Jim Roland

Who was Jim Roland?

James Ivan Roland [Jim] was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for four different teams between the 1962 and 1972 seasons. Listed at 6' 3", 175 lb., Roland batted right-handed and threw left-handed. He was born in Franklin, North Carolina.

Roland entered the majors in 1962 with the Minnesota Twins, playing for them six years, before joining the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. A starter converted to long relief duties, he possessed a hard fastball and a dominant curve, but his delivery was bothered by control problems for most of his career. His most productive season came in 1969, when he posted career-numbers in wins, earned run average, games and innings pitched. After that declined due to a nerve problem in his throwing arm, pitching a combined 23 innings for Oakland, New York and Texas in 1972, his last major league season.

His only career shutout was at the expense of the Chicago White Sox, 3–0, at Comiskey Park on April 21, 1963. He gave up three singles on nine walks and seven strikeouts.