Delvin DeWayne James (born January 3, 1978) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played for the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

. James attended

Nacogdoches High School Nacogdoches High School is located in north east Nacogdoches, Texas. Nacogdoches High School is the high school of the Nacogdoches Independent School District. It serves all of the city of Nacogdoches and most of Nacogdoches County. History Pr ...

Nacogdoches, Texas Nacogdoches ( ) is a small city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Nacogdoches is a sister city of the smaller, similarly named Natchito ...

where he was a five-sport star. He was the leading scorer on the school's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team, had a 1.43

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

80 batters in 73 innings pitched and received a scholarship to play college football as a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. He was a

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

teammate of

Kynan Forney Kynan Lerrol Forney (born September 8, 1978) is a former American football player. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the seventh round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Hawaii. He also played for the San Diego Charg ...

. He was drafted by the Devil Rays in the 14th round of the 1996 Major League Baseball draft. He was assigned to the

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...

to begin his professional career. In September 2000, James and a minor league teammate helped apprehend a bank robber near the

Tyrone Square Mall Tyrone Square (also referred to as Tyrone Square Mall) is an enclosed shopping mall in St. Petersburg, Florida. Opened in 1972, it features Dick's Sporting Goods, Dillard's, Five Below, J. C. Penney, Macy's, and PetSmart as its anchor stores. H ...

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

and returned $7,600 to a SouthTrust bank. James was called up to the Major Leagues for the first time on April 15, 2002 after pitcher

Wilson Álvarez Wilson Eduardo Álvarez Fuenmayor (born March 24, 1970) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher. During a thirteen-year baseball career, he pitched for the Texas Rangers, ...

was placed on the disabled list and Travis Phelps and Jason Smith were demoted. He made his Major League debut on April 16, 2002 against the Detroit Tigers at

Comerica Park Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the home of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium. History Construction Founded in 1894, the Tigers had played at the c ...

. He started the game and pitched five innings, allowed two

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s and picked up the

loss Loss may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Loss'' (Bass Communion album) (2006) * ''Loss'' (Mull Historical Society album) (2001) *"Loss", a song by God Is an Astronaut from their self-titled album (2008) * Losses "(Lil Tjay son ...

. On May 17, 2002, James was placed on the disabled list with right shoulder

tendinitis Tendinopathy, a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder (rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow (tennis elbo ...

. At about 3 a.m. on September 2, 2002, James was shot three times in his non-pitching shoulder and elbow at a Waffle House in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...

. James was pitching for the nearby

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

at the time. The woman he was with was paralyzed after the shooting. Only twelve days later, James was back on Tampa Bay's Major League roster and pitching against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

at SkyDome. James pitched in what would be his final Major League game on September 29, 2002 against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

. He pitched until 2005 in the farm systems of the Devil Rays and the

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

. In April 2006, James told Oklahoma State football coaches that he was planning to try to walk on to the team. James is a cousin of basketball player

Damion James Damion Marquez Williams James (born October 7, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for Vaqueros de Bayamón of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played college basketball for Texas. High school car ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Delvin 1978 births Living people American shooting survivors Arizona League Angels players Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from Texas Charleston RiverDogs players Durham Bulls players Gulf Coast Devil Rays players Hudson Valley Renegades players Major League Baseball pitchers Orlando Rays players Princeton Devil Rays players Salt Lake Stingers players St. Petersburg Devil Rays players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players People from Nacogdoches, Texas