Jim Willis
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records
Jim Willis was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for 7 teams, including the Birmingham Black Barons. Across 99 career appearances, he went 33-42 with a 3.91 ERA and 329 strikeouts. He also batted .251 with 0 home runs. Jim Willis was an All-Star. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 12387.1.
- 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
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- — / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'8" / 185 lb
- Awards
- All-Star
Full name: Ed Willis
Season-by-Season Pitching
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | BBB | NNL | 2 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 49.0 | 61 | 35 | 15 | 21 | 6.43 | 4.13 (-56%) | -651.3 |
| 1930 | NEG | NNL | 4 | 12 | 19 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 133.1 | 140 | 61 | 36 | 84 | 4.12 | 4.80 (+14%) | 3807.3 |
| 1931 | CCU | NNL | 5 | 4 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 69.0 | 86 | 39 | 18 | 40 | 5.09 | 4.10 (-24%) | 616.5 |
| 1932 | NEG | NSL | 5 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 78.0 | 71 | 29 | 8 | 48 | 3.35 | 4.13 (+19%) | 2414.3 |
| 1933 | NEG | NN2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 67.0 | 64 | 20 | 9 | 28 | 2.69 | 3.86 (+30%) | 1605.7 |
| 1933 | PS | IND | 3 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 46.1 | 52 | 16 | 10 | 25 | 3.11 | 3.86 (+19%) | 1130.8 |
| 1934 | NEG | NN2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 57.2 | 50 | 18 | 13 | 36 | 2.81 | 4.29 (+35%) | 1664.3 |
| 1935 | CEG | NN2 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 53.0 | 51 | 17 | 10 | 20 | 2.89 | 4.35 (+34%) | 260.7 |
| 1936 | WEG | NN2 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 69.2 | 69 | 24 | 16 | 26 | 3.10 | 4.59 (+32%) | 1538.6 |
| 1937 | WEG | NN2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 15.19 | — | 0.0 |
| 1939 | BEG | NN2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 9.39 | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 11 seasons | 33 | 42 | 99 | 70 | 52 | 1 | 2 | 636.0 | 670 | 276 | 142 | 329 | 3.91 | — | 12,387 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 110 | 255 | 32 | 64 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 8 | 0 | .251 | .279 | .306 | .585 | -410 |
Career AVG .251 vs. league average .279 across their career seasons — 10.1% below league average.
Career OBP .279 vs. league average .342 across their career seasons — 18.3% below league average.
Career SLG .306 vs. league average .397 across their career seasons — 23.0% below league average.
Career OPS .585 vs. league average .739 across their career seasons — 20.8% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | BBB | NNL | 7 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1930 | NEG | NNL | 23 | 59 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .203 | .293 (-31%) | .354 (-43%) | .429 (-37%) | .784 (-39%) | -410.2 |
| 1931 | CCU | NNL | 12 | 30 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .300 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1932 | NEG | NSL | 12 | 37 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .216 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1933 | NEG | NN2 | 10 | 26 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .192 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1933 | PS | IND | 9 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .308 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1934 | NEG | NN2 | 10 | 20 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1935 | CEG | NN2 | 9 | 22 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .273 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1936 | WEG | NN2 | 13 | 26 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .269 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1937 | WEG | NN2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .667 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1939 | BEG | NN2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 11 seasons | 110 | 255 | 32 | 64 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 1 | 8 | 0 | .251 | — | — | — | — | -410 | ||
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.
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OF | 6 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| P | 99 | 70 | 34 | 147 | 8 | 1 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | BBB | P | 7 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 1930 | NEG | OF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1930 | NEG | P | 19 | 16 | 13 | 33 | 1 | 0 |
| 1931 | CCU | P | 12 | 8 | 2 | 27 | 2 | 0 |
| 1932 | NEG | OF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1932 | NEG | P | 10 | 9 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 1933 | NEG | P | 10 | 7 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 1 |
| 1933 | PS | P | 8 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 1934 | NEG | P | 9 | 7 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 1935 | CEG | P | 8 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 1936 | WEG | P | 12 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 2 | 0 |
| 1937 | WEG | P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939 | BEG | P | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 99 |
| Left Field | 3 |
| Right Field | 3 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Jim Willis: the record in brief
The season rows for Jim Willis begin in 1928. The season rows list, in order, the Birmingham Black Barons (1928), the Nashville Elite Giants (1930 to 1934), the Cleveland Cubs (1931), the Philadelphia Stars (1933), the Columbus Elite Giants (1935), the Washington Elite Giants (1936 to 1937), and the Baltimore Elite Giants (1939). Born on June 11, 1906, in Lobdell, LA, USA, Willis is listed as a pitcher. Size on record: 5-foot-8 and 185 pounds. The bio lists the given name Ed.
Willis went 33-42 with a 3.91 ERA in 99 games, 70 of them starts. Willis had 329 strikeouts and 52 complete games. The leagues Willis pitched in allowed 4.29 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 8.9% better than average. 1931 brought Willis a season-high 5 wins. 1930 produced Willis's most strikeouts, 84. Among the heaviest workloads, the lowest ERA was 4.12 in 1930, when the league's was 4.80. Pitcher PIV, the site's era-adjusted run-prevention measure, totals 12,387.1 for Willis's career.
Frequently Asked Questions about Jim Willis
- Was Jim Willis a pitcher?
- Yes. Jim Willis pitched in the major leagues, recording 33 wins and 329 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Jim Willis hit?
- Jim Willis hit 0 career home runs with 64 hits.
- What was Jim Willis's career batting average?
- Jim Willis batted .251 over his career, with 64 hits in 255 at bats.
- How many RBI did Jim Willis have?
- Jim Willis drove in 24 runs in his career.
- What was Jim Willis's career ERA?
- Jim Willis finished with a 3.91 career ERA, going 33-42 with 329 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Jim Willis have?
- Jim Willis recorded 329 career strikeouts.