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Full Name: James Leroy Bottomley Primary Position: 1B
Height/Weight: 6' 0"/180 First Game: August 18, 1922
Birthdate: April 23, 1900 Final Game: September 16, 1937
Birthplace: Oglesby, Illinois MLB Experience: 16 years
Died: December 11, 1959
Deathplace: St. Louis, Missouri
Bat/Throw: Left/Left
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Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974

Biography[]

James Leroy Bottomley (April 23, 1900 - December 11, 1959), nicknamed "Sunny Jim", was a left-handed Major League Baseball player. He also served as player-manager for the St. Louis Browns in 1937.

As a first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals (1922–1932), Cincinnati Reds (1933–1935) and St. Louis Browns (1936–1937), Bottomley was noted for his upbeat demeanor and ability to drive in runs. He had over 100 RBIs in each season from 1924 to 1929.

Bottomley's best season came in 1928, when he hit .325 with 31 home runs and 136 RBIs. That year, he won the National League Most Valuable Player award and led the Cardinals to the World Series, where they lost to the New York Yankees.

He set the Major League record for RBIs in a single game, with 12, set on September 16, 1924 (since tied by Mark Whiten) and holds the single-season record for most unassisted double plays by a first baseman, with eight. "Sunny" is also known as the only man to be sued for hitting a home run when a fan was hit by the ball when he wasn't looking.

After his career ended, Bottomley moved to near Bourbon, Missouri, where he raised hereford cattle. He spent the last years of his life in nearby Sullivan, Missouri, where he and his wife were eventually laid to rest in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery.

"Sunny Jim" Bottomley was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame posthumously in 1974.

Statistics[]

Batting Stats[]

Year Team G AB R H HR RBI AVG OBP SLG 2B 3B BB SO HBP SH SB IBB GDP
1922 STL N 37 151 29 49 5 35 .325 .358 .543 8 5 6 13 2 2 3 0 1
1923 STL N 134 523 79 194 8 94 .371 .425 .535 34 14 45 44 4 15 4 0 0
1924 STL N 137 528 87 167 14 111 .316 .362 .500 31 12 35 35 3 17 5 0 0
1925 STL N 153 619 92 227 21 128 .367 .413 .578 44 12 47 36 2 13 3 0 0
1926 STL N 154 603 98 180 19 120 .299 .364 .506 40 14 58 52 4 19 4 0 0
1927 STL N 152 574 95 174 19 124 .303 .387 .509 31 15 74 49 5 26 8 0 0
1928 STL N 149 576 123 187 31 136 .325 .402 .628 42 20 71 54 3 17 10 0 0
1929 STL N 146 560 108 176 29 137 .314 .391 .568 31 12 70 54 1 17 3 0 0
1930 STL N 131 487 92 148 15 97 .304 .368 .493 33 7 44 36 5 24 5 0 0
1931 STL N 108 382 73 133 9 75 .348 .403 .534 34 5 34 24 1 2 3 0 0
1932 STL N 91 311 45 92 11 48 .296 .350 .473 16 3 25 32 1 2 2 0 0
1933 CIN N 145 549 57 137 13 83 .250 .311 .395 23 9 42 28 7 11 3 0 13
1934 CIN N 142 556 72 158 11 78 .284 .324 .439 31 11 33 40 0 3 1 0 9
1935 CIN N 107 399 44 103 1 49 .258 .294 .323 21 1 18 24 2 4 3 0 11
1936 STL A 140 544 72 162 12 95 .298 .354 .476 39 11 44 55 3 5 0 0 0
1937 STL A 65 109 11 26 1 12 .239 .346 .330 7 0 18 15 0 0 1 0 0
Total NL 1786 6818 1094 2125 206 1315 .312 .371 .505 419 140 602 521 40 172 57 0 34
Total AL 205 653 83 188 13 107 .288 .352 .452 46 11 62 70 3 5 1 0 0
Total 1991 7471 1177 2313 219 1422 .310 .369 .500 465 151 664 591 43 177 58 0 34

Fielding Stats[]

Year Team POS G GS INN PO A ERR DP TP PB SB CS PkO AVG
1922 STL N 1B 34 33 94.2 346 12 5 22 0 0 0 0 0 .986
1923 STL N 1B 130 0 0 1264 43 18 95 0 0 0 0 0 .986
1924 STL N 1B 133 0 0 1297 48 24 110 0 0 0 0 0 .982
1924 STL N 2B 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1925 STL N 1B 153 0 0 1466 74 21 133 0 0 0 0 0 .987
1926 STL N 1B 154 0 0 1607 54 19 118 0 0 0 0 0 .989
1927 STL N 1B 152 0 0 1656 70 20 149 0 0 0 0 0 .989
1928 STL N 1B 148 0 0 1454 52 20 113 0 0 0 0 0 .987
1929 STL N 1B 145 0 0 1347 75 13 122 0 0 0 0 0 .991
1930 STL N 1B 124 0 0 1164 41 12 127 0 0 0 0 0 .990
1931 STL N 1B 93 0 0 897 43 12 95 0 0 0 0 0 .987
1932 STL N 1B 74 0 0 662 41 10 67 0 0 0 0 0 .986
1933 CIN N 1B 145 0 0 1511 72 15 112 0 0 0 0 0 .991
1934 CIN N 1B 139 0 0 1303 77 15 106 0 0 0 0 0 .989
1935 CIN N 1B 97 0 0 934 53 8 74 0 0 0 0 0 .992
1936 STL A 1B 140 0 0 1250 47 10 103 0 0 0 0 0 .992
1937 STL A 1B 24 0 0 179 12 1 16 0 0 0 0 0 .995
Total 2B 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
Total 1B 1885 33 94.2 18337 814 223 1562 0 0 0 0 0 .988

Transactions[]

  • Signed as a non-drafted free agent by St. Louis Cardinals (1920).
  • Traded by St. Louis Cardinals to Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Estel Crabtree and Ownie Carroll (December 17, 1932).
  • Traded by Cincinnati Reds to St. Louis Browns in exchange for Johnny Burnett (March 21, 1936).

Trivia[]

See also[]

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