Jim Owens (baseball) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jim Owens |
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Owens in 1961
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| Pitcher | |||
| Born: January 16, 1934 Gifford, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
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| Died: September 8, 2020 (aged 86) Houston, Texas, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| April 19, 1955, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| June 20, 1967, for the Houston Astros | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 42–68 | ||
| Earned run average | 4.31 | ||
| Strikeouts | 516 | ||
| Teams | |||
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James Philip Owens (born January 16, 1934 – died September 8, 2020) was a baseball player from the United States. People often called him "Bear". He was a right-handed pitcher and later a pitching coach. Jim Owens played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1955 to 1967. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and Houston Colt .45s / Astros. He played in 286 big league games. During his time as a player, Owens was 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighed 190 pounds.
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Jim Owens' Early Baseball Days
Jim Owens started his baseball journey in 1951. The Philadelphia Phillies signed him right after he finished high school. He played in the minor leagues first. There, he showed he was a great pitcher. From 1952 to 1954, he won many games. He had seasons with 22, 22, and 17 wins. He played at different levels, from Class D up to Triple-A.
In 1955, Jim Owens joined the Phillies' main team for the start of the season. He pitched in two games in April. His first game was on April 19 against the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Dodgers were a very strong team that year. Jim pitched well for the first five innings. He only let the Dodgers score two runs. But in the sixth inning, after a long rain delay, he gave up two home runs. The Phillies fell behind, and Jim had to leave the game.
Five days later, he started another game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. This time, he struggled to throw the ball where he wanted it to go. He only pitched for a short time before being taken out. The Phillies lost, and Jim had his second loss in a row. After these games, he was sent back to the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs. He had another good year there, winning 15 games. He came back to the Phillies later that season.
The 1956 season started in a similar way. Jim had a tough time in his first two games. He played in ten MLB games that year, some as a reliever. He also played in 15 games in Triple-A. He did not win any games for the Phillies in 1956. In his first two years in the National League, his record was 0 wins and 6 losses. His earned run average (ERA) was 7.51, which was high.
A Great Season with the Phillies
Jim Owens then spent almost two years serving in the military. He played only one game in 1958. On September 23, he pitched seven strong innings for a win against the Milwaukee Braves.
His best season was in 1959. He had a good ERA of 3.21. Even though his team finished in last place, Jim had 12 wins and 12 losses. He pitched 11 complete games, meaning he pitched the entire game himself. He also got 135 strikeouts in over 221 innings.
In 1960, his record was 4 wins and 14 losses. In 1961, it was 5 wins and 10 losses. The Phillies finished last in the National League each of those years. After a difficult 1962 season, where he had 2 wins and 4 losses, the Phillies traded him. He went to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for second baseman Cookie Rojas.
With the 1963 Reds, Jim mostly pitched as a reliever. On April 21, he set a National League record by making three balks in one inning. A balk is when a pitcher makes a move that tricks the runner, but doesn't actually throw the ball. Another pitcher broke this record less than a month later. Overall, Jim's ERA was 5.31 in 19 games that year. He was then sent to Triple-A San Diego. In December, the Houston Astros picked him in the 1963 Rule 5 draft. This draft allows teams to pick players from other teams' minor league rosters.
Pitcher and Coach for the Astros
Jim Owens played his last four seasons with the Astros. He was mainly a reliever for Houston. He pitched in 148 games and started only 11 of them. In 1965, he led the team in relief appearances, pitching in 50 games. His last big league game was on June 20, 1967.
Eighteen days later, on July 8, Jim Owens stopped playing. He became the Astros' pitching coach. He held this job until the end of the 1972 season. As a coach, he worked with famous pitchers like Mike Cuellar, Larry Dierker, and Don Wilson.
Overall, Jim Owens' pitching record was 42 wins and 68 losses. His ERA was 4.31. He played in 286 games and started 103 of them. He finished 21 of his starts and pitched one shutout, meaning the other team scored no runs. In over 885 innings, he gave up 84 home runs. He walked 340 batters and struck out 516.
As a batter, Jim Owens had 22 hits in 218 tries, which is a .101 batting average. He struck out 102 times. His fielding percentage was .954, which means he made very few errors when playing defense.
Images for kids
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Owens in 1961
