James Charles Jacob Bagby Sr. (October 5, 1889 – July 28, 1954) was an American right-handed starting pitcher in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. Bagby was the first pitcher to hit a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

in a modern

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

, and one of the last pitchers to win over 30 games in one season (31–12 in 1920).

Biography

A native of Barnett, Georgia, Bagby began his playing career with the Cincinnati Reds in 1912. His pitching records that year were not impressive, so the Reds let him go. He returned to major league baseball with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * J ...

. Bagby posted 23 wins in

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...

, following with 17 wins the next two campaigns. The 1920 Indians team was powered with stars such as

Tris Speaker Tristram Edgar Speaker (April 4, 1888 – December 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Gray Eagle", was an American professional baseball player. Considered one of the greatest players in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB), he compiled a career ba ...

Stan Coveleski Stanley Anthony Coveleski (born Stanislaus Kowalewski, July 13, 1889 – March 20, 1984) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for four American League (AL) teams between and , primarily the Cleveland Indians. ...

and

Ray Caldwell Raymond Benjamin Caldwell (April 26, 1888 – August 17, 1967) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Cleveland Indians from 1910 to 1921. He was known f ...

, and minor-league call-up

Duster Mails John Walter "Duster" Mails (October 1, 1894 – July 5, 1974) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Robins (1915–16), Cleveland Indians (1920–22) and St. Louis Cardinals (1925–26). Mails pitched for three pennant ...

Charlie Jamieson Charles Devine "Cuckoo" Jamieson (February 7, 1893 – October 27, 1969) was an American baseball player, an outfielder for the Washington Senators (1915–17), Philadelphia Athletics (1917–18) and Cleveland Indians (1919–32). Professional ...

, Elmer Smith and Bagby. On September 2 of that year, Bagby won his 31st game of the season, defeating the Tigers 10–1 in a game that clinched the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

pennant for the Indians. Since that game was played, only three other pitchers have collected 30 victories in one season:

Dizzy Dean Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean (January 16, 1910 – July 17, 1974), also known as Jerome Herman Dean (both the 1910 and 1920 Censuses show his name as "Jay"), was an American professional baseball pitcher. During his Major League Baseball (MLB) career ...

Lefty Grove Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove (March 6, 1900 – May 22, 1975) was an American professional baseball pitcher. After having success in the minor leagues during the early 1920s, Grove became a star in Major League Baseball with the American League's P ...

and

Denny McLain Dennis Dale McLain (born March 29, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for ten seasons in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher, most prominently as a member of the Detroit Tigers. In 1968, McLain beca ...

. On October 10, Bagby's turn to make World Series history came in Game 5. It was a game filled with World Series firsts, as Elmer Smith became the first player in the Series history to hit a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

in the game's first inning. During the game's fourth inning, Bagby came to bat with two men on bases, hitting the first home run by a pitcher in modern World Series history. The following inning, another of Bagby's teammates,

Bill Wambsganss William Adolf Wambsganss (March 19, 1894 – December 8, 1985) was a second baseman in Major League Baseball. From 1914 through 1926, Wambsganss played for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, and Philadelphia Athletics. He is best remembered ...

, turned in the first

unassisted triple play In baseball, an unassisted triple play occurs when a defensive player makes all three outs by himself in one continuous play, without his teammates making any assists. Neal Ball was the first to achieve this in Major League Baseball (MLB) under ...

in World Series history. In 1921, it was Bagby's pitch that

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

hit as his record-breaking 120th home run. Before the

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

season Bagby was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He retired at the end of the season. In a nine-season career, Bagby posted a 127–89 record with 450 strikeouts and a 3.11

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in 1821.2 innings pitched. In World Series play, he had a 1–1 record with an ERA of 1.80. Bagby was a good hitting pitcher in the majors, posting a .218

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(144-for-660) with 69 runs, 35 doubles, 6 triples, 2 home runs, 60 RBI and drawing 32 bases on balls. Baseball historians Bill James and

Rob Neyer Rob Neyer (born June 22, 1966) is an American baseball writer known for his use of statistical analysis or sabermetrics. He started his career working for Bill James and STATS and then joined ESPN.com as a columnist and blogger from 1996 to 2011. ...

have ranked Bagby's

screwball A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known ...

the ninth-best of all time. Jim Bagby sr and jr

His son, Jim Bagby Jr., was also a major leaguer who played for the

Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, Indians and Pirates. The Bagbys became the first father and son to pitch in the World Series when Jim Jr. appeared for the 1946 Red Sox. Jim Bagby died in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth larges ...

at age 64. He was survived by his son Jim Jr. and two daughters, Mabel Moore and Elizabeth (Betty) Fincher.

References

External links

, o
Baseball Library profile and chronologySABR Biography Project article
o

o
Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
o

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagby, Jim Sr. 1889 births 1954 deaths American League wins champions Atlanta Crackers players Augusta Tourists players Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Cincinnati Reds players Cleveland Indians players Cleveland Naps players Hattiesburg Timberjacks players Hattiesburg Woodpeckers players Jersey City Skeeters players Major League Baseball pitchers Minor league baseball managers Monroe Drillers players Montgomery Billikens players Montgomery Rebels players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Newark Bears (IL) players People from Warren County, Georgia Pittsburgh Pirates players Rochester Tribe players Screwball pitchers Seattle Indians players York White Roses players

Biography

See also

References

External links