Bucky Walters
From BR Bullpen
William Henry Walters
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 1", Weight 180 lb.
- Debut September 18, 1931
- Final Game July 23, 1950
- Born April 19, 1909 in Philadelphia, PA USA
- Died April 20, 1991 in Abington, PA USA
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[edit] Biographical Information
Bucky Walters was an outstanding hitter for a pitcher, which is unsurprising, as he made it to the majors as a third baseman before being converted to a pitcher. Bill James has described him as belonging to a pitching group with Bob Lemon. Not only was Lemon similar to Walters in having been converted from third base to pitching after reaching the majors, his pitching style was similar as well.
Represented the NL in three decades of All-Star Teams: 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1944 as a premier pitcher, and 1951 as NL coach.
Highest ranked, non-active, post-1900 pitcher or player in the Black Ink Test not in the Hall of Fame
Hit a home run while pitching a complete game shutout in the 1940 World Series. (Jesse Haines is the only other pitcher to do this in a World Series.)
As determined by Total Baseball: The Official Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball, Buckys statistical achievements are as follows:
All-Time Leaders Lifetime:Total Baseball Rank (159th); Total Pitcher Index (40th); Career Shut-outs (37th); Pitching Category Leader; aka Black Ink (26th); All-Time Leaders Single Season: Total Baseball Ranking (1939) 25th
In 1939, Bucky earned the NL MVP by one of the largest margins of all time. Bucky finished first in all major catagories and won the pitching triple crown (Wins/SO/ERA) - He also batted .325 and is one of few to win 20 or more games and bat above .300 in the same season.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 6-time NL All-Star (1937, 1939-1942 & 1944)
- NL MVP (1939)
- NL Pitcher's Triple Crown (1939)
- 2-time NL ERA Leader (1939 & 1940)
- 3-time NL Wins Leader (1939, 1940 & 1944)
- 3-time NL Innings Pitched Leader (1939-1941)
- NL Strikeouts Leader (1939)
- 3-time NL Complete Games Leader (1939-1941)
- NL Shutouts Leader (1936)
- 15 Wins Seasons: 7 (1938-1944)
- 20 Wins Seasons: 3 (1939, 1940 & 1944)
- 25 Wins Seasons: 1 (1939)
- 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 9 (1936-1944)
- 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 3 (1939-1941)
- Won a World Series with the Cincinnati Reds in 1940
| NL MVP | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1938 | 1939 | 1940 |
| Ernie Lombardi | Bucky Walters | Frank McCormick |
| Preceded by Johnny Neun | Cincinnati Reds Manager 1948-1949 | Succeeded by Luke Sewell |
[edit] Year-by-Year Managerial Record
| Year | Team | League | Record | Finish | Organization | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Cincinnati Reds | National League | 20-33 | 7th | Cincinnati Reds | Replaced Johnny Neun |
| 1949 | Cincinnati Reds | National League | 61-90 | 7th | Cincinnati Reds | Replaced by Luke Sewell |
