The best clutch hitter I ever saw.
Frankie Frisch
The Experiment
James Le Roy Bottomley was born April 23, 1900 in Oglesby, Illinois. Although not much is known about his childhood, at the age of 19 he entered into what was then a new and untested system - that of the major league farm system, implemented in 1918 by pioneering baseball executive Branch Rickey of the St. Louis Cardinals. Bottomley played 3 years, honing his skills in the minor leagues, before being called up in 1922.
The Player
Bottomley was a superb hitter - he finished his career with a lifetime .310 average. Bottomley was also noted for his graceful play on the field at first base, setting the record for most unassisted double plays in a season with 8 in 1936. Bottomley was given the nickname "Sunny Jim" early on in his career, because he never seemed to stop smiling, on or off the field.
The Feat
Bottomley's most astonishing achievement in baseball, however, happened in a single day. On September 16, 1924, while playing against the Brooklyn Dodgers, Bottomley went 6-for-6, with 2 home runs, a double, and 3 singles. All in all, Bottomley had 12 RBIs in the game, a record which still stands today (although it has since been tied by Mark Whiten.)
The Legacy
In 1928, Bottomley edged out Earl Lindstrom for National League Most Valuable Player honors. Bottomley was also one of only 6 players to get 20 home runs, 20 doubles, and 20 triples in one season (he is joined by Willie Mays and George Brett, among others.) He twice won the World Series while with the Cardinals, in 1928 and in 1931 (making the game-winning catch while falling into the seats near first.)
The End
By 1933, Bottomley was beginning to show signs of his age, and was replaced in St. Louis by another product of their successful farm system, Rip Collins. Traded to Cincinnati, Bottomley struggled to help the consistently last-place Reds. Traded to the St. Louis Browns in 1936, Bottomley replaced manager Rogers Hornsby after he was fired mid-season, and coached the team until mid-1937, when he retired from baseball altogether.
The Life
After retirement, Bottomley bought and operated a cattle ranch near St. Louis for 15 years. In 1954, he returned to baseball as a scout for the Chicago Cubs, and had plans to manage a team in the Appalachian League, but suffered a heart attack and returned to his ranch instead.
"Sunny Jim" Bottomley died December 11, 1959 in St. Louis, Missouri, his first and last major league home. He was posthumously elected by the Special Veterans Committee
into the Hall Of Fame in 1974.
Lifetime Statistics
YEAR TEAM G AB R H D T HR RBI SB CS BB K BA
1922 STL NL 37 151 29 49 8 5 5 35 3 1 6 13 .325
1923 STL NL 134 523 79 194 34 14 8 94 4 6 45 44 .371
1924 STL NL 137 528 87 167 31 12 14 111 5 4 35 35 .316
1925 STL NL 153 619 92 227 44 12 21 128 3 4 47 36 .367
1926 STL NL 154 603 98 180 40 14 19 120 4 0 58 52 .299
1927 STL NL 152 574 95 174 31 15 19 124 8 0 74 49 .303
1928 STL NL 149 576 123 187 42 20 31 136 10 0 71 54 .325
1929 STL NL 146 560 108 176 31 12 29 137 3 0 70 54 .314
1930 STL NL 131 487 92 148 33 7 15 97 5 0 44 36 .304
1931 STL NL 108 382 73 133 34 5 9 75 3 0 34 24 .348
1932 STL NL 91 311 45 92 16 3 11 48 2 0 25 32 .296
1933 CIN NL 145 549 57 137 23 9 13 83 3 0 42 28 .250
1934 CIN NL 142 556 72 158 31 11 11 78 1 0 33 40 .284
1935 CIN NL 107 399 44 103 21 1 1 49 3 0 18 24 .258
1936 SLB AL 140 544 72 162 39 11 12 95 0 0 44 55 .298
1937 SLB AL 65 109 11 26 7 0 1 12 1 0 18 15 .239
CAREER 1991 7471 1177 2313 465 151 219 1422 58 15 664 591 .310
* Bold denotes led league.
Sources:
- BaseballHistorian.com - http://www.baseballhistorian.com
- Baseball-Reference.com - http://www.baseball-reference.com
Hall Of Fame Index
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