Walter Ball

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

W–L 32–27
ERA 2.65
WHIP 1.22
SO 248
Pitcher PIV 3580.6
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Born
9/12/1877 in Detroit, MI, USA
Died
12/16/1946 in Chicago, IL, USA

Full name: Walter Thomas Ball

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
7.0 7.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143 .143 .286 .429

Pitching

W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
0 1 1 1 1 0 14.2 11 7 0 0 8 6 0.00 1.29

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
32 27 78 57 49 5 2 530.3 525 156 10 122 248 2.65 3580.6

Career ERA 2.65 vs. league average 2.99 across their career seasons — 11.5% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1904 CXG IND 1 0 3 1 1 0 1 18.3 8 2 3 6 0.98 2.66 (+63%) 186.2
1905 CXG EAS 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 8.0 9 2 2 1 2.25 — 0.0
1905 LEL WES 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 8.0 8 1 2 7 1.12 — 0.0
1906 QG EAS 5 1 6 6 6 0 0 53.7 50 13 13 12 2.18 2.68 (+19%) -47.7
1906 LEL WES 2 1 3 3 3 1 0 27.0 24 3 6 15 1.00 2.68 (+63%) 505.6
1907 LEL WES 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 9.0 3 0 0 4 0.00 2.50 (+100%) 0.0
1907 BRG NAC 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 9.0 5 1 0 7 1.00 2.50 (+60%) 0.0
1908 LEL WES 4 2 6 5 5 1 0 45.7 40 10 17 14 1.97 2.40 (+18%) -267.5
1909 LEL WES 3 4 10 6 5 2 0 60.3 54 11 6 30 1.64 2.55 (+36%) 1202.3
1910 COG WES 3 1 7 4 3 0 0 35.0 28 6 6 19 1.54 2.79 (+45%) 486.0
1911 COG WES 4 3 9 6 6 1 1 61.3 52 11 12 32 1.61 3.37 (+52%) 1600.7
1912 SLG WES 6 4 12 10 8 0 0 87.0 97 35 16 52 3.62 3.36 (-8%) 1046.5
1913 BRG EAS 0 2 3 2 2 0 0 21.7 36 12 1 15 4.98 3.07 (-63%) 786.6
1914 NLG EAS 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5.0 6 2 1 2 3.60 — 0.0
1914 NLS EAS 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 6.0 10 3 0 4 4.50 — 0.0
1920 COG NNL 0 6 7 7 4 0 0 35.0 45 25 25 15 6.43 3.45 (-87%) -1254.7
1921 COG NNL 1 2 6 3 2 0 0 40.3 50 19 12 13 4.24 4.02 (-5%) -663.5
Career · 17 seasons 32 27 78 57 49 5 2 530.1 525 156 122 248 2.65 — 3,581

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
116 321 35 83 6 4 1 35 1 13 0 .259 .292 .312 .603 123

Career AVG .259 vs. league average .257 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .292 vs. league average .319 across their career seasons — 8.7% below league average.

Career SLG .312 vs. league average .338 across their career seasons — 7.9% below league average.

Career OPS .603 vs. league average .658 across their career seasons — 8.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1904 CXG IND 3 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1905 CXG EAS 1 7 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .143 — — — — 0.0
1905 LEL WES 2 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
1906 QG EAS 7 28 2 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .214 — — — — 0.0
1906 LEL WES 3 9 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
1907 LEL WES 2 6 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .500 — — — — 0.0
1907 BRG NAC 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
1908 LEL WES 7 20 2 8 0 1 0 6 0 0 0 .400 — — — — 0.0
1909 LEL WES 14 37 5 9 2 0 0 6 0 0 0 .243 — — — — 0.0
1910 COG WES 10 21 3 9 2 1 0 6 0 2 0 .429 — — — — 0.0
1911 COG WES 18 49 8 17 1 2 0 9 0 2 0 .347 — — — — 123.2
1912 SLG WES 14 42 4 8 0 0 1 2 0 2 0 .190 — — — — 0.0
1913 MOH EAS 3 9 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
1913 BRG EAS 12 38 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .079 — — — — 0.0
1914 NLG EAS 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 — — — — 0.0
1914 NLS EAS 3 11 1 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 .364 — — — — 0.0
1920 COG NNL 7 13 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .077 — — — — 0.0
1921 COG NNL 8 16 2 5 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 .312 — — — — 0.0
Career · 18 seasons 116 321 35 83 6 4 1 35 1 13 0 .259 — — — — 123

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Away141100.250

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Away19.270640.00

Last 1 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1921-06-20 CG1CAGL 411100000

Last 1 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1921-06-20 CG1CAG L 9.2740640

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 38 3 30 13 2 2
P 78 29 20 134 9 5

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1904 CXG P 3 1 0 3 0 0
1905 CXG OF 1 1 0 0 0 0
1905 CXG P 1 1 1 2 1 0
1905 LEL P 1 1 0 4 0 0
1906 QG OF 1 1 3 1 1 1
1906 QG P 6 6 5 16 0 1
1906 LEL P 3 3 2 9 0 0
1907 LEL OF 1 1 0 0 0 0
1907 LEL P 1 1 0 3 0 0
1907 BRG P 1 1 0 1 0 0
1908 LEL OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
1908 LEL P 6 5 1 12 0 2
1909 LEL OF 5 0 4 0 0 0
1909 LEL P 10 0 4 25 5 1
1910 COG OF 4 0 5 2 1 0
1910 COG P 7 0 2 5 0 0
1911 COG OF 8 0 6 0 0 0
1911 COG P 9 0 1 13 0 0
1912 SLG OF 2 0 0 0 0 0
1912 SLG P 12 0 3 15 3 1
1913 MOH OF 3 0 2 2 0 0
1913 BRG OF 9 0 9 6 0 1
1913 BRG P 3 0 0 5 0 0
1914 NLG P 1 0 0 2 0 0
1914 NLS OF 2 0 0 2 0 0
1914 NLS P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1920 COG P 7 7 1 11 0 0
1921 COG OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1921 COG P 6 3 0 8 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 78
Left Field 1
Center Field 5
Right Field 32

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

  1. 98
    Harry Buckner
    28-15, 2.84 ERA
  2. 95
    Rube Vickers
    22-27, 2.93 ERA
  3. 91
    Ralph Stroud
    20-20, 2.94 ERA
  4. 87
    José Leblanc
    28-21, 2.64 ERA
  5. 83
    George Johnson
    40-43, 2.95 ERA
  6. 82
    Mark Fidrych
    29-19, 3.10 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Walter Ball

Was Walter Ball a pitcher?
Yes. Walter Ball pitched in the major leagues, recording 32 wins and 248 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Walter Ball hit?
Walter Ball hit 1 career home runs with 83 hits.