Jim Tobin, baseball player, 1937-1945

Jim Tobin

Born: 12/27/1912 in Oakland, CA, USA

Died: 5/19/1969 in Oakland, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1937-04-30 | Final Game: 1945-09-23

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 185 lbs

Full name: James Anthony Tobin

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Biography

Jim Tobin was a professional baseball pitcher born in 1912, who played in Major League Baseball from 1937 until 1945. Over the course of his career, he established himself as a reliable presence on the mound, finishing with a record of 105 wins and 112 losses. Tobin recorded an earned run average (ERA) of 3.44 and accumulated a total of 498 strikeouts. Notably, he also contributed to his teams with 5 saves, showcasing his versatility as both a starter and a reliever. His performance earned him a selection to the All-Star Game, highlighting his status as one of the prominent pitchers of his era. Tobin's career unfolded during a transformative period in baseball, marked by the late years of the Great Depression and the onset of World War II. As many players enlisted in the military, Tobin remained active, providing stability and experience to his teams. His pitching style was characterized by a strong fastball and an ability to work deep into games, traits that were essential in an era when complete games were more common. Despite his mixed win-loss record, Tobin's contributions to the game and his resilience during challenging times solidified his place in baseball history. He passed away in 1978, leaving behind a legacy as a dedicated athlete who navigated through both the highs and lows of a tumultuous decade in American sports.

Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
4.0 4.0 0 2.0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0.500 0.500 0.500 1.000

Pitching

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 9.0 2.0 1.0 0 0 0 1.04

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1944 4.0 4.0 0 2.0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0.500 0.500 0.500 1.000

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching

Season W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA
1944 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 9.0 2.0 1.0 0 0 0 1.04

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
105 112 287 227 156 12 5 1900.0 1929 726 107 557 498 3.44 0

Career ERA 3.44 vs. league average 3.93 across their career seasons — 12.6% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1937 PIT NL 6 3 20 8 7 0 1 87.0 74 29 28 37 3.00 4.34 (+31%) 1854.8
1938 PIT NL 14 12 40 33 14 2 0 241.3 254 93 66 70 3.47 4.35 (+20%) 152.3
1939 PIT NL 9 9 25 19 8 0 0 145.3 194 73 33 43 4.52 4.28 (-6%) 1719.0
1940 BSN NL 7 3 15 11 9 0 0 96.3 102 41 24 29 3.83 4.21 (+9%) -36.9
1941 BSN NL 12 12 33 26 20 3 0 238.0 229 82 60 61 3.10 3.94 (+21%) 1453.3
1942 BSN NL 12 21 37 33 28 1 0 287.7 283 127 96 71 3.97 3.57 (-11%) -3685.5
1943 BSN NL 14 14 33 30 24 1 0 250.0 241 74 69 52 2.66 3.50 (+24%) -1373.9
1944 BSN NL 18 19 43 36 28 5 3 299.3 271 100 97 83 3.01 3.57 (+16%) -2493.5
1945 BSN NL 9 14 27 25 16 0 0 196.7 220 84 56 38 3.84 3.67 (-5%) -1309.0
1945 DET AL 4 5 14 6 2 0 1 58.3 61 23 28 14 3.55 3.67 (+3%) -977.2

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
396 796 81 183 35 3 17 102 1 80 162 0.230 0.303 0.345 0.648 -1070.8

Career AVG .230 vs. league average .265 across their career seasons — 13.2% below league average.

Career OBP .303 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — 9.1% below league average.

Career SLG .345 vs. league average .373 across their career seasons — 7.3% below league average.

Career OPS 0.648 vs. league average 0.706 across their career seasons — 8.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1937 PIT NL 21 34 7 15 4 0 0 6 0 4 3 0.441 — — — — 0.0
1938 PIT NL 56 103 8 25 6 1 0 11 0 9 12 0.243 .272 (-11%) .341 (-9%) .392 (-18%) .734 (-14%) -263.9
1939 PIT NL 43 74 9 18 3 1 2 11 0 2 12 0.243 .274 (-11%) .342 (-23%) .393 (avg) .735 (-11%) -173.8
1940 BSN NL 20 43 5 12 3 0 0 3 0 1 10 0.279 — — — — 0.0
1941 BSN NL 43 103 6 19 5 0 0 9 1 10 31 0.184 .262 (-30%) .332 (-23%) .373 (-38%) .705 (-31%) -532.9
1942 BSN NL 47 114 14 28 2 0 6 15 0 16 23 0.246 .253 (-3%) .323 (+6%) .349 (+20%) .672 (+14%) 279.7
1943 BSN NL 46 107 8 30 4 0 2 12 0 6 16 0.280 .255 (+10%) .324 (-2%) .346 (+8%) .671 (+3%) 34.2
1944 BSN NL 62 116 13 22 5 1 2 18 0 16 28 0.190 .261 (-27%) .325 (-12%) .357 (-16%) .683 (-14%) -262.7
1945 BSN NL 41 77 9 11 3 0 3 12 0 15 22 0.143 .260 (-45%) .328 (-12%) .354 (-16%) .683 (-14%) -151.3
1945 DET AL 17 25 2 3 0 0 2 5 0 1 5 0.120 — — — — -151.3

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1945 WS DET 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 1 0 0 3.0 4 2 1 0 6.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1945 WS DET 0 0 1 0 0 3.0 4 2 1 0 6.00

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1 0 7 1 0 1
P 287 0 96 479 21 27

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1937 PIT P 20 0 5 10 1 0
1938 PIT P 40 0 11 41 0 1
1939 PIT P 25 0 2 26 0 2
1940 BSN P 15 0 6 16 1 1
1941 BSN P 33 0 15 71 3 4
1942 BSN P 37 0 14 93 6 6
1943 BSN 1B 1 0 7 1 0 1
1943 BSN P 33 0 10 66 6 3
1944 BSN P 43 0 13 93 3 4
1945 BSN P 27 0 17 47 0 5
1945 DET P 14 0 3 16 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 287
First Base 1

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1944 Most Valuable Player NL 17th 13.0 336 0
1943 Most Valuable Player NL 24th 5.0 336 0
1941 Most Valuable Player NL 21th 10.0 336 0