Philip Robert James (born October 21, 1949), better known as Skip James, is a former American professional baseball player. He played in the Major League Baseball(MLB) before a brief stint with the San Francisco Giants, and then played in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yokohama Taiyo Whales.

Skip James
First baseman
Born: (1949-10-21) October 21, 1949 (age 74)
Elmhurst, Illinois, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
Professional debut
MLB: September 12, 1977, for the San Francisco Giants
NPB: April 5, 1980, for the Yokohama Taiyo Whales
Last appearance
MLB: September 23, 1978, for the San Francisco Giants
NPB: October 23, 1980, for the Yokohama Taiyo Whales
MLB statistics
Batting average.167
Home runs0
Runs batted in6
Teams

Career edit

James attended Shawnee Mission North High School, and then played football and baseball at the University of Kansas,[1] graduating in 1971.[2] He played in the Pacific Coast League for eight years and was finally drafted in 1977 by the San Francisco Giants;[3] he made his debut on September 12, 1977. He played for the Giants[4] for four months as a pinch-hitter (hitting a game-winning two-run single in September against the Los Angeles Dodgers[1]) before they sent him back to the minors.[3] He played for the Vancouver Canadians in 1979,[5] and in 1980 left the United States to play in Japan for the Yokohama Taiyo Whales,[3][6] besides Félix Millán.[7]

In 1982, he was hired as a graduate assistant coach at Kansas,[2] and worked there as an assistant coach in 1983 and 1984 as well.[8][9]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Ex-Jayhawk James Delivers for Giants." Lawrence Journal-World September 22, 1997. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Temple Returns to Diamond as Kansas Old-Timers Baseball Boss." Lawrence Journal-World September 15, 1982. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c "Japanese Baseball A Different World." Spartanburg Herald-Journal June 29, 1980. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  4. ^ Skip James at Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  5. ^ "Vancouver Rips Tribe in Exhibition." The Spokesman-Review April 9, 1979. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  6. ^ "Japan: Baseball is the National Pastime." The Milwaukee Journal May 7, 1981. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  7. ^ "Fifty Years under the Baseball Sun." Evening Independent. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  8. ^ "Warm Weather Bodes Well for Jayhawks." Lawrence Journal-World March 2, 1983. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
  9. ^ "Baseball Opener Scheduled Today for Jayhawks." Lawrence Journal-World March 2, 1984. Retrieved December 14, 2011.

External links edit