Jim Starks

First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Jim Starks was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for 8 teams, including the Kansas City Monarchs. In 184 career games, he hit .270 with 165 hits, 15 home runs, and 93 RBI. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 364.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .270
HR 15
RBI 93
H 165
OPS .754
PIV 364
Position
First Baseman
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 217 lb
Born
4/23/1906 in Springfield, MO, USA

Full name: James Theodore Starks

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Jim Starks — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
463.0 417.0 63.0 123.0 23.0 2.0 14.0 48.0 42.0 4.0 6.0 .295 .361 .460 .821

Career Batting Statistics

Jim Starks — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
184 611 96 165 33 5 15 93 10 61 6 .270 .340 .414 .754 364

Career AVG .270 vs. league average .268 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .340 vs. league average .334 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .414 vs. league average .376 across their career seasons — +10.2% above league average.

Career OPS .754 vs. league average .710 across their career seasons — +6.2% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Jim Starks Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1927 KCM NNL 1 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 — — — — 0.0
1927 MRS NNL 5 17 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .235 — — — — 0.0
1933 KCM IND 4 14 1 3 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 .214 — — — — 0.0
1934 ND NN2 28 94 17 25 6 0 0 12 2 10 1 .266 .278 (-4%) .340 (+1%) .392 (-16%) .733 (-8%) -102.9
1935 ND NN2 28 98 21 28 4 1 6 18 4 11 1 .286 .279 (+2%) .342 (+6%) .399 (+33%) .742 (+20%) 339.5
1935 NYC NN2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 339.5
1937 PC NN2 7 26 6 12 2 0 3 8 1 5 0 .462 — — — — 0.0
1938 NBY NN2 15 51 7 15 6 1 1 9 0 4 2 .294 .272 (+8%) .341 (+1%) .392 (+30%) .734 (+16%) 114.3
1940 NBY NN2 15 39 5 14 1 0 0 7 0 6 0 .359 — — — — 0.0
1941 NBY NN2 33 112 23 35 7 1 4 24 2 10 0 .312 .262 (+19%) .332 (+14%) .373 (+34%) .705 (+25%) 449.8
1942 NBY NN2 19 59 6 7 2 0 0 3 0 6 2 .119 .253 (-53%) .323 (-39%) .349 (-56%) .672 (-48%) -436.4
1943 HSS NN2 10 39 6 9 3 0 1 8 1 3 0 .231 — — — — 0.0
1943 NBY NN2 2 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .167 — — — — 0.0
1944 NBY NN2 4 12 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .167 — — — — 0.0
1945 NBY NN2 8 30 3 4 0 1 0 2 0 3 0 .133 — — — — 0.0
1945 BBB NAL 3 8 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .375 — — — — 0.0
1946 NBY NN2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 17 seasons 184 611 96 165 33 5 15 93 10 61 6 .270 — — — — 704

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 (134 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Jim Starks — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home481672843524.257
Away8627644791024.286

Last 10 Games — Batting

Jim Starks — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1945-07-19 BIRCIAL 011001100
1945-07-16 BIRCVBL 401000000
1945-07-08 BIRKCML 100000000
1945-06-17 NY5PH5L 400000000
1945-06-10 NY5BLGL 200000000
1945-06-10 NY5BLGL 401100000
1945-06-09 NY5PH5L 500000000
1945-05-30 NY5BLGW 332000030
1945-05-30 NY5BLGL 300000010
1945-05-29 NY5BLGL 400000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Jim Starks — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 148 143 1272 49 26 68
2B 1 0 1 3 1 0
3B 3 2 3 4 0 2
OF 29 24 32 3 1 0
PH 1 0 0 0 0 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Jim Starks — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1927 KCM OF 1 1 0 0 0 0
1927 MRS OF 6 5 8 2 1 0
1933 KCM OF 4 4 3 0 0 0
1934 ND 1B 23 22 205 8 3 7
1934 ND OF 6 6 6 0 0 0
1935 ND 1B 28 28 263 10 5 16
1935 NYC PH 1 0 0 0 0 0
1937 PC 1B 7 7 59 1 0 2
1937 PC 2B 1 0 1 3 1 0
1938 NBY 1B 14 14 123 2 2 8
1940 NBY 1B 2 2 11 1 0 0
1940 NBY OF 9 8 11 0 0 0
1941 NBY 1B 32 29 268 13 8 17
1941 NBY OF 2 0 4 1 0 0
1942 NBY 1B 19 18 146 5 5 2
1943 HSS 1B 10 10 81 6 1 5
1943 NBY 1B 2 2 17 0 2 3
1944 NBY 1B 1 1 9 0 0 0
1944 NBY 3B 3 2 3 4 0 2
1945 NBY 1B 8 8 77 2 0 6
1945 BBB 1B 2 2 13 1 0 2
1946 NBY OF 1 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Jim Starks Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 148
Second Base 1
Third Base 3
Left Field 15
Center Field 6
Right Field 8

Jim Starks: the record in brief

Jim Starks's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1927 to 1946. The team column moves through the Kansas City Monarchs (1927 through 1933), the Memphis Red Sox (1927), the Newark Dodgers (1934 to 1935), the New York Cubans (1935), the Pittsburgh Crawfords (1937), the New York Black Yankees (1938 to 1946), the Harrisburg-St. Louis Stars (1943), and the Birmingham Black Barons (1945). The bio lists Starks as a first baseman who both batted and threw right-handed. Height and weight on file: 217 pounds on a 6-foot-2 frame. The birth record reads April 23, 1906, in Springfield, MO, USA. The given name on file is James Theodore Starks.

Starks finished with 165 hits from 611 at bats in 184 games, which works out to .270; the totals also include 15 home runs and 93 runs batted in. The on-base percentage is .340 and the slugging percentage .414, for an OPS of .754.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jim Starks

Was Jim Starks a pitcher?
No. Jim Starks was a position player (First Baseman).
How many home runs did Jim Starks hit?
Jim Starks hit 15 career home runs with 165 hits.
What was Jim Starks's career batting average?
Jim Starks batted .270 over his career, with 165 hits in 611 at bats.
How many RBI did Jim Starks have?
Jim Starks drove in 93 runs in his career.
Is Jim Starks in the Hall of Fame?
No. Jim Starks has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
What teams did Jim Starks play for?
Jim Starks played for the Kansas City Monarchs, the Memphis Red Sox, the Newark Dodgers, the New York Cubans, the Pittsburgh Crawfords, and the New York Black Yankees, among 8 clubs in all.