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You Are Here > Baseball-Reference.com > Players > Bill James

Bill James
William Henry James (Big Bill)

Bats Both, Throws Right
Height 6' 4", Weight 195 lb.

Debut June 12, 1911
Final Game September 17, 1919
Born January 20, 1887 in Detroit, MI
Died May 25, 1942 in Venice, CA

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Pitching  Glossary / Hide Partial Seasons / Neutralize Stats
 Year Ag Tm  Lg  W   L   G   GS  CG SHO  GF SV   IP     H    R   ER   HR  BB   SO  HBP  WP  BFP  IBB  BK  ERA *lgERA *ERA+ WHIP
+--------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+------+----+----+----+---+----+----+---+---+-----+---+---+-----+-----+----+-----+
 1911 24 CLE AL   2   4   8   6   4   0   0  0   51.7   58   37   28   1   32   21   2   2   238       1  4.88  3.41   70 1.742
 1912 25 CLE AL   0   0   3   0   0   0   1  0   13.7   15   11    7   0    9    5   0   0    61       0  4.61  3.44   75 1.756
 1914 27 SLB AL  15  14  44  35  20   3   7  1  284.0  269  121   90   4  109  109   6  11  1162       0  2.85  2.71   95 1.331
 1915 28 TOT AL  14  13  45  32  11   1   7  1  237.3  212  115   86   3  125   82   7   6   976       0  3.26  2.91   89 1.420
         SLB AL   7  10  34  23   8   0   5  1  170.3  155   89   68   2   92   58   7   5   708       0  3.59  2.87   80 1.450
         DET AL   7   3  11   9   3   1   2  0   67.0   57   26   18   1   33   24   0   1   268       0  2.42  3.02  125 1.343
 1916 29 DET AL   8  12  30  20   8   0   4  1  151.7  141   76   62   1   79   61  11   6   642       1  3.68  2.85   78 1.451
 1917 30 DET AL  13  10  34  23  10   2   5  1  198.0  163   71   46   2   96   62  12   2   830       0  2.09  2.63  126 1.308
 1918 31 DET AL   6  11  19  18   8   1   1  0  122.0  127   68   51   3   68   42   5   2   546       0  3.76  2.66   71 1.598
 1919 32 TOT AL   7   7  20  13   7   2   4  0  121.3  125   60   50   2   60   26   5   3   503       0  3.71  3.09   83 1.525
         DET AL   1   0   2   1   0   0   0  0    9.3   12    6    6   0    7    3   0   1    42       0  5.79  3.19   55 2.036
         BOS AL   3   5  13   7   4   0   4  0   72.7   74   42   33   2   39   12   3   2   306       0  4.09  3.02   74 1.555
         CHW AL   3   2   5   5   3   2   0  0   39.3   39   12   11   0   14   11   2   0   155       0  2.52  3.19  127 1.347
+--------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+------+----+----+----+---+----+----+---+---+-----+---+---+-----+-----+----+-----+
  8 Yr WL% .478  65  71 203 147  68   9  29  4 1179.7 1110  559  420  16  578  408  48  32  4958       2  3.20  2.83   88 1.431
+--------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+------+----+----+----+---+----+----+---+---+-----+---+---+-----+-----+----+-----+
 162 Game Avg    12  13  39  28  13   1   5  0  229.0  215  108   81   3  112   79   9   6   963   0   0  3.20  2.83   88 1.431
 Career High     15  14  45  35  20   3   7  1  284.0  269  121   90   4  125  109  12  11  1162   0   1  2.09  3.41  126 1.308

* indicates the value is park adjusted (now all 3-year factors)
Batting  Glossary / Hide Partial Seasons / Neutralize Stats
 Year Ag Tm  Lg  G   AB    R    H   2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG *OPS+  TB   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP 
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 1911 24 CLE AL   8   17    1    1   1  0   0    1   0      1      .059  .111  .118  -36    2   1           0    
 1912 25 CLE AL   3    3    0    0   0  0   0    0   0      1      .000  .250  .000  -28    0   1           0    
 1914 27 SLB AL  44   89    4   10   1  1   0    2   1  2   4  38  .112  .151  .146   -9   13   4           0    
 1915 28 TOT AL  45   63    6   14   3  0   0    4   0      6  24  .222  .310  .270   74   17   7           2    
         SLB AL  34   42    2    8   2  0   0    2   0      3  18  .190  .261  .238   52   10   6           1    
         DET AL  11   21    4    6   1  0   0    2   0      3   6  .286  .400  .333  115    7   1           1    
 1916 29 DET AL  30   44    3    3   0  0   0    1   0      3  24  .068  .128  .068  -42    3   6           0    
 1917 30 DET AL  34   57    7   12   0  0   0    2   0     10  20  .211  .328  .211   65   12   2           0    
 1918 31 DET AL  19   46    0    5   1  0   0    0   0      1  12  .109  .128  .130  -21    6   0           0    
 1919 32 TOT AL  20   39    4    6   0  0   0    2   0      1  11  .154  .195  .154   -0    6   4           1    
         DET AL   2    4    1    1   0  0   0    1   0      0   2  .250  .250  .250   42    1   0           0    
         BOS AL  13   21    1    3   0  0   0    1   0      1   7  .143  .217  .143    5    3   3           1    
         CHW AL   5   14    2    2   0  0   0    0   0      0   2  .143  .143  .143  -20    2   1           0    
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 8 Seasons      203  358   25   51   6  1   0   12   1  2  27 129  .142  .209  .165   12   59  25   0   0   3   0
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 162 Game Avg        286   20   41   5  1   0   10   1  2  22 103  .142  .209  .165   12   47  20   0   0   2   0
 Career High     45   89    7   14   3  1   0    4   1  2  10  38                          17   7   0   0   2   0
Special Batting  Glossary / Hide Partial Seasons
 Year Ag Tm  Lg  PA  Outs  RC  RC/G   AIR    BA *lgBA   OBP *lgOBP  SLG *lgSLG  OPS *lgOPS*OPS+  OWP *BtRns BtWin SB% 
+--------------+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+-----+-----+-----+----+
 1911 24 CLE AL   19   17    0   0.0    97| .059  .282| .111  .349| .118  .371| .229  .720| -36  .000  -3.2  -0.3     
 1912 25 CLE AL    5    4    0   0.0    94| .000  .276| .250  .345| .000  .363| .250  .708| -28  .000  -0.5  -0.1     
 1914 27 SLB AL   97   85    2   0.6    79| .112  .252| .151  .324| .146  .330| .297  .654|  -9  .047 -12.1  -1.4  33%
 1915 28 TOT AL   78   56    5   2.4    83| .222  .254| .310  .332| .270  .333| .580  .666|  74  .342  -1.7  -0.2     
         SLB AL   52   40    2   1.3    80| .190  .251| .261  .328| .238  .329| .499  .657|  52  .152  -2.4  -0.3     
         DET AL   26   16    3   5.0    87| .286  .261| .400  .340| .333  .342| .733  .682| 115  .668   0.7   0.1     
 1916 29 DET AL   53   47    0   0.0    86| .068  .261| .128  .336| .068  .341| .196  .677| -42  .000  -7.9  -0.9     
 1917 30 DET AL   69   47    4   2.3    80| .211  .255| .328  .326| .211  .330| .539  .656|  65  .330  -1.9  -0.2     
 1918 31 DET AL   47   41    1   0.7    79| .109  .256| .128  .326| .130  .326| .258  .652| -21  .045  -6.8  -0.8     
 1919 32 TOT AL   45   37    1   0.7    92| .154  .272| .195  .338| .154  .366| .349  .704|  -0  .041  -5.2  -0.5     
         DET AL    4    3    0   0.0    93| .250  .274| .250  .340| .250  .368| .500  .708|  42  .000  -0.3   0.0     
         BOS AL   26   21    1   1.3    90| .143  .269| .217  .334| .143  .361| .360  .695|   5  .107  -2.6  -0.3     
         CHW AL   15   13    0   0.0    96| .143  .277| .143  .344| .143  .373| .286  .716| -20  .000  -2.3  -0.2     
+--------------+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+-----+-----+-----+----+
 8 Seasons       413  334   13   1.0    83| .142  .258| .209  .330| .165  .337| .374  .668|  12  .099 -39.3  -4.4     

* indicates the value is park adjusted (now all 3-year factors)
Fielding  Glossary / Hide Partial Seasons
 Year Ag Tm  Lg Pos   G     PO    A    E   DP    FP   lgFP  RFg  lgRFg  RF9  lgRF9  GS   Inn  
+--------------+---+----+------+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+------+
+---- Fielding Sorted by Year ------+
1911 24 CLE AL P 8 4 11 1 0 .938 .938 1.88 1.89 2.61 2.87 6 51.7 1912 25 CLE AL P 3 1 2 3 0 .500 .938 1.00 1.93 1.97 2.96 0 13.7 1914 27 SLB AL P 44 11 105 3 5 .975 .936 2.64 1.74 3.68 2.96 35 284.0 1915 28 TOT AL P 45 14 84 8 3 .925 .937 2.18 1.80 3.72 3.01 32 237.3 SLB AL P 34 12 58 6 2 .921 .937 2.06 1.80 3.70 3.01 23 170.3 DET AL P 11 2 26 2 1 .933 .936 2.55 1.80 3.76 3.01 9 67.0 1916 29 DET AL P 30 4 46 6 1 .893 .945 1.67 1.69 2.97 2.95 20 151.7 1917 30 DET AL P 34 4 61 5 1 .929 .948 1.91 1.83 2.95 3.04 23 198.0 1918 31 DET AL P 19 5 43 1 3 .980 .952 2.53 1.85 3.54 2.82 18 122.0 1919 32 TOT AL P 20 7 32 4 2 .907 .947 1.95 1.76 2.89 2.83 13 121.3 DET AL P 2 1 2 0 0 1.000 .938 1.50 1.75 2.90 2.81 1 9.3 BOS AL P 13 4 23 3 2 .900 .947 2.08 1.76 3.34 2.83 7 72.7 CHW AL P 5 2 7 1 0 .900 .947 1.80 1.76 2.06 2.84 5 39.3
+---- Fielding Sorted by Position --+
1911 24 CLE AL P 8 4 11 1 0 .938 .938 1.88 1.89 2.61 2.87 6 51.7 1912 25 CLE AL P 3 1 2 3 0 .500 .938 1.00 1.93 1.97 2.96 0 13.7 1914 27 SLB AL P 44 11 105 3 5 .975 .936 2.64 1.74 3.68 2.96 35 284.0 1915 28 TOT AL P 45 14 84 8 3 .925 .937 2.18 1.80 3.72 3.01 32 237.3 SLB AL P 34 12 58 6 2 .921 .937 2.06 1.80 3.70 3.01 23 170.3 DET AL P 11 2 26 2 1 .933 .936 2.55 1.80 3.76 3.01 9 67.0 1916 29 DET AL P 30 4 46 6 1 .893 .945 1.67 1.69 2.97 2.95 20 151.7 1917 30 DET AL P 34 4 61 5 1 .929 .948 1.91 1.83 2.95 3.04 23 198.0 1918 31 DET AL P 19 5 43 1 3 .980 .952 2.53 1.85 3.54 2.82 18 122.0 1919 32 TOT AL P 20 7 32 4 2 .907 .947 1.95 1.76 2.89 2.83 13 121.3 DET AL P 2 1 2 0 0 1.000 .938 1.50 1.75 2.90 2.81 1 9.3 BOS AL P 13 4 23 3 2 .900 .947 2.08 1.76 3.34 2.83 7 72.7 CHW AL P 5 2 7 1 0 .900 .947 1.80 1.76 2.06 2.84 5 39.3
+--------------+---+----+------+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+------+ Position Total P* 203 50 384 31 15 .933 .942 2.14 1.78 3.31 2.95 147 1179.7 +--------------+---+----+------+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+------+ Overall Total 203 50 384 31 15 .933 .942 2.14 1.78 3.31 2.95 147 1180
An Important note about our fielding stats

Postseason Pitching Gamelogs / Vs. Batter

 Year   Round Tm  Opp WLser  G   GS   ERA   W  L SV CG   IP   H   ER  BB  SO
+------+-----+---+---+-----+---+---+------+--+--+--+--+-----+---+---+---+---+
 1919   WS    CHW CIN     L   1   0   5.79  0  0  0  0   4.2   8   3   3   2 
+------+-----+---+---+-----+---+---+------+--+--+--+--+-----+---+---+---+---+
Postseason Batting Gamelogs / Vs. Pitcher

 Year   Round Tm  Opp WLser  G   AB  R   H  2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG   SB CS  SH  SF HBP
+------+-----+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---+--+---+---+---+
 1919   WS    CHW CIN     L   1   2   0   0  0  0  0   0   0   1  .000  .000  .000   0  0   0   0   0 
+------+-----+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+---+--+---+---+---+

WLser shows whether the player's team Won or Lost the series.
Appearances on Leaderboards and Awards   Glossary

Awards are Year-League-Award, Stats are Year-Value-Rank, (Pos) for All-Star indicates starter & * indicates they played.

ERA
1917 AL-2.09-8

Hits Allowed/9IP
1917 AL-7.41-8

Games
1914 AL-44-8
1915 AL-45-8

Innings
1914 AL-284.0-6

Games Started
1914 AL-35-4
1915 AL-32-10

Comp. Games
1914 AL-20-5

Home Runs Allow.
1914 AL-4-8
1918 AL-3-7

Bases On Balls Allow.
1914 AL-109-4
1915 AL-125-3
1917 AL-96-6

Hits Allowed
1914 AL-269-3

Earned Runs Allow.
1914 AL-90-3
1915 AL-86-6

Wild Pitches
1914 AL-11-3
1915 AL-6-9

Hit Batsmen
1916 AL-11-3
1917 AL-12-3

Batters Faced
1914 AL-1162-6

Adjusted ERA+
1917 AL-126-8

       

Gray Ink: Pitching - 15 (1211) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 8.0 (981) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 5.0 (1220) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Overall Rank in parentheses.

Act.- Denotes rank among active players, Car. - Denotes career rank
Click on the Car, Act or Year to see the career, active, or league leaderboard.


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Most Similar by Age 
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Explanation of Similarity Scores


Transactions 

August 18, 1915: Traded by the St. Louis Browns to the Detroit Tigers for Baby Doll Jacobson and $15,000.

May 24, 1919: Purchased by the Boston Red Sox from the Detroit Tigers.

August 18, 1919: Selected off waivers by the Chicago White Sox from the Boston Red Sox.


The transaction information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. Last transaction is September 30, 2007.
Uniforms 
View Bill James's uniforms at Dressed to the Nines
a Baseball Hall of Fame on-line exhibit

Other References 
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Viewed 24875 times through October 13, 2008.
Name and misspellings: Big Bill William Will William Henry harry billy Bill jim jimmie jimmy James

Pages Updated through October 12,2008. Pages designed and created by Baseball-Reference part of Sports Reference, Inc. (Copyright ©2000-2007).
Statistics may come from our work, the Baseball Databank, or other sources including SABR.org and RetroSheet.org..

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