Calvin James

Calvin J. James

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.
• School University of Miami
• High School American Senior High School
• Born November 5, 1962 in Miami, FL USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Calvin James played in the Houston Astros minor league system from 1985 to 1988, peaking in AAA. He won a national title while in college and nearly won a batting championship in the minors.

James was on the first University of Miami team to win the College World Series, in 1982. Originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 25th round of the 1983 amateur draft, James opted not to sign. In the 1985 season, he stole 53 bases for the Hurricanes, 5th in NCAA Division I in swipes, one ahead of Darryl Hamilton. Miami won the 1985 College World Series. He did sign, however, when he was drafted by the Astros in the 13th round of the 1985 amateur draft. The signing scout was Bob Hartsfield.

He played for the Auburn Astros (10 G, 4 SB, .263 BA) and Asheville Tourists (62 G, 11 SB, .321 BA) in 1985, hitting a combined .313/.395/.346 with 15 stolen bases in 72 games. Had he qualified, he would have been second in the South Atlantic League in average, .002 behind leader Manny Jose. The following year, with the Osceola Astros, he batted .269/.387/.321 with 25 stolen bases, while being caught stealing 19 times (3 behind Florida State League leader Alex Cole, but Cole was successful stealing 31 more times). He drew 81 walks and fielded .992.

In 1987, James played for Osceola (109 G, 22 SB, .319 BA) and the Triple-A Tucson Toros (11 G, 2 SB, .286 BA), hitting a combined .316/.399/.409 with six triples and 24 steals (his caught stealing total dropped to 8) in 120 games. He lost the FSL batting title to Charlie Culberson, Sr. by one point and finished 5th in the league in OBP. He did not make the FSL All-Star team as the outfield slots went to Bernie Anderson, Jeff Baldwin, Mauricio Nunez and Leverne Jackson.

He played his final season in 1988, batting .232/.325/.275 with 14 stolen bases (and 11 times caught stealing) in 117 games for the Columbus Astros.

Overall, he hit .281/.377/.339 with 78 stolen bases (in 121 tries), 228 walks, 248 strikeouts, 45 doubles and 14 triples in 434 games.

After baseball, he worked as a Florida State Highway Trooper.

In 2004, James was inducted into the University of Miami Hall of Fame. He was first in school history in career triples and second in steals.

Sources

• University of Miami Hall of Fame
• 1986-1987 Baseball America Statistics Report
• 1988 Baseball Almanac