.

What was Lefty James's career ERA?

Lefty James finished with a 3.39 career ERA, going 2-6 with 36 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Lefty James have?

Lefty James recorded 36 career strikeouts.

Is Lefty James in the Hall of Fame?

No. Lefty James has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Lefty James

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1912-1914)

Lefty James was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1914 for the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 3 seasons. Across 31 career appearances, he went 2-6 with a 3.39 ERA and 36 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 15, 2026

W–L 2–6

ERA 3.39

WHIP 1.45

SO 36

Pitcher PIV -691.5

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: L / L
Height / Weight: 5'11" / 175 lb
Born: 7/1/1889 in Glen Roy, OH, USA
Died: 5/3/1933 in Glen Roy, OH, USA
MLB Debut: 1912-09-20
Last Game: 1914-07-03

Full name: William L. James

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Career Pitching Statistics

Lefty James — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
2	6	31	11	4	0	1	95.2	94	36	0	45	36	3.39	-691.5

Career ERA 3.39 vs. league average 3.09 across their career seasons — 9.6% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Lefty James — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1912	CLE	AL	0	1	3	1	0	1	6.0	8	5	4	2	7.50	—	0.0
1913	CLE	AL	2	2	11	4	3	0	39.0	42	13	9	18	3.00	3.07 (+2%)	468.0
1914	CLE	AL	0	3	17	6	1	0	50.2	44	18	32	16	3.20	2.93 (-9%)	-1159.5
Career · 3 seasons			2	6	31	11	4	1	95.2	94	36	45	36	3.39	—	-691

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

Lefty James — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
31	28	1	3	0	0	0	1	0	2	14	.107	.167	.107	.274	0

Career AVG .107 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — 58.9% below league average.

Career OBP .167 vs. league average .327 across their career seasons — 49.0% below league average.

Career SLG .107 vs. league average .347 across their career seasons — 69.1% below league average.

Career OPS .274 vs. league average .674 across their career seasons — 59.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Lefty James — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1912	CLE	AL	3	3	0	0	1	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1913	CLE	AL	11	13	0	3	0	0	5	.231	—	—	—	—	0.0
1914	CLE	AL	17	12	1	0	0	2	9	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 3 seasons			31	28	1	3	1	2	14	.107	—	—	—	—	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 (62 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Lefty James — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	16	14	0	2	0	0	.143
Away	15	14	1	1	0	0	.071

Pitching — Home / Away

Lefty James — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	16	50.1	49	20	18	12	3.58
Away	15	45.1	44	15	27	23	2.98

Last 10 Games — Batting

Lefty James — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	BB	SO
1914-07-03	CLE	DET	L	1	0	0	1
1914-06-30	CLE	SLA	L	0	0	0	0
1914-06-24	CLE	SLA	L	3	0	0	2
1914-06-20	CLE	NYY	L	0	0	0	0
1914-06-12	CLE	PHA	L	0	0	0	0
1914-06-08	CLE	BOS	L	0	0	0	0
1914-06-07	CLE	BOS	L	2	0	0	2
1914-06-03	CLE	CHW	W	1	0	0	1
1914-06-01	CLE	SLA	L	0	0	1	0
1914-05-26	CLE	BOS	W	3	1	0	1

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Lefty James — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
1914-07-03	CLE	DET	—	3.1	5	4	3	3	1
1914-06-30	CLE	SLA	—	2.0	2	0	0	0	0
1914-06-24	CLE	SLA	L	8.0	6	3	2	6	3
1914-06-20	CLE	NYY	—	0.1	0	1	0	0	0
1914-06-12	CLE	PHA	—	2.0	4	2	2	1	0
1914-06-08	CLE	BOS	—	1.0	1	2	0	1	0
1914-06-07	CLE	BOS	L	8.0	5	2	2	0	1
1914-06-03	CLE	CHW	—	1.1	0	0	0	2	0
1914-06-01	CLE	SLA	—	3.0	2	1	1	2	1
1914-05-26	CLE	BOS	—	6.2	6	2	1	4	3

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Lefty James — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	31	0	3	31	4	0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Lefty James — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	PO	A	E
1912	CLE	P	3	0	2	1
1913	CLE	P	11	0	8	3
1914	CLE	P	17	3	21	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Lefty James — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	31

Lefty James: the record in brief

The profile opens with Lefty James's first major league game on September 20, 1912; the last one listed came on July 3, 1914. Every season row on the page belongs to the Cleveland Naps, from 1912 through 1914. James played primarily as a pitcher and both batted and threw left-handed. The bio adds a birth date on July 1, 1889, in Glen Roy, OH, USA and a listed size of 5 feet, 11 inches and 175 pounds. The bio records the death on May 3, 1933, in Glen Roy, OH, USA. James's full given name, per the bio, is William L. James.

James went 2-6 with a 3.39 ERA in 31 games, 11 of them starts. The totals include 36 strikeouts. Against a 3.09 league ERA for the same seasons, the 3.39 mark was 9.6% worse. In 1913, one of the busiest seasons, James posted a 3.00 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.07.

The position breakdown shows 31 games, all at pitcher. Fielding on the mound produced 3 putouts and 31 assists against 4 errors.

Frequently Asked Questions about Lefty James

What years did Lefty James play?: Lefty James played in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1914.
Was Lefty James a pitcher?: Yes. Lefty James pitched in the major leagues, recording 2 wins and 36 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Lefty James hit?: Lefty James hit 0 career home runs with 3 hits.
What teams did Lefty James play for?: Lefty James played for one team, the Cleveland Naps (1912–1914).
What were Lefty James's career stats?: In 31 games, Lefty James went 2-6 with a 3.39 ERA, 36 strikeouts, 95.2 innings pitched, and 1 saves.
What position did Lefty James play?: Lefty James played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Lefty James and how much did he weigh?: Lefty James was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 175 pounds.
What was Lefty James's career ERA?: Lefty James finished with a 3.39 career ERA, going 2-6 with 36 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Lefty James have?: Lefty James recorded 36 career strikeouts.
Is Lefty James in the Hall of Fame?: No. Lefty James has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.