James "Death Valley Jim" Scott (April 23, 1888 – April 7, 1957) was a pitcher for 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 ...

(1909–1917). Scott umpired in the minor leagues and in the

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 ...

(NL) after his playing career.

Biography

Jim Scott was born in

Deadwood, South Dakota Deadwood (Lakota: ''Owáyasuta''; "To approve or confirm things") is a city that serves as county seat of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was named by early settlers after the dead trees found in its gulch. The city had it ...

. He was the first Major League Baseball player to be born in South Dakota. He was an alumnus of

Nebraska Wesleyan University Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) is a private Methodist-affiliated university in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska Methodists. As of 2017, it has approximately 2,100 students including 1,500 full-time students and 300 ...

. Scott finished 14th in voting for the 1913

American League Most Valuable Player The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers' ...

. He led the league in games started (38) and finished with a 20–21 win–loss record, 25 complete games, four shutouts and a 1.90

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). He led the league in shutouts in 1915 and helped the White Sox win the

1917 World Series The 1917 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1917 season. The 14th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Chicago White Sox against the National League champion New York Giants ...

. In nine seasons, Scott pitched 317 games (226 starts) and earned a 107–114 win–loss record with 123 complete games. He ranks 17th all-time in career ERA (2.30), 96th in career WHIP (1.18), and 54th in hits allowed per nine innings (7.73). During the 1913 and 1914 seasons, Scott set a major league record by pitching 39 consecutive starts in which he allowed three or fewer

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. His record was tied, and then broken, by

Jacob deGrom Jacob Anthony deGrom (born June 19, 1988), is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Mets. Prior to playing professionally, deGrom attend ...

in 2022. In 1918 Scott served in the military during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He also held technical roles in the film industry for many years, beginning with movie work in the baseball offseasons. Scott was an umpire for several years after his playing days. He umpired in the

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 ...

in 1928 and 1929, in the NL in 1930 and 1931, and in the Southern Association again the following year. After the 1932 season, Scott quit umpiring and pursued full-time work on motion picture sets until 1953. He died in

Jacumba, California Jacumba Hot Springs ( ) is an unincorporated community in the Mountain Empire area of southeastern San Diego County, California, United States. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau defined Jacumba Hot Springs as a census-des ...

at the age of 68.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Jim 1888 births 1957 deaths Baseball players from South Dakota Chicago White Sox players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball umpires Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves baseball players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Oskaloosa Quakers players People from Deadwood, South Dakota San Francisco Seals (baseball) players United States Army personnel of World War I Watertown Athletics players