Jim Palmer Stats

Jim Palmer was born on Monday, October 15, 1945, in New York, New York. Palmer was 19 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 17, 1965, with the Baltimore Orioles. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Jim Palmer baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"(Jim) Palmer is the greatest 'situation' pitcher I've ever seen. He makes them beat him on a single and one run at a time. Most of the homers he gives up are solos because he only works to their power when the bases are empty." - Miller, Ray. Baltimore Orioles Pitching Coach. How Life Imitates the World Series. Boswell, Thomas. Author. Penguin Books. 31 March 1983. Page 66. [Jim Palmer Quotes]

Jim Palmer

Jim 'Cakes' Palmer Autograph on a 1994 Nabisco All-Star Legends Baseball Card

Jim 'Cakes' Palmer Autograph on a 1994 Nabisco All-Star Legends Baseball Card

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Birth Name:   James Alvin Palmer (Twitter: @Jim22Palmer)
Nickname:   Cakes or Jim
Born On:   10-15-1945  (Libra)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   New York, New York
Year of Death Data Died On:   Still Living (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Still Living
Cemetery:   n/a
High School:   Scottsdale High School (Scottsdale, AZ)
College:   None Attended
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Right   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   6-03   Player Weight Chart Weight:   196
First Game:   04-17-1965 (Age 19)
Last Game:   05-12-1984
Draft:   Not Applicable / Signing Bonus = $50,000

Jim Palmer

Jim Palmer Pitching Stats

1965 20 Orioles 27 6 7 5 4 .556 3.72 0 0 1 92.0 394 75 38 49 6 56 1 75 4 2 0 -
1966 21 Orioles 30 30 0 15 10 .600 3.46 6 0 0 208.1 867 176 80 83 21 91 1 147 7 0 0 0
1967 22 Orioles 9 9 0 3 1 .750 2.94 2 1 0 49.0 194 34 16 18 6 20 0 23 2 0 0 0
1969 24 Orioles 26 23 1 16 4 .800 2.34 11 6 0 181.0 722 131 47 48 11 64 1 123 7 1 1 -
1970 25 Orioles 39 39 0 20 10 .667 2.71 17 5 0 305.0 1,257 263 92 98 21 100 4 199 10 1 3 0
1971 26 Orioles 37 37 0 20 9 .690 2.68 20 3 0 282.0 1,165 231 84 94 19 106 6 184 8 4 2 0
1972 27 Orioles 36 36 0 21 10 .677 2.07 18 3 0 274.1 1,094 219 63 73 21 70 1 184 4 1 1 0
1973 28 Orioles 38 37 1 22 9 .710 2.40 19 6 1 296.1 1,190 225 79 86 16 113 5 158 7 3 0 -
1974 29 Orioles 26 26 0 7 12 .368 3.27 5 2 0 178.2 770 176 65 78 12 69 4 84 4 3 0 0
1975 30 Orioles 39 38 1 23 11 .676 2.09 25 10 1 323.0 1,268 253 75 87 20 80 4 193 4 2 0 -
1976 31 Orioles 40 40 0 22 13 .629 2.51 23 6 0 315.0 1,256 255 88 101 20 84 5 159 5 8 0 0
1977 32 Orioles 39 39 0 20 11 .645 2.91 22 3 0 319.0 1,269 263 103 106 24 99 1 193 7 3 0 0
1978 33 Orioles 38 38 0 21 12 .636 2.46 19 6 0 296.0 1,197 246 81 94 19 97 1 138 5 1 1 0
1979 34 Orioles 23 22 1 10 6 .625 3.30 7 0 0 155.2 639 144 57 66 12 43 0 67 1 0 0 -
1980 35 Orioles 34 33 0 16 10 .615 3.98 4 0 0 224.0 959 238 99 108 26 74 0 109 2 3 0 -
1981 36 Orioles 22 22 0 7 8 .467 3.75 5 0 0 127.1 532 117 53 60 14 46 1 35 3 2 1 0
1982 37 Orioles 36 32 1 15 5 .750 3.13 8 2 1 227.0 920 195 79 85 22 63 1 103 2 4 1 -
1983 38 Orioles 14 11 1 5 4 .556 4.23 0 0 0 76.2 330 86 36 42 11 19 0 34 1 0 1 -
1984 39 Orioles 5 3 2 0 3 .000 9.17 0 0 0 17.2 89 22 18 19 2 17 1 4 2 0 0 -
19 Years 558 521 15 268 152 .638 2.86 211 53 4 3,948.0 16,112 3,349 1,253 1,395 303 1,311 37 2,212 85 38 11 0

Jim Palmer

Jim Palmer Hitting Stats

1965 20 Orioles 29 26 2 5 0 0 1 0 3 1 0 10 0 0 0 0 .192 .222 .308
1966 21 Orioles 36 73 11 7 1 0 1 0 5 3 0 33 2 0 0 0 .096 .132 .151
1967 22 Orioles 9 13 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 9 3 0 0 0 .077 .200 .154
1969 24 Orioles 27 64 5 13 3 0 0 0 6 3 0 30 2 1 0 1 .203 .235 .250
1970 25 Orioles 44 113 13 17 0 0 1 0 9 2 0 48 7 0 0 0 .150 .165 .177
1971 26 Orioles 38 102 7 20 1 0 0 0 9 3 0 41 11 0 0 0 .196 .219 .206
1972 27 Orioles 36 98 12 22 3 1 0 0 8 2 0 36 6 0 0 0 .224 .240 .276
1973 28 Orioles 38 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1974 29 Orioles 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1975 30 Orioles 39 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1976 31 Orioles 40 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1977 32 Orioles 39 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1978 33 Orioles 38 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1979 34 Orioles 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1980 35 Orioles 37 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1981 36 Orioles 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1982 37 Orioles 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1983 38 Orioles 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1984 39 Orioles 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
19 Years 576 489 52 85 9 1 3 0 41 16 0 207 31 1 0 1 .174 .200 .215

Jim Palmer

Jim Palmer Fielding Stats

1965 Orioles P 27 6 276 26 1.0 23 6 17 3 1 n/a n/a n/a .885 2.25
1966 Orioles P 30 30 625 41 1.4 40 14 26 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .976 1.73
1967 Orioles P 9 9 147 11 1.2 11 2 9 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.02
1969 Orioles P 26 23 543 19 0.7 18 7 11 1 1 n/a n/a n/a .947 0.90
1970 Orioles P 39 39 915 65 1.7 63 21 42 2 4 n/a n/a n/a .969 1.86
1971 Orioles P 37 37 846 73 2.0 68 27 41 5 3 n/a n/a n/a .932 2.17
1972 Orioles P 36 36 823 54 1.5 51 14 37 3 4 n/a n/a n/a .944 1.67
1973 Orioles P 38 37 889 61 1.6 59 24 35 2 3 n/a n/a n/a .967 1.79
1974 Orioles P 26 26 536 49 1.9 48 15 33 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .980 2.42
1975 Orioles P 39 38 969 88 2.3 82 30 52 6 7 n/a n/a n/a .932 2.28
1976 Orioles P 40 40 945 77 1.9 76 27 49 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .987 2.17
1977 Orioles P 39 39 957 70 1.8 68 20 48 2 5 n/a n/a n/a .971 1.92
1978 Orioles P 38 38 888 72 1.9 70 27 43 2 5 n/a n/a n/a .972 2.13
1979 Orioles P 23 22 467 33 1.4 33 10 23 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.91
1980 Orioles P 34 33 672 53 1.6 51 14 37 2 6 n/a n/a n/a .962 2.05
1981 Orioles P 22 22 382 38 1.7 38 12 26 0 2 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.69
1982 Orioles P 36 32 681 55 1.5 53 16 37 2 3 n/a n/a n/a .964 2.10
1983 Orioles P 14 11 230 14 1.0 13 5 8 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .929 1.53
1984 Orioles P 5 3 53 4 0.8 4 1 3 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.04
P Totals 558 521 11,844 903 1.6 869 292 577 34 53 n/a n/a n/a .962 1.98
19 Years 558 521 11,844 903 1.6 869 292 577 34 53 n/a n/a n/a .962 1.98

Jim Palmer

Jim Palmer Miscellaneous Stats

1965 Orioles 0 0 .000 1 2 n/a 26.0 2.6 8.7 1.34 7.34 5.48
1966 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 6 n/a 73.0 2.2 14.6 1.62 6.35 3.93
1967 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 1.4 13.0 1.15 4.22 3.67
1969 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 1 n/a 0.0 2.1 10.7 1.92 6.12 3.18
1970 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 5 n/a 113.0 2.4 12.6 1.99 5.87 2.95
1971 Orioles 1 0 1.000 0 1 n/a 0.0 2.5 11.3 1.74 5.87 3.38
1972 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 2.7 12.3 2.63 6.04 2.30
1973 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.40 4.80 3.43
1974 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.22 4.23 3.48
1975 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.41 5.38 2.23
1976 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.89 4.54 2.40
1977 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.95 5.45 2.79
1978 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.42 4.20 2.95
1979 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.56 3.87 2.49
1980 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.47 4.38 2.97
1981 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.76 2.47 3.25
1982 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.63 4.08 2.50
1983 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.79 3.99 2.23
1984 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.24 2.04 8.66
19 Years 1 0 1.000 1 15 0 163.0 2.4 11.9 1.69 5.04 2.99

Jim Palmer

Jim Palmer Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1965 Baltimore Orioles 22 Undetermined - -
1966 Baltimore Orioles 22 Undetermined - Stats
1967 Baltimore Orioles 22 Undetermined - -
1969 Baltimore Orioles 22 Undetermined - Stats
1970 Baltimore Orioles 22 Undetermined Stats Stats
1971 Baltimore Orioles 22 Undetermined Stats Stats
1972 Baltimore Orioles 22 Undetermined Stats -
1973 Baltimore Orioles 22 Undetermined - -
1974 Baltimore Orioles 22 $125,000.00 - -
1975 Baltimore Orioles 22 $177,500.00 Stats -
1976 Baltimore Orioles 22 $180,000.00 - -
1977 Baltimore Orioles 22 $250,000.00 Stats -
1978 Baltimore Orioles 22 $250,000.00 Stats -
1979 Baltimore Orioles 22 $250,000.00 - Stats
1980 Baltimore Orioles 22 $250,000.00 - -
1981 Baltimore Orioles 22 $250,000.00 - -
1982 Baltimore Orioles 22 $275,000.00 - -
1983 Baltimore Orioles 22 Undetermined - Stats
1984 Baltimore Orioles 22 Undetermined - -

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James Alvin Palmer was a Major League Baseball player who spent his entire 19-year Hall of Fame pitching career with the Baltimore Orioles (1965-1984). When Jim, his nickname, pitched a shutout in Game 2 of the 1966 World Series, he became the youngest hurler in Fall Classic history to toss a shutout. Three years later, on August 13, 1969, Cakes (nicknamed in the 1960s due to his habit of eating pancakes for breakfast on days he pitched) threw another shutout, this time though he didn't allow any hits:

Jim Palmer Rookie Card | Baseball Almanac

Jim Palmer Rookie Card | 1966 Topps Baseball Card (#126 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Research Library

Jim Palmer No-Hitter | Box Score: August 13, 1969

When he faced the Oakland Athletics Wednesday August 13 at Memorial stadium, Jim Palmer had just come off a 41-day stint on the disabled list five days earlier. Sidelined with a torn muscle in the back, Palmer was making his second start since returning when he squared off against Chuck Dobson and the American League West Divison's second place A's before a crowd of 16,826. Palmer, who had gotten off to a fast start earlier in the season, had a 10-2 record for the Orioles, who were leading the AL East.

No one really expected the 23-year-old hurler to go the distance, much less toss a no-hitter. But Palmer, who fired five one hitters during his career, did just that as he blazed through a hard-hitting A's lineup.

Relying mostly on his crackling fastball, Palmer needed 142 pitches to record his gem. He struck out eight and walked six, including major league home run leader Reggie Jackson three times.

Palmer was especially sharp in the early innings. He struck out Bert Campaneris leading off the first, retired Jose Tartabull on a grounder to short, then after walking Jackson, struck out Sal Bando.

In the second, Palmer issued a one-out walk to Dick Green, but then fanned Tom Reynolds and Dave Duncan to end the inning. Another A's runner reached base in the third when Paul Blair raced in to short center, but dropped Dobson's leadoff blooper for an error. Palmer got out of the inning by retiring Campaneris and Jackson on flies to left surrounding a forceout at second on a grounder by Tartabull.

The A's didn't get another runner on base until the sixth when Bobby Floyd booted a grounder to short by Campaneris. Tartabull bounced into a forecourt to Floyd before Jackson walked. Then Palmer retired Bando on a fly to center. That brought up Danny Cater, who hit the A's best shot with a high fly to right field. Frank Robinson camped against against the wall to make the catch.

While Palmer breezed through the A's lineup, the Orioles scored freely. Don Buford tripled to left-center and scored on Blair's sacrifice fly leading off the first. Palmer's bloop double to short left and Buford's single each scored runs in the fourth, and Brooks Robinson hammered a three-run homer to deep left in the seventh as the Orioles scored five times.

With 10 Birds batting, the seventh inning, however, took 26 minutes. Unfazed, Palmer retired the A's in order in the eighth, getting pinch-hitter Bob Johnson on a grounder to third, striking out Campaneris and benching Tartabull on a fly to right.

The ninth for Palmer was just the opposite. After walking Jackson, he got the dangerous Bando on a fly to Blair. But Cater's hard grounder to Floyd was momentarily fumbled, and the Orioles got only a force at second instead of a game-ending double play. Palmer then walked Dick Green and Reynolds to load the bases. The end finally came on the 27th pitch of the inning when Palmer got ex-teammate Larry Haney to slam a hard grounder to short where Floyd picked it up and threw to Buford at second for the force out.

Palmer had a hard-earned no-hitter. He would go on to a 16-4 record that season, helping Baltimore win the first of it's three straight American League pennants.

Jim Palmer Hall of Fame Plaque | Baseball Almanac

Jim Palmer | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1990 (HOF)

Did you know that Jim Palmer went 20-9 with the 1971 Baltimore Orioles — the last team in Major League history with four twenty-game winners on the same staff? Mike Cuellar (20-9), Pat Dobson (20-8) and Dave McNally (21-5) were the other three aces on this truly legendary pitching staff.

Did you know that Jim Palmer was a six-time All-Star (1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1978) who is also the only pitcher in Midsummer Classic history to surrender three home runs during the same All-Star Game (1977)?

Did you know that Jim Palmer was the first right-handed pitcher to win a Cy Young Award for the Baltimore Orioles? In 1969, Mike Cuellar, a lefty, won the first Cy Young Award by an Oriole and four years later Palmer was the first righty recipient. He is also the only Baltimore Orioles pitcher to win more than one Cy Young Award with the franchise, getting his second in 1975 and this third in 1976.

Did you know that Jim Palmer was an underwear model for Jockey (see ad below), appearing in both print and television advertisements throughout the 1970s? Did you know he donated all proceeds from the sale of his underwear poster to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation?

Did you know that Jim Palmer gave up 303 home runs across his nineteen year career to 173 different hitters — but never once did Cakes surrender a grand slam to any slugger, ever?

Did you know that Jim Palmer is the Baltimore Orioles franchise leader for games won (268), games lost (152), games pitched (558), games started (521), innings pitcher (3,948), hits allowed (3,349), runs allowed (1,395), home runs allowed (303), walks allowed (1,311), strikeouts (2,212), complete games (211) and shutouts (53)?

Did you know that Jim Palmer was ranked sixty-fourth by The Sporting News when they released their list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players in the history of baseball?

Jim Palmer Jockey Advertisement

Jim Palmer | Jockey Advertisement | Widely Syndicated | 1974
Baseball Almanac Research Library

The first pitcher in baseball history to win at least one World Series game in three different decades was Jim Palmer who started the feat by winning Game 2 of the 1966 World Series, continued into the 1970's by winning Game 1 of the 1970 World Series and Game 2 in the 1971 World Series, then made Major League history when he appeared in relief during Game 3 of the 1983 World Series and earned the victory.