Cleo James facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cleo James |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||
| Outfielder | |||
| Born: August 31, 1940 Clarksdale, Mississippi, U.S. |
|||
|
|||
| debut | |||
| April 15, 1968, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| September 26, 1973, for the Chicago Cubs | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .228 | ||
| Home runs | 5 | ||
| Runs batted in | 27 | ||
| Teams | |||
|
|||
Cleo Joel James, born on August 31, 1940, is a former American professional baseball player. He was an outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Cleo James played for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1968. He also played for the Chicago Cubs between 1970 and 1973.
Contents
Cleo James: Baseball Star
Early Life and College Baseball
Cleo James was a talented athlete. He was a star in both baseball and football. He played these sports at Riverside City College in California. After his college days, James chose to play professional baseball.
Joining the Major Leagues
James played briefly with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1968. After that, he returned to the minor leagues. In 1969, he was named to the Pacific Coast League All-Star team. He also finished third in the league for his batting average.
The Cubs got Cleo James in December 1969. They picked him through the Rule 5 draft. This draft lets major league teams choose players. They can pick players from other teams' minor league rosters.
Playing for the Chicago Cubs
In the 1970 Chicago Cubs season, James played in 100 games. This was his first year as a rookie. Early in the season, he often played as a defensive replacement. He would come into games late to play center field.
By June, he became the Cubs' starting center fielder. However, he lost this position in July. This happened when the team got another player, Joe Pepitone. On September 3, James started in left field. He played instead of Billy Williams. This ended Williams' amazing streak. Billy Williams had played 1,117 games in a row. This was a National League record at the time.
External Links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
