St. Louis Cardinals Rickey dispatched
scout Charley Barrett to investigate Bottomley. The Cardinals decided to invite Bottomley to a tryout in late 1919, and signed him to a $150-a-month ($ in current dollar terms) contract. He also played six games for the
Sioux City Packers of the Class-A
Western League. During his time in the minor leagues, the media began to call Bottomley "Sunny Jim", due to his pleasant disposition. Fully recovered from his leg injury in 1922, Bottomley batted .348 with 14
home runs, 15
triples, and a .567
slugging percentage for the Chiefs. After the season, the Cardinals purchased Bottomley from the Chiefs for $15,000 ($ in current dollar terms). Bottomley posted a .316 batting average in 1924. (Bottomley had two home runs, a double and three singles as he went 6-for-6 at the plate.) This mark has since been tied by
Mark Whiten in 1993. As he finished the season with 111 RBIs, placing third in the NL, Bottomley's 14 home runs were seventh-best in the NL, while his .500 slugging percentage was good for tenth. On August 29, Bottomley became the last left-handed player to record an assist while playing second base. Bottomley hit .367 in 1925, finishing second in the NL to Hornsby. He led the NL with 227
hits, while his 128 RBIs were third-best, and his .413 on-base percentage was seventh-best in the league. Bottomley batted .298 during the 1926 season, with an NL-leading 120 RBIs. His 19 home runs placed second in the NL, behind
Hack Wilson's 21, while his .506 slugging percentage was sixth-best. He batted .345 in the
1926 World Series, as the Cardinals defeated the
New York Yankees. Bottomley hit .325 with 31
home runs and 136 RBIs in 1928, leading the league in home runs and RBIs. He also became the second Major League player in history to join the
20–20–20 club, and became the first (since achieved by
Jimmy Rollins in 2007) to record a 30 double, 20 triple, 30 home run season. That year, he won the
League Award, given to the
most valuable player of the NL. The Cardinals reached the
1928 World Series, and Bottomley batted .214 as they lost to the
New York Yankees. In 1929, Bottomley hit 29 home runs, finishing seventh in the NL, while his 137 RBIs were fifth-best, and his .568 slugging percentage placed him in eighth. After having what manager
Gabby Street considered a "poor year" in 1930, Bottomley struggled in the
1930 World Series, batting .045 in 22
at-bats, as the Cardinals lost to the
Philadelphia Athletics. Following the series, Bottomley described his World Series performance as "a bust as far as hitting goes". Amid questions about Bottomley's status with the Cardinals heading into the 1931 season, he demonstrated renewed hitting ability during
spring training. Despite the presence of
Ripper Collins, a superior fielder who transferred to the Cardinals from the
Rochester Red Wings of the International League, Street announced that Bottomley would remain the starting first baseman. However, Bottomley suffered an injury and struggled early in the 1931 season after returning to the game, and it appeared that he might lose his job to Collins, who filled in for Bottomley during his injury. Bottomley returned to form after his return, and he finished the season with a .3482 batting average, placing third behind teammate
Chick Hafey's .3489 and
Bill Terry's .3486, the closest batting average finish in MLB history. The Cardinals reached the
1931 World Series, with Bottomley batting .160, as the Cardinals defeated the Athletics. That offseason, other teams began to attempt to trade for either Bottomley or Collins. Bottomley batted .296 in 1932, though he played in only 91 games. Bottomley threatened to quit baseball in a salary dispute with the Reds, as he attempted to negotiate a raise from his $8,000 salary ($ in current dollar terms), a reduction from the $13,000 salary ($ in current dollar terms) he earned with the Cardinals the previous year. He and the Reds eventually came to terms on a one-year contract believed to be worth between $10,000 and $13,000. Bottomley finished eighth in the NL with 83 RBIs in 1933, and ninth with 13 home runs. In three seasons with the Reds, Bottomley failed to hit higher than .283 or record more than 83 RBIs in a season. Bottomley left the Reds during
spring training in 1935 due to a salary dispute, deciding to return to the team in April.
St. Louis Browns Before the 1936 season, the Reds traded Bottomley to the
St. Louis Browns of the
American League (AL), who were managed by Hornsby, for
Johnny Burnett. During a July road trip, Bottomley announced his retirement as a result of an injured back; however, he changed his mind and decided to remain with the team. Bottomley batted .298 for the 1936 season. When the Browns struggled during the 1937 season, beginning the season with a 25–52
win–loss record, the Browns fired Hornsby and named Bottomley their player-manager. Bottomley led the Browns to 21 more victories, as the team finished the season in eighth place, with a 46–108 record. The Browns trailed the seventh place Athletics by games, and were 56 games out of first place. As a player, Bottomley batted .239 in 65 games during the 1937 season. The Browns did not retain Bottomley after the 1937 season, replacing him with Street, who served as his
first assistant during the 1937 season. In 1938, Bottomley served as the player-manager of Syracuse. After a bad start to the season, and with team president
Jack Corbett not adding capable players, Bottomley resigned and was replaced with
Dick Porter. Bottomley also indicated that he did not want to continue playing.
Career statistics In 1,991 games over 16 seasons, Bottomley posted a .310
batting average (2,313-for-7,471) with 1,177
runs, 465
doubles, 151
triples, 219
home runs, 1,422
RBI, 58
stolen bases, 664
bases on balls, .369
on-base percentage and .500
slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded a .988
fielding percentage as a first baseman. In 24 World Series games over four Series, he batted just .200 (18-for-90) with one home run and 10 RBI. ==Managerial record==