All-Time Indians: Jim Bagby, Jr

On September 7th, 1916 Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Jim Bagby took a seven inning loss against the White Sox. The following day in Cleveland, his son, also christened James Charles Jacob Bagby, was born. Despite the elder Bagby’s amazing success with the early Indians teams, his son wasn’t immediately signed by the Tribe when he looked to go pro. As an 18 year old, Bagby, Jr. signed with the Red Sox and after three seasons, he made his debut in 1938 in Boston.

A solid innings eater for three seasons, Bagby showed little promise for the greatness his father showed, but the Indians obviously saw something they liked as they sent starting second baseman Odell Hale, back-up catcher Frankie Pytlak (both at the end of their careers) and Joe Dobson to Boston in exchange for Bagby, Gene Desautels and Gee Walker. Of all the players involved in the trade, Bagby would be the only one to produce at an notable level for either team.

Bagby’s first season with the Tribe was 1941, immediately replacing Johnny Allen in the rotation again as a solid innings eater. While he won just nine games with a 4.05 ERA, he was the third most used starter in Cleveland that year, joining Bob Feller, Al Milnar and Al Smith as pitchers who all threw at least 200 innings.

The following season, Feller went to war and Bagby filled his role as the ace. He lead the American League in starts with 35, setting career bests with 17 wins and a 2.96 ERA. While he was a true ace that season, he was no true replacement for Feller as he struck out an incredibly low 54 batters. Just two years prior, Feller had set the Indians single season record for K’s just two years prior with 261 (a record he would break again in 1946) and his presence was dearly missed while he was in the Navy.

In 1943, Bagby had an almost complete repeat of his stellar 1942 season. He made the All-Star team for the second straight year, winning another 17 games with a 3.10 ERA and career highs in innings (273) and WHIP (1.20). As with the season before, he again lead the AL in starts, this time moving from 23rd in the MVP voting up to 20th (he still finished behind fellow Indians Lou Boudreau, Al Smith and Oris Hockett).

Bagby had a very quick prime, unlike his father who won 122 games in eight seasons with the Indians and in 1944, he was pushed towards the back of the rotation by Steve Gromek and Ed Klieman. He would start just ten games and allow an average of .299 with an ERA of 4.33, far from his previous two All-Star seasons. Bagby would return in 1945 to a point, throwing 159.1 innings and an ERA of 3.73 while Gromek and Allie Reynolds dominated at the top of the rotation. With the end of the war, Feller returned to the team for the end of the season and Bagby became expendable. Five years to the day of his original trade to Cleveland, he was sent back to Boston in exchange for Vic Johnson. While Johnson would post just a 9.22 ERA in nine games, Boston got the worst of Bagby playing five seasons at the front and back end of his career.

Just three years short of being a member of the 1948 championship Indians team, he did pitch in the World Series for the Red Sox in 1946, making him and his father, who was part of the 1920 Indians championship team, the only father/son pair to pitch in the World Series. After the 1946 season, Bagby was traded again, this time to the National League and the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he ended his career. He pitched 115.2 innings, but it would be his final season as he was unable to return to form with an ERA under 4.00. He did attempt a comeback with the Pirates in the minors the next season and through 1951 with unaffiliated teams, but despite a 9-1 record and 2.37 ERA in the Florida International League, he would ultimately retire from baseball for good after the 1951 season. Jim Bagby, Jr. died in Marietta, Georgia at the age of 71 in 1988.