Big Bill James

:"Two 1910s pitchers shared the Bill James name, and both were part of famous World Series teams. As they pitched at around the same time, both required nicknames to be told apart; see also Seattle Bill James"----William Henry (Big Bill) James (January 20, 1887 - May 25, 1942) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1911 through 1919, he played for the Cleveland Indians (1911-1912), St. Louis Browns (1915 ["start"] ), Detroit Tigers (1915 ["end"] -1919 ["start"] ), Boston Red Sox (1919 ["mid"] ) and Chicago White Sox (1919 ["end"] ). James was a switch hitter and threw right handed. He was born in Detroit, Michigan.

In an eight-season career, James posted a 65-71 record with 408 strikeouts and a 3.20 ERA in 1179.2 innings pitched. James died in Venice, California, at age of 55.

Best Seasons

*1914: 15 wins, 109 SO, 2.85 ERA, 20 complete games, three shutouts, 284 innings.
* 1917: 13 wins, career-bests with 2.09 ERA (7th best in AL), 126 Adjusted ERA+ (8th in AL), 7.41 hits allowed per 9 innings pitched (8th in AL), and 12 batters hit by pitch (3rd in AL).

Postseason Appearances

*1919 World Series: 0-0, two SO, 4.2 innings

Fact

*James was one of the clean members on the 1919 Chicago White Sox team which was made famous by the Black Sox scandal. Even so, Big Bill gave up 8 hits, 3 walks, and 3 earned runs for a 5.79 ERA in 4-2/3 innings pitched in the 1919 World Series.

ee also

* 1915 Detroit Tigers season

External links

*baseball-reference|id=j/jamesbi01