James Madison Pearce (June 9, 1925 – July 17, 2005) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

baseball player 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 te ...

and

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

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 ...

. His pro career encompassed 15 seasons and 426 games pitched, including 30 games in

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), ...

over all or parts of five seasons, between and , for the Washington Senators and

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

. The native of

Zebulon, North Carolina Zebulon is the easternmost town in Wake County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 6,903 at the 2020 census. Zebulon is part of the Research Triangle metropolitan region. Five County Stadium, home to the Carolina Mudcats minor lea ...

, was listed as tall and . Pearce's lone full season came with Washington in . He worked in 20 games, including three starting pitcher assignments, and won two of three decisions, including his first MLB complete game, a 9–3 triumph against the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

on August 28 at

Griffith Stadium Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW. The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Boundar ...

. But he posted an abysmal 6.04

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 ...

over the season in 56 innings pitched, didn't get another trial with the Senators until April 1953, and would work in only eight more big-league games in his career. Acquired by Cincinnati after an outstanding season in the Double-A

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cla ...

, Pearce was highly effective in two September 1954 appearances. He held the Brooklyn Dodgers scoreless in a two-inning relief stint at

Ebbets Field Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team of the National League (1913–1957). It was also home to five pro ...

on September 14. Then, six days later, he was selected to start against another first-division team, the Milwaukee Braves, at County Stadium. Pearce threw a complete game, 3–1 victory, with Milwaukee's only run scoring

unearned 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 err ...

when the Redlegs made two errors in the field in the seventh inning. The following April 16, Pearce tried to duplicate his success against the Braves, starting against them at Cincinnati's Crosley Field. He allowed an unearned run in the second inning, and then was driven from the mound in the third when Milwaukee strung together four straight hits, good for three runs. Pearce was charged with the 9–5 loss.Retrosheet box score: 1955-04-16
/ref> He made one final appearance in the majors 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, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

over two weeks later, allowing one earned run in one inning pitched against the Philadelphia Phillies. He spent the rest of his career in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

, retiring after the 1959 season. His major league career consisted of 30 games pitched, a 3–4

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

, with 97 hits and 53 bases on balls allowed and 22 strikeouts in 85 innings pitched. His career earned run average was 5.78.

References

External links

BR BullpenVenezuelan Baseball League statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Jim 1925 births 2005 deaths Baseball players from North Carolina Charleston ChaSox players Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Chattanooga Lookouts players Cincinnati Redlegs players Drummondville Cubs players Erwin Cubs players Fayetteville Cubs players Industriales de Valencia players Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets players Macon Peaches players Major League Baseball pitchers New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Omaha Cardinals players People from Zebulon, North Carolina Portsmouth Cubs players Shelby Cubs players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players