SEPTEMBER 16, 1924 | BROOKLYN, NEW YORK – Twelve runs batted in is a pretty good month for many ball players. Jim Bottomley of the St. Louis Cardinals had twelve RBI in one game on this date in 1924. He went six for six that day; three singles, a double and two home runs helping St. Louis beat the Brooklyn Robins 17-3.
Certainly not a household name the likes of Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb or Honus Wagner, but “Sunny” Jim Bottomley had a pretty good career, at least offensively. He played 16 years for the Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds.
He had a career batting average of .310. He drove in more than 100 RBIs six times, and had 219 career home runs. Bottomley’s best year was 1929 for the Cardinals when he hit .314, hit 29 home runs, drove in 137 runs and only struck out 54 times.
Fielding was another story for the Oglesby, Illinois native. Except for one game at second, the only position he ever played was first, the least challenging position — no offense to all the gold glove first baseman out there. Four times Bottomley committed 20 or more errors in a season – a lot for a first baseman. For example, today’s Frank Thomas, not known for his fielding, that’s why he’s primarily a DH, never committed more than 15, and that was in 150 games. Bottomley had 24 errors in 1924 when he played 133 games. Fortunately he could hit.
Contributing sources:
The National Pastime: A Review of Baseball History, Page 21, 2007 by SABR (Society of American Baseball Research), “Sunny Jim Bottomley’s Big Day,” by David W. Smith www.retrosheet.org/