Robert Harvey James (born August 15, 1958), is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the major leagues primarily 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 ...

from 1978-1987.

Career

James was the first round draft pick in 1976 by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

out of

Verdugo Hills High School Verdugo Hills High School (VHHS) is a public school located in the Tujunga community of Los Angeles, California, United States, within the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school serves students from several areas of Los Angeles, inclu ...

, where he had been converted from a catcher to a pitcher, and joined the major league team in 1978 when he was just twenty years old.Bob James Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> In 1982 he was traded to the Detroit Tigers for a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

, and was himself returned to the Expos as that player in 1983. On December 7, 1984, James was traded to 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 ...

for

Vance Law Vance Aaron Law (born October 1, 1956) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1980–81), Chicago White Sox (1982–84), Montreal Expos (1985–87), Chic ...

. The following season, he saved 32 games for the White Sox, second in the American League behind

Dan Quisenberry Daniel Raymond "Quiz" Quisenberry (; February 7, 1953 – September 30, 1998) was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Kansas City Royals. Notable for his submarine-style pitching delivery ...

. James pitched two more years for the White Sox before being released.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Bob 1958 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from California Chicago White Sox players Denver Bears players Detroit Tigers players Evansville Triplets players Lethbridge Expos players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Chicks players Montreal Expos players West Palm Beach Expos players Wichita Aeros players