John Phillip James (born July 23, 1933) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

who played for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

and

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

between and . James was originally signed by the Yankees in . He batted left-handed but threw right-handed, and he was , 160 pounds. He attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. In his 1958 debut season, he played in only one game. Appearing in relief for

Art Ditmar Arthur John Ditmar (April 3, 1929 – June 11, 2021) was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played with the Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics (1954–56, 1961–62) and the New York Yankees (1957–61) ...

(who had given up seven earned runs in six innings of work) on September 6, James pitched three innings of scoreless baseball, walking four batters and striking out one. He also had one at-bat in that game and struck out. He did not play in the major leagues in 1959, but he did appear in 28 games in relief for the Yankees in 1960. He earned a spot on the team by being a part of a

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

no-hitter. In 43 innings of work, he posted a 5–1 record, allowing 21 earned runs and striking out 29 batters. He walked 26. He also saved two games. 1961 would end up being his final season in the majors. He pitched in only one game for the Yankees that year before being traded to the Angels with

Ryne Duren Rinold George "Ryne" Duren (February 22, 1929 – January 6, 2011) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was known for the combination of his blazing fastball and his very ...

for

Tex Clevenger Truman Eugene "Tex" Clevenger (July 9, 1932 – August 24, 2019) was an American Major League Baseball relief pitcher and spot starter who played for the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees from 1954 t ...

and

Bob Cerv Robert Henry Cerv ( ; May 5, 1925 – April 6, 2017) was an American professional baseball left fielder. Prior to his professional career, he was a collegiate baseball and basketball player at the University of Nebraska. He was born in Weston, ...

on May 8.Yanks, Angels complete six player trade
/ref> In 36 games with the Angels, he posted a 5.30 ERA. Overall that season, he walked 54 batters and struck out 43. His record was 0–2. That season, James surrendered the 20th home run in

Roger Maris Roger Eugene Maris (born Maras; September 10, 1934 – December 14, 1985) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is best known for setting a new List of Major League Baseball p ...

' then-record 61 home run campaign. His career ended on October 1 of that year. He had a 5–3 record in 66 career games, starting 3 games. In 119 innings of work, he walked 84 and struck out 73, finishing with a 4.76 ERA. Though he went hitless in 17 at-bats (striking out 8 times), he did score three runs. He was a perfect fielder, handling 25

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

(4 putouts, 21 assists) for a 1.000

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

. He wore three numbers in his career: 27 in 1958, 53 in 1959 and 1960, and 22 in 1961.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Johnny 1933 births Living people Baseball players from Idaho Boise Yankees players Binghamton Triplets players Birmingham Barons players Dallas Rangers players 20th-century American sportsmen Hawaii Islanders players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Modesto Reds players New York Yankees players People from Bonners Ferry, Idaho Richmond Virginians (minor league) players USC Trojans baseball players Tri-City Braves players Hollywood High School alumni