Josh James could retire today with one of the best winning percentages in Major League Baseball history. But the former St. Croix resident is not ready to give up his dream.
At age 32, he sees a path back to “the show.” A realist, he knows it won’t be easy. However, he does have certain advantages.
“I want an opportunity to show I can still pitch at the highest level,” James said during an interview from his Fort Myers, Fla., home. “Any team that signs me will get one who knows what it likes to be a professional. They’re going to get playoff experience and big game experience. I pride myself on putting on any uniform and mentoring the younger guys.”
Another advantage he offers is a low-priced veteran in an industry where .500 pitchers are commanding eight-figure yearly contracts.
James is not a .500 pitcher — he is 8-1 with a 4.64 earned run average (ERA) and 158 strikeouts over 106.2 innings over parts of four MLB seasons. Additionally, he is still listed as among those who threw the hardest pitch (102.4 mph) during the 2018 playoffs when he was with Houston and struck out Rafael Devers.
It will be a long, arduous climb back to the majors as James acknowledged. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound hard-throwing righthander is beginning his second season in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, where he said he will be used as a reliever with the Staten Island FerryHawks. The Atlantic League has 10 teams — all located along the Atlantic Seaboard states — divided into two divisions.
While it is not a common route to the big leagues, notable alumni such as Felix Jose, Carlos Baerga, Rubin Sierra and Rich Hill all played in the Atlantic League in mid-career before returning to the majors.
“I realize I’ve got to get out there and show I can still do it,” James said. “I know I am older and I see the game getting younger. But I feel I can help out a team given the opportunity.”
It’s been a tough road that James has followed since being released by the Astros in 2021. There is no bitterness in his voice as he talks openly about his journey from then until now. Currently spending time with his wife, Gabby, and three young children in Florida, he looks forward to coming north at the beginning of April for spring training and then the start of the 125-game 2025 season at the end of the month.
Beset by health issues and injuries during the 2021 season, James appeared in just five games for the Astros. He pitched in two spring training games in 2022 before being sent to the minors. He went on the disabled list with a lat sprain (back injury) in June. When he returned, he encountered elbow problems that ultimately led to him undergoing surgery. James was non-tendered by the Astros and missed the entire 2023 season.
At the end of 2023, he made his most recent visit to the U.S. Virgin Islands for a cousin’s wedding. James has family both on St. Croix and St. Thomas, where his relatives own Sib’s on the Mountain bar and restaurant.
Signed by St. Louis to a minor league contract in spring 2024, he struggled with his command at the Cardinals’ Triple-A franchise in Memphis, Tenn., and was released in June.
“I wasn’t pitching well,” was James’ honest assessment of the release. “I gave up too many walks. Everyone in the organization was very nice. I just didn’t perform the way I was capable.
“Driving back home, my wife and I decided we would stop in Charlotte (N.C.) and I would train for a week. I was there for about three or four days when I got a call from the Long Island Ducks (Atlantic League). I drove up to sign with them.”
James never found his footing with the Ducks, where he tried to adjust to a mound that he felt was higher than normal. He was released by the Ducks and signed by the FerryHawks, where his numbers improved substantially. James hopes his next signature will be on a MLB contract.
He remembers with fondness his tenure in Houston. James admitted he doesn’t throw 100 mph any more, but says his velocity is back in the mid-90s.
“I was blessed to be on the right team at the right time,” James said of a dominant Astros’ team that won 103 games.
“I was a product of having a good team behind me. They would put up runs and I came in and got some outs and the win.”
That was six years ago. It has been 11 years since James was drafted in the 34th round of the MLB Draft out of Western Oklahoma State College and began his professional baseball journey.
It is a journey he is in no hurry to see end.