James Holdsworth (July 14, 1850 – March 22, 1918), nicknamed "Long Jim", was a professional baseball player who played

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

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), ...

for seven different teams during his nine-season career from to . Holdsworth died in his hometown of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery. He played in the National Association,

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

, and briefly the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. In 1877, the ''

Brooklyn Eagle :''This article covers both the historical newspaper (1841–1955, 1960–1963), as well as an unrelated new Brooklyn Daily Eagle starting 1996 published currently'' The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''King ...

'' described Holdsworth as "a good honest player, an excellent bat and a fine outfielder." Holdsworth went through an elaborate wind-up in preparation to hit pitches, such that the press dubbed him "the dancing batter." Holdsworth carries the distinction of the lowest

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

rate in history; he walked just 8 times in 1,489

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

s. (A walk was not earned with four balls until 1889, for several years in the 1870s taking as many as nine.) In 1885, he played for the

Rochester Flour Cities Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent **City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area **History of Rochester, Kent **HM Prison Roc ...

of the

New York State League The New York State League was an independent baseball league that played six seasons between 2007 and 2012 in New York State and the New York City metro area. Over 500 NYSL players have been signed by professional teams. Players from forty-eight ...

. After his retirement, he continued to play in old-timers' games.

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Major League Baseball shortstops Morrisania Unions players Cleveland Forest Citys players Brooklyn Eckfords players New York Mutuals players Philadelphia White Stockings players Hartford Dark Blues players Troy Trojans players Indianapolis Hoosiers (NL) players Baseball players from New York (state) Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) 19th-century baseball players 1850 births 1918 deaths Pittsburgh Allegheny players New Bedford (minor league baseball) players New Haven (minor league baseball) players Hartford (minor league baseball) players Brooklyn Atlantics (minor league) players Trenton (minor league baseball) players Rochester Flour Cities players {{US-baseball-shortstop-stub