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Jim Spencer

James Lloyd Spencer (Spence)

Position: First Baseman
Bats: Left, Throws: Left
Height: 6' 2", Weight: 195 lb.

Born: July 30, 1946 in Hanover, PA
High School: Andover HS (Glen Burnie, MD)
Drafted by the California Angels in the 1st round (11th pick) of the 1965 amateur draft. (All Transactions)
Debut: September 7, 1968 (Age 22)
Teams (by GP): Angels/Rangers/Yankees/WhiteSox/Athletics 1968-1982

Final Game: June 20, 1982 (Age 35)
Died: February 10, 2002 in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Buried: Mount Pleasant United Methodist Cemetery, Taneytown, MD
Relatives: Grandson of Ben Spencer
    About biographical information

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All-Star

Fan EloRater

Fine Details  · Last updated May 16, 2013 3:17AM
All-Time Rank (among batters): #1677. Drew Stubbs… #1678. Ryan Theriot… #1679. Jonny Gomes… #1680. JIM SPENCER… #1681. John Flaherty… #1682. George Hall… #1683. Jack Manning… 

Standard Batting

More Stats

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
1968 21 CAL AL 19 73 68 2 13 1 0 0 5 0 0 3 10 .191 .233 .206 .439 37 14 2 1 0 1 0 3
1969 22 CAL AL 113 422 386 39 98 14 3 10 31 1 0 26 53 .254 .304 .383 .688 97 148 6 2 8 0 6 3
1970 23 CAL AL 146 550 511 61 140 20 4 12 68 0 2 28 61 .274 .309 .399 .708 98 204 9 0 6 5 6 *3 GG
1971 24 CAL AL 148 572 510 50 121 21 2 18 59 0 1 48 63 .237 .304 .392 .696 104 200 16 3 6 5 7 *3
1972 25 CAL AL 82 225 212 13 47 5 0 1 14 0 1 12 25 .222 .262 .259 .522 60 55 8 0 0 1 1 37
1973 26 TOT AL 131 489 439 45 115 16 5 6 54 0 3 43 50 .262 .329 .362 .691 100 159 11 2 2 3 7 *3/D AS
1973 26 CAL AL 29 99 87 10 21 4 2 2 11 0 0 9 9 .241 .316 .402 .719 110 35 3 1 1 1 1 3/D
1973 26 TEX AL 102 390 352 35 94 12 3 4 43 0 3 34 41 .267 .332 .352 .684 98 124 8 1 1 2 6 3/D
1974 27 TEX AL 118 384 352 36 98 11 4 7 44 1 2 22 27 .278 .323 .392 .715 108 138 8 3 3 4 3 3D
1975 28 TEX AL 132 443 403 50 107 18 1 11 47 0 1 35 43 .266 .327 .397 .724 105 160 9 2 2 1 6 3D
1976 29 CHW AL 150 578 518 53 131 13 2 14 70 6 4 49 52 .253 .315 .367 .682 99 190 10 1 4 7 19 *3/D
1977 30 CHW AL 128 515 470 56 116 16 1 18 69 1 2 36 50 .247 .300 .400 .700 90 188 11 2 2 5 11 *3 GG
1978 31 NYY AL 71 166 150 12 34 9 1 7 24 0 1 15 32 .227 .295 .440 .735 107 66 4 0 0 1 3 D3
1979 32 NYY AL 106 336 295 60 85 15 3 23 53 0 2 38 25 .288 .367 .593 .960 157 175 12 0 1 2 11 D3
1980 33 NYY AL 97 295 259 38 61 9 0 13 43 1 0 30 44 .236 .313 .421 .734 102 109 7 1 1 4 2 3D/7
1981 34 TOT AL 79 255 234 20 44 8 0 4 13 1 0 19 27 .188 .247 .274 .521 54 64 8 0 0 2 3 *3
1981 34 NYY AL 25 72 63 6 9 2 0 2 4 0 0 9 7 .143 .250 .270 .520 52 17 3 0 0 0 2 3
1981 34 OAK AL 54 183 171 14 35 6 0 2 9 1 0 10 20 .205 .246 .275 .521 54 47 5 0 0 2 1 3
1982 35 OAK AL 33 105 101 6 17 3 1 2 5 0 0 3 20 .168 .190 .277 .468 30 28 3 0 0 1 1 3
15 Yrs 1553 5408 4908 541 1227 179 27 146 599 11 19 407 582 .250 .307 .387 .694 98 1898 124 17 35 42 86
162 Game Avg. 162 564 512 56 128 19 3 15 62 1 2 42 61 .250 .307 .387 .694 98 198 13 2 4 4 9
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
CAL (6 yrs) 537 1941 1774 175 440 65 11 43 188 1 4 126 221 .248 .298 .370 .668 94 656 44 7 21 13 21
NYY (4 yrs) 299 869 767 116 189 35 4 45 124 1 3 92 108 .246 .325 .478 .804 121 367 26 1 2 7 18
TEX (3 yrs) 352 1217 1107 121 299 41 8 22 134 1 6 91 111 .270 .327 .381 .708 104 422 25 6 6 7 15
OAK (2 yrs) 87 288 272 20 52 9 1 4 14 1 0 13 40 .191 .226 .276 .501 45 75 8 0 0 3 2
CHW (2 yrs) 278 1093 988 109 247 29 3 32 139 7 6 85 102 .250 .308 .383 .690 94 378 21 3 6 12 30

Player Value--Batters

WAR Explained (v2.2): 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
1968 21 CAL AL 19 73 -4 -0 0 3 -1 -2 -0.3 2 1 -0.0 .488 .499 -0.4 0.3 -3 3
1969 22 CAL AL 113 422 -2 -1 0 -2 -6 -10 -1.2 14 4 0.2 .490 .493 0.5 -0.9 6 3
1970 23 CAL AL 146 550 -4 1 0 2 -8 -9 -1.1 19 10 0.9 .493 .494 0.7 -0.7 8 *3 GG
1971 24 CAL AL 148 572 -1 -1 -1 2 -8 -9 -1.1 20 11 0.9 .493 .494 0.7 -0.7 9 *3
1972 25 CAL AL 82 225 -9 -1 -0 -3 -3 -16 -2.1 8 -8 -1.2 .475 .488 -0.8 -0.8 -5 37
1973 26 CAL AL 29 99 -0 0 0 -1 -1 -3 -0.3 4 1 0.1 .490 .498 0.2 -0.3 2 3/D AS
1973 26 TEX AL 102 390 -2 -4 0 2 -5 -8 -0.7 14 6 0.6 .491 .495 0.3 -0.2 4 $27,000 3/D AS
1974 27 TEX AL 118 384 2 -2 1 -1 -8 -8 -0.8 14 6 0.5 .493 .495 0.6 -1.0 7 $35,000 3D
1975 28 TEX AL 132 443 0 -1 1 1 -8 -7 -0.7 16 9 0.8 .494 .495 0.8 -0.7 8 $47,000 3D
1976 29 CHW AL 150 578 -6 -2 0 -2 -8 -18 -2.0 21 3 0.1 .486 .487 0.3 -1.1 5 *3/D
1977 30 CHW AL 128 515 -11 -1 -0 -1 -7 -20 -2.0 18 -2 -0.3 .483 .487 -0.1 -0.8 -1 $70,000 *3 GG
1978 31 NYY AL 71 166 -0 -0 -1 0 -4 -5 -0.6 6 1 0.0 .492 .496 0.0 -0.4 1 D3
1979 32 NYY AL 106 336 20 -1 -2 0 -8 10 1.0 12 22 2.1 .509 .506 2.1 -0.8 21 D3
1980 33 NYY AL 97 295 -2 1 0 -6 -6 -12 -1.2 10 -2 -0.2 .487 .492 0.3 -1.1 4 3D/7
1981 34 NYY AL 25 72 -5 -0 -0 1 -1 -5 -0.6 2 -2 -0.3 .477 .496 -0.5 0.0 -4 3
1981 34 OAK AL 54 183 -11 0 -0 2 -2 -11 -1.3 6 -5 -0.7 .476 .492 -0.8 -0.1 -7 3
1982 35 OAK AL 33 105 -10 -1 -1 1 -1 -12 -1.2 4 -8 -0.9 .463 .492 -1.0 -0.1 -9 3
15 Seasons 1553 5408 -43 -13 -2 -0 -86 -145 -16.0 190 45 2.7 .489 .494 3.1 -9.4 45 $179,000
Lg G PA Rbat Rbaser Rdp Rfield Rpos RAA WAA Rrep RAR WAR waaWL% 162WL% oWAR dWAR oRAR Salary Pos Awards
CAL (6 yrs) 537 1941 -19 -2 -1 2 -28 -48 -6.0 67 19 0.9 .489 .494 1.0 -3.2 17
NYY (4 yrs) 299 869 13 -0 -2 -4 -19 -13 -1.3 31 18 1.6 .495 .498 2.0 -2.3 22
TEX (3 yrs) 352 1217 0 -6 2 2 -21 -23 -2.2 44 20 2.0 .493 .495 1.7 -1.9 18 $109,000
OAK (2 yrs) 87 288 -20 -1 -1 3 -4 -23 -2.5 10 -13 -1.6 .471 .492 -1.8 -0.1 -16
CHW (2 yrs) 278 1093 -17 -4 0 -3 -14 -38 -4.0 39 1 -0.2 .485 .487 0.2 -1.9 4 $70,000

Postseason Batting

Postseason Gamelog
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
1978 31 NYY AL WS LAD W 4 14 12 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 .167 .286 .167 .452 2 0 0 0 0 0
1980 33 NYY AL ALCS KCR L 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0
1981 34 OAK AL ALDS KCR W 1 4 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 .250 .500 .750 2 0 0 0 0 0
1981 34 OAK AL ALCS NYY L 2 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 Yrs (4 Series) 8 22 20 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 .150 .227 .200 .427 4 0 0 0 0 0
1 ALDS 1 4 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 .250 .500 .750 2 0 0 0 0 0
2 ALCS 3 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 WS 4 14 12 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 .167 .286 .167 .452 2 0 0 0 0 0

Standard Fielding

More Stats

Adv Fielding w/ run summary
Year Tm Lg Age Pos G GS CG Inn Ch PO A E DP Fld% Rtot Rtot/yr RF/9 RF/G lgFld% lgRF9 lgRFG Awards
1968 CAL AL 21 1B 19 19 19 168.0 171 152 18 1 15 .994 3 24 9.11 8.95 .989 9.59 9.54
1969 CAL AL 22 1B 107 100 97 906.0 1001 926 66 9 81 .991 -2 -2 9.85 9.27 .992 9.63 9.62
1970 CAL AL 23 1B 142 135 123 1203.2 1304 1212 85 7 131 .995 2 2 9.70 9.13 .991 9.59 9.56 GG
1971 CAL AL 24 1B 145 135 126 1251.0 1394 1296 93 5 117 .996 2 2 9.99 9.58 .992 9.59 9.53
1972 CAL AL 25 1B 35 30 26 266.0 292 267 22 3 25 .990 -2 -7 9.78 8.26 .991 9.75 9.71
1972 CAL AL 25 LF 24 21 10 161.2 22 21 1 0 0 1.000 -1 -10 1.22 0.92 .980 1.89 1.89
1972 CAL AL 25 OF 24 21 10 161.2 23 22 1 0 0 1.000 -1 -10 1.28 0.96 .983 2.22 2.21
1973 TOT AL 26 1B 125 112 103 1027.0 1069 994 74 1 110 .999 1 1 9.36 8.54 .992 9.86 9.80 AS
1973 TOT AL 26 DH 2 1 AS
1973 CAL AL 26 1B 26 24 23 218.0 211 204 7 0 24 1.000 -1 -7 8.71 8.12 .992 9.86 9.80
1973 CAL AL 26 DH 1 1
1973 TEX AL 26 1B 99 88 80 809.0 858 790 67 1 86 .999 2 3 9.53 8.66 .992 9.86 9.80
1973 TEX AL 26 DH 1 0
1974 TEX AL 27 1B 60 40 32 388.2 417 389 27 1 36 .998 -1 -3 9.63 6.93 .992 9.70 9.66
1974 TEX AL 27 DH 54 53
1975 TEX AL 28 1B 99 90 64 770.0 919 844 70 5 92 .995 1 1 10.68 9.23 .990 9.84 9.81
1975 TEX AL 28 DH 25 22
1976 CHW AL 29 1B 143 135 126 1208.1 1320 1206 112 2 116 .998 -2 -2 9.82 9.22 .992 9.85 9.89
1976 CHW AL 29 DH 2 1
1977 CHW AL 30 1B 125 123 115 1078.0 1077 977 90 10 76 .991 -1 -2 8.91 8.54 .990 10.02 9.95 GG
1978 NYY AL 31 DH 35 30
1978 NYY AL 31 1B 15 8 8 85.0 97 90 7 0 4 1.000 0 0 10.27 6.47 .992 10.05 9.95
1979 NYY AL 32 DH 71 61
1979 NYY AL 32 1B 26 25 22 232.1 251 232 17 2 35 .992 0 1 9.65 9.58 .992 10.08 9.96
1980 NYY AL 33 1B 75 62 46 555.2 614 567 41 6 51 .990 -6 -12 9.85 8.11 .992 10.02 10.00
1980 NYY AL 33 DH 15 3
1980 NYY AL 33 LF 1 0 0 2.0 1 1 0 0 0 1.000 0 60 4.50 1.00 .980 2.25 2.40
1981 TOT AL 34 1B 73 62 52 573.0 570 516 53 1 47 .998 3 7 8.94 7.79 .993 10.06 10.03
1981 NYY AL 34 1B 25 20 12 178.0 189 172 17 0 17 1.000 1 9 9.56 7.56 .993 10.06 10.03
1981 OAK AL 34 1B 48 42 40 395.0 381 344 36 1 30 .997 2 5 8.66 7.92 .993 10.06 10.03
1982 OAK AL 35 1B 32 26 22 233.1 254 230 22 2 20 .992 1 5 9.72 7.88 .992 9.85 9.81
15 Seasons 1B 1221 1102 981 9946.0 10750 9898 797 55 956 .995 1 0 9.68 8.76 .991 9.80 9.77
2 Seasons LF 25 21 10 163.2 23 22 1 0 0 1.000 -1 -9 1.26 0.92 .980 1.90 1.91
1 Season OF 24 21 10 161.2 23 22 1 0 0 1.000 -1 -10 1.28 0.96 .983 2.22 2.21
15 Seasons TOT 1245 1123 991 10107.2 10773 9920 798 55 956 .995 -0 -0 9.54 8.61 .991 9.68 9.62
Lg Pos G GS CG Inn Ch PO A E DP Fld% Rtot Rtot/yr RF/9 RF/G lgFld% lgRF9 lgRFG Awards
Note: Fielding stats are a combination of official records and RetroSheet records. Both are likely to have substantial errors and will not match perfectly.
View Complete Notes on Fielding Data
Leagues historically made no effort to balance team, league, and player fielding stats. Since 1990 or so, computers have made this feasible, but prior to that there are hundreds or thousands of discrepancies each year in games played (even whether a player played a position), putouts, assists, double plays and errors.
  • Pre-1945 SB & CS data for catchers is estimated from catcher assists, games started and opposition stolen bases.
  • From 1945 on SB, CS, Pickoff, & WP data for catchers and pitchers is taken from play-by-play accounts in the retrosheet files. There are several hundred games without pbp from 1945 to 1973 and for those we may not have any data.
  • CG & GS come from the retrosheet data and should be complete and pretty accurate from 1916 on.
  • Innings played (like SB and CS) come from the retrosheet play-by-play data and should be considered mostly complete from 1945 to 1973 and complete from then on.
  • Stats (PO,A,G, etc) for LF-CF-RF positions (since 1916) is taken from play-by-play or box score data as available.
  • Stats (PO,A,G,etc) for C,P,1B,2B,3B,SS,OF positions is taken from the official reported totals and may have been corrected at various times since their publication.
  • For detailed information on which games retrosheet is missing play-by-play from 1945 to 1973, please see their most wanted games list
  • For detailed information on the availability of data on this site by year, see our data coverage page

Appearances on Leader Boards, Awards, and Honors

Stats are Year-Value-Rank · Glossary

Hall of Fame
1988 BBWAA ()

All-Star Games
1973 *

Gold Gloves
1970 AL (1B)
1977 AL (1B)
All multiple winners

Intentional Bases on Balls s c a p y
1976 AL  19 (1st)
1977 AL  11 (3rd)
1979 AL  11 (5th)
Career  86 (155th)

Putouts† s c a p y
1970 AL  1,212 (1st)
1971 AL  1,296 (1st)
1973 AL  994 (5th)

Def. Games as 1B s c a p y
1970 AL  142 (3rd)
1971 AL  145 (1st)
1973 AL  125 (5th)
1976 AL  143 (5th)
Career  1,221 (93rd)

Putouts as 1B s c a p y
1970 AL  1,212 (1st)
1971 AL  1,296 (1st)
1973 AL  994 (5th)

Assists as 1B s c a p y
1970 AL  85 (4th)
1971 AL  93 (1st)
1973 AL  74 (5th)
1976 AL  112 (1st)
Career  797 (85th)

Errors Committed as 1B s c a p y
1969 AL  9 (5th)

Double Plays Turned as 1B s c a p y
1970 AL  131 (1st)
1971 AL  117 (3rd)
1973 AL  110 (4th)
1976 AL  116 (5th)
Career  956 (86th)

Total Zone Runs as 1B s c a p y
1970 AL  2 (5th)
1981 AL  3 (4th)

Range Factor/9Inn as 1B† s c a p y
1970 AL  9.70 (5th)
1971 AL  9.99 (2nd)
1975 AL  10.68 (1st)
Career  9.64 (57th)

Range Factor/Game as 1B s c a p y
1969 AL  9.27 (4th)
1970 AL  9.13 (3rd)
1971 AL  9.58 (2nd)
1975 AL  9.23 (3rd)

Fielding % as 1B s c a p y
1970 AL  .995 (1st)
1971 AL  .996 (1st)
1973 AL  .999 (1st)
1976 AL  .998 (1st)
1981 AL  .998 (2nd)
Career  .995 (23rd)

                           

Hall Of Fame Statistics

Player rank in (·)

Hall of Fame MonitorBatting - 5 (1555), Likely HOFer ≈ 100
Hall of Fame StandardsBatting - 5 (2382), Average HOFer ≈ 50
JAWS First Base (272nd), 2.7 career WAR/6.1 7yr-peak WAR/4.4 JAWS
Average HOF 1B (out of 19) = 68.2 career WAR/43.2 7yr-peak WAR/55.7 JAWS

Similarity Scores

Explanation of Similarity Scores
Similar Batters 
 View Similar Player Links in Pop-up
 Compare Stats to Similars
  1. Ed Kranepool (910)
  2. Ken McMullen (905)
  3. Walt Dropo (898)
  4. Ken Henderson (898)
  5. Willie Upshaw (897)
  6. Mickey Stanley (896)
  7. Jerry Morales (895)
  8. Eddie Robinson (895)
  9. Pete O'Brien (891)
  10. Candy Maldonado (890)
Most Similar by Ages 
 View Similar Player Links in Pop-up
 Hold mouse over #'s to see names
  1. Howie Schultz (966)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  2. George Scott (969)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  3. Dan Meyer (968)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  4. Phil Todt (946)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  5. Casey Kotchman (951)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  6. Casey Kotchman (946)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  7. Casey Kotchman (953)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  8. Dan Meyer (945)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  9. Dan Meyer (936)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  10. Pete O'Brien (936)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  11. Pete O'Brien (921)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  12. Ed Kranepool (907)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  13. Ken McMullen (905)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C

Transactions

The transaction information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. We attempt to update transactions throughout the season.

Salaries

 Salaries may not be complete (especially pre-1985) and may not include some earned bonuses
Year Age Team Salary Sources Notes/Other Sources
197326Texas Rangers$27,000Noll/Fort/Hylan database
197427Texas Rangers$35,000Noll/Fort/Hylan database
197528Texas Rangers$47,0001976 Guide; 3/15/75 TSN; Timmerman dbasePlayer win; $42,500 offer
197730Chicago White Sox$70,000TSN salary survey, 4/23/77
Career to date (may be incomplete)$179,000
Primary salary Data (about) courtesy Doug Pappas, and the Society for American Baseball Research.
Additional 1915-1969 salaries researched via Baseball Hall of Fame contract archives by Dr. Michael Haupert of UW-LaCrosse.
Salaries for mid-season call-ups or traded players may not be shown.
Salaries converted to alternate years using Consumer Price Index (CPI) data courtesty of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Board.

Other Resources & Links

Error?     Compare     Search SABR's Baseball Index     Other Links@google.com     Baseball Library     Baseball-Almanac.com     DeadBallEra Obituary     DeadBallEra Obituary     Retrosheet     The Baseball Cube     WahooSam.com     WhatIfSports: Jim Spencer    

Viewed 21,061 times through May 15, 2013.
Name and misspellings: James james Jim jimmie jimmy Lloyd Spence Spencer

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