Photo of Bill James


Bill James

William Henry James (Big Bill)

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

Born: January 20, 1887 in Detroit, MI (All Transactions)
Debut: June 12, 1911
Teams (by GP): Tigers/Browns/RedSox/Naps/WhiteSox 1911-1919

Final Game: September 17, 1919
Died: May 25, 1942 in Venice, CA
Buried: Los Angeles National Cemetery, Los Angeles, CA
    About biographical information

Standard Batting

Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos Awards
1911 24 CLE AL 8 19 17 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 7 .059 .111 .118 .229 -36 2 0 1 /1
1912 25 CLE AL 3 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 .250 .000 .250 -28 0 0 1 /1
1914 27 SLB AL 44 97 89 4 10 1 1 0 2 1 2 4 38 .112 .151 .146 .297 -9 13 0 4 1
1915 28 TOT AL 45 78 63 6 14 3 0 0 4 0 0 6 24 .222 .310 .270 .580 74 17 2 7 1
1915 28 SLB AL 34 52 42 2 8 2 0 0 2 0 0 3 18 .190 .261 .238 .499 52 10 1 6 1
1915 28 DET AL 11 26 21 4 6 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 6 .286 .400 .333 .733 115 7 1 1 1
1916 29 DET AL 30 53 44 3 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 24 .068 .128 .068 .196 -42 3 0 6 1
1917 30 DET AL 34 69 57 7 12 0 0 0 2 0 10 20 .211 .328 .211 .539 65 12 0 2 1
1918 31 DET AL 19 47 46 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 1 12 .109 .128 .130 .258 -21 6 0 0 1
1919 32 TOT AL 20 45 39 4 6 0 0 0 2 0 1 11 .154 .195 .154 .349 -0 6 1 4 1
1919 32 DET AL 2 4 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 .250 .250 .250 .500 42 1 0 0 /1
1919 32 BOS AL 13 26 21 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 7 .143 .217 .143 .360 4 3 1 3 1
1919 32 CHW AL 5 15 14 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .143 .143 .143 .286 -20 2 0 1 /1
8 Yrs 203 413 358 25 51 6 1 0 12 1 2 27 138 .142 .209 .165 .374 12 59 3 25
162 Game Avg. 162 330 286 20 41 5 1 0 10 1 22 110 .142 .209 .165 .374 12 47 2 20
DET (5 yrs) 96 199 172 15 27 2 0 0 6 0 0 17 64 .157 .237 .169 .405 23 29 1 9
CLE (2 yrs) 11 24 20 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 9 .050 .136 .100 .236 -34 2 0 2
SLB (2 yrs) 78 149 131 6 18 3 1 0 4 1 2 7 56 .137 .187 .176 .363 11 23 1 10
BOS (1 yr) 13 26 21 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 7 .143 .217 .143 .360 4 3 1 3
CHW (1 yr) 5 15 14 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .143 .143 .143 .286 -20 2 0 1

Player Value--Batters

WAR Explained (v2.1): 8+ MVP, 5+ A-S, 2+ Starter, 0-2 Sub, < 0 Repl
Year Age Tm Lg G PA Rbat Rbaser Rdp Rfield Rpos RAA WAA Rrep RAR WAR waaWL% 162WL% oWAR dWAR oRAR Salary Pos Awards
1911 24 CLE AL 8 19 -4 0 0 0 2 -2 -0.2 1 -1 -0.2 .477 .499 -0.2 0.0 -1 $ /1
1912 25 CLE AL 3 5 -1 0 0 0 0 -0 -0.0 0 -0 0.0 .489 .500 0.0 0.0 -0 $ /1
1914 27 SLB AL 44 97 -12 -0 0 0 8 -4 -0.5 3 -1 -0.5 .489 .497 -0.5 -0.0 -1 $ 1
1915 28 SLB AL 34 52 -3 0 0 0 4 1 0.1 2 3 0.1 .503 .501 0.1 -0.0 3 $ 1
1915 28 DET AL 11 26 0 0 0 0 2 2 0.3 1 3 0.3 .524 .502 0.3 0.0 3 $ 1
1916 29 DET AL 30 53 -9 0 0 0 4 -4 -0.6 2 -3 -0.6 .482 .497 -0.5 -0.0 -3 $ 1
1917 30 DET AL 34 69 -2 0 0 0 5 2 0.3 2 5 0.3 .509 .502 0.3 0.0 5 $ 1
1918 31 DET AL 19 47 -6 0 0 0 3 -3 -0.4 2 -1 -0.4 .481 .498 -0.4 0.0 -1 $ 1
1919 32 DET AL 2 4 -0 0 0 0 0 -0 -0.0 0 0 0.0 .494 .500 0.0 0.0 0 $ /1
1919 32 BOS AL 13 26 -3 0 0 0 2 -1 -0.1 1 0 -0.1 .492 .499 -0.1 0.0 0 $ 1
1919 32 CHW AL 5 15 -2 0 0 0 1 -1 -0.1 0 -1 -0.1 .475 .499 -0.1 0.0 -1 $ /1
8 Seasons 203 413 -42 0 0 0 31 -10 -1.2 14 4 -1.2 .494 .499 -1.1 -0.0 4 $
DET (5 yrs) 96 199 -17 0 0 0 14 -3 -0.4 7 4 -0.4 .496 .500 -0.3 -0.0 4 $
CLE (2 yrs) 11 24 -4 0 0 0 2 -2 -0.2 1 -1 -0.2 .480 .499 -0.2 0.0 -1 $
SLB (2 yrs) 78 149 -15 -0 0 0 12 -3 -0.4 5 2 -0.4 .495 .499 -0.4 -0.0 2 $
BOS (1 yr) 13 26 -3 0 0 0 2 -1 -0.1 1 0 -0.1 .492 .499 -0.1 0.0 0 $
CHW (1 yr) 5 15 -2 0 0 0 1 -1 -0.1 0 -1 -0.1 .475 .499 -0.1 0.0 -1 $

Advanced Batting

Year Age Tm Lg PA Outs RC RC/G AIR BAbip BA lgBA OBP lgOBP SLG lgSLG OPS lgOPS OPS+ OWn% BtRuns BtWins TotA SecA ISO PwrSpd
1911 24 CLE AL 19 17 0 0.0 97 .100 .059 .282 .111 .349 .118 .371 .229 .720 -36 .000 -3.2 -0.3 .188 .118 .059
1912 25 CLE AL 5 4 0 0.0 94 .000 .000 .276 .250 .345 .000 .363 .250 .709 -28 .000 -0.5 -0.1 .333 .333 .000
1914 27 SLB AL 97 85 2 0.6 79 .196 .112 .252 .151 .324 .146 .330 .297 .654 -9 .047 -12.1 -1.4 .198 .067 .034 .0
1915 28 TOT AL 78 56 5 2.4 83 .359 .222 .254 .310 .332 .270 .334 .580 .666 74 .342 -1.7 -0.2 .510 .143 .048
1915 28 SLB AL 52 40 2 1.3 80 .333 .190 .251 .261 .328 .238 .329 .499 .657 52 .152 -2.4 -0.3 .412 .119 .048
1915 28 DET AL 26 16 3 5.0 87 .400 .286 .261 .400 .340 .333 .343 .733 .683 115 .668 0.7 0.1 .733 .190 .048
1916 29 DET AL 53 47 0 0.0 85 .150 .068 .260 .128 .335 .068 .340 .196 .674 -42 .000 -7.9 -0.9 .146 .068 .000
1917 30 DET AL 69 47 4 2.3 79 .324 .211 .254 .328 .325 .211 .328 .539 .653 65 .330 -1.8 -0.2 .489 .175 .000
1918 31 DET AL 47 41 1 0.7 78 .147 .109 .255 .128 .325 .130 .325 .258 .650 -21 .045 -6.8 -0.8 .171 .043 .022
1919 32 TOT AL 45 37 1 0.7 93 .214 .154 .273 .195 .339 .154 .367 .349 .706 -0 .041 -5.3 -0.6 .242 .026 .000
1919 32 DET AL 4 3 0 0.0 93 .500 .250 .274 .250 .340 .250 .368 .500 .708 42 .000 -0.3 -0.0 .333 .000 .000
1919 32 BOS AL 26 21 1 1.3 91 .214 .143 .270 .217 .335 .143 .363 .360 .698 4 .108 -2.6 -0.3 .278 .048 .000
1919 32 CHW AL 15 13 0 0.0 96 .167 .143 .278 .143 .344 .143 .373 .286 .717 -20 .000 -2.3 -0.2 .167 .000 .000
8 Yrs 413 334 13 1.0 83 .232 .142 .258 .209 .330 .165 .337 .374 .667 12 .099 -39.2 -4.5 .285 .095 .022 .0
162 Game Avg. 330 267 10 1.0 83 .232 .142 .258 .209 .330 .165 .337 .374 .667 12 .099 -39.2 -4.5 .285 .095 .022
DET (5 yrs) 199 154 8 1.4 82 .250 .157 .257 .237 .330 .169 .333 .405 .662 23 .160 -16.1 -1.8 .324 .110 .012
CLE (2 yrs) 24 21 0 0.0 96 .091 .050 .281 .136 .348 .100 .370 .236 .718 -34 .000 -3.7 -0.4 .211 .150 .050
SLB (2 yrs) 149 125 4 0.9 80 .240 .137 .252 .187 .326 .176 .329 .363 .655 11 .077 -14.5 -1.7 .261 .084 .038 .0
BOS (1 yr) 26 21 1 1.3 91 .214 .143 .270 .217 .335 .143 .363 .360 .698 4 .108 -2.6 -0.3 .278 .048 .000
CHW (1 yr) 15 13 0 0.0 96 .167 .143 .278 .143 .344 .143 .373 .286 .717 -20 .000 -2.3 -0.2 .167 .000 .000

Postseason Batting

Year Age Tm Lg Series Opp Rslt G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
1919 32 CHW AL WS CIN L 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 WS 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0

Ratio Batting*

Year Age Tm Lg PA HR% SO% BB% XBH% X/H% SO/BB AB/SO AB/HR AB/RBI GB/FB GO/AO IP% LD% HR/FB IF/FB
1918 31 DET AL 47 0.0% 25.5% 2.1% 2.1% 20% 12.00 3.8 72%
1919 32 TOT AL 45 0.0% 24.4% 2.2% 0.0% 0% 11.00 3.5 19.5 62%
1919 32 DET AL 4 0.0% 50.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0% 2.0 4.0 50%
1919 32 BOS AL 26 0.0% 26.9% 3.9% 0.0% 0% 7.00 3.0 21.0 54%
1919 32 CHW AL 15 0.0% 13.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0% 7.0 80%
8 Yrs 92 0.0% 150.0% 29.4% 7.6% 14% 5.11 2.6 29.8 239%
MLB Averages 2.6% 55.4% 44.2% 28.6% 23% 1.25 9.0 190.8 10.0 439%

Cumulative Batting

Year Age G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
1911 24 8 19 17 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 7 .059 .111 .118 .229 -36 2 0 1
1912 25 11 24 20 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 9 .050 .136 .100 .236 -34 2 0 2
1913 26 11 24 20 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 9 .050 .136 .100 .236 -34 2 0 2
1914 27 55 121 109 5 11 2 1 0 3 1 2 6 47 .101 .148 .138 .285 -14 15 0 6
1915 28 100 199 172 11 25 5 1 0 7 1 2 12 71 .145 .210 .186 .396 19 32 2 13
1916 29 130 252 216 14 28 5 1 0 8 1 2 15 95 .130 .193 .162 .355 6 35 2 19
1917 30 164 321 273 21 40 5 1 0 10 1 2 25 115 .147 .223 .172 .395 19 47 2 21
1918 31 183 368 319 21 45 6 1 0 10 1 2 26 127 .141 .210 .166 .377 14 53 2 21
1919 32 203 413 358 25 51 6 1 0 12 1 2 27 138 .142 .209 .165 .374 12 59 3 25

Neutralized Batting

Change to: Default / 750 Runs / 1968 Dodgers / 2000 Rockies or

All seasons are converted to 162-game seasons &
average team scoring of 716 total runs (4.42 R/G)
How this works
Year Age G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS RC Gact
1911 24 8 20 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 .000 .053 .000 .053 0 8
1912 25 3 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 .250 .000 .250 0 3
1914 27 45 99 91 4 10 1 1 0 2 1 4 39 .110 .147 .143 .290 2 44
1915 28 47 83 67 7 16 3 0 0 5 0 7 25 .239 .329 .284 .613 6 45
1916 29 31 55 46 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 25 .000 .061 .000 .061 0 30
1917 30 35 75 61 9 14 0 0 0 3 0 12 21 .230 .356 .230 .586 5 34
1918 31 24 60 59 0 7 1 0 0 0 0 1 15 .119 .133 .136 .269 1 19
1919 32 23 52 45 4 7 0 0 0 2 0 1 13 .156 .191 .156 .347 1 20
8 Yrs 216 449 390 24 54 5 1 0 12 1 30 147 .138 .206 .156 .362 15 203
162 Game Avg. 162 337 293 18 41 4 1 0 9 1 23 110 .138 .206 .156 .362 11 203

Other Resources & Links

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Viewed 7,111 times through May 31, 2012.
Name and misspellings: Big William Will William Henry billy Bill James jimmie jimmy jim

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