finalyear bats birth_place debutyear finaldate statvalue position finalteam statlabel debutdate birth_date article_title debutteam name throws
1996 left philadelphia , pennsylvania 1983 april 21 .288 32 266 outfielder new york yankees batting average home runs runs batted in september 16 9 november 1962 dion james
 milwaukee brewers dion james left
dion james

dion james -lrb- born november 9 , 1962 -rrb- is a former major league baseball player who played as a left and center fielder for an eleven-year career from 1983 to 1985 , 1987 -- 1990 , 1992 -- 1993 , 1995-1996 .
james starred at c.k. mcclatchy high school in sacramento , california before being selected by the milwaukee brewers in the first round -lrb- 25th overall -rrb- in the 1980 amateur entry draft .
he played for the brewers , cleveland indians and new york yankees all of the american league and the atlanta braves of the national league .
james was the brewers ' rookie of the year in 1984 , when he won the center field job and batted .295 .
with the braves , the slap-hitter switched from a straight-up stance to an open crouch , giving him new power ; he hit .312 with 37 doubles and 10 homers in 1987 .
james was a major disappointment in atlanta 's dismal 1988 season and was criticized for erratic fielding .
he was traded to the indians in mid-1989 for oddibe mcdowell , the rangers ' number-one pick in 1984 .
james lasted less than two seasons with the indians , but found a part-time job with the yankees in 1992 , hitting .332 as the club 's everyday left fielder in 1993 .
james left for japan after the season ; when he returned to the club in ' 95 , he found little playing time in the yankees outfield -lrb- by that time well-stocked with burgeoning talent -rrb- but did see post-season action for the first time in his career .
james may be best remembered for an incident during a 1987 game against the new york mets when a fly ball off his bat hit a bird in flight , killing the bird .
james , reaching second base on the hit , was credited with a double .
