James Corbette Edwards (December 14, 1894 – January 19, 1965) was a

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 different teams between the and seasons. Listed at , 185 lb., Edwards batted right-handed and threw left-handed. A native of Banner, Mississippi, Edwards attended Mississippi College and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

there. After graduating in April 1922, the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

signed him to a contract and immediately placed him on the major league roster. He made his debut on May 14, and in 25 games he had a 3–8 win–loss record and a 4.47

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 ...

(ERA). In 1923, he spent some time as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

and some as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. In 38 games, 21 of them starts, he had a 10–10 record and a 3.71 ERA in 179.1

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. In 1924, Edwards pitched in 10 games for the Indians, and had a 4–3 record and a 2.84 ERA. After 13 games and an ERA of 8.25 the following season, he was released and picked up by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

, pitching in nine games towards the end of the season. Edwards spent the 1926 season with the White Sox, and had a 6–9 record and a 4.18 ERA in 32 games, 16 of them starts. In 1927, he had his first taste of minor league baseball, and spent the year with the Seattle Indians. In 41 games for them, he had a 20–17 record and a 3.36 ERA. The following season he had a 1–8 record and a 3.14 ERA in ten games. The

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

signed him to a contract during part of the 1928 season, and in his last season in the majors, he had a 2–2 record and a 7.59 ERA in 18 appearances. He then spent four more seasons in the minor leagues to end his professional career. In a six-season career, Edwards posted a 26–37 record with 211 strikeouts and a 4.37 ERA in 145 appearances, including 59 starts, 23

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s, six

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s, four saves, and innings of work. After retiring, Edwards moved to Pontotoc, Mississippi and became a teacher and football coach. He died in Sarepta, Mississippi, at the age of 70 from a car accident.

References

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Jim Joe 1894 births 1965 deaths Chicago White Sox players Cincinnati Reds players Cleveland Indians players Major League Baseball pitchers Mississippi College Choctaws baseball players Road incident deaths in Mississippi Baseball players from Mississippi Seattle Indians players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Birmingham Barons players Knoxville Smokies players Memphis Chickasaws players