Walter Ball

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Walter Ball was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for 9 teams, including the Cuban X Giants. Across 78 career appearances, he went 32-27 with a 2.65 ERA and 248 strikeouts. He also batted .259 with 1 home runs. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 123.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

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

Walter Ball — 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

Walter Ball — 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

Walter Ball — 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 2 530.1 525 156 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.

Walter Ball Stats, Bio & Career Records
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 18.1 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 53.2 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 45.2 40 10 17 14 1.97 2.40 (+18%) -267.5
1909 LEL WES 3 4 10 6 5 2 0 60.1 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 61.1 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 21.2 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 40.1 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

Walter Ball — 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.

Walter Ball Stats, Bio & Career Records
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

Walter Ball — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Away141100.250

Pitching — Home / Away

Walter Ball — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Away19.270640.00

Last 1 Games — Batting

Walter Ball — Last 1 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1921-06-20 CG1CAGL 411100000

Last 1 Games — Pitching

Walter Ball — Last 1 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1921-06-20 CG1CAG L 9.2740640

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Walter Ball — 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

Walter Ball — 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.

Walter Ball Stats, Bio & Career Records
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

Walter Ball: the record in brief

Walter Ball's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1904 to 1921. Club by club, the record runs the Cuban X Giants (1904 through 1905), the Chicago Leland Giants (1905 to 1909), the Philadelphia Quaker Giants (1906), the Brooklyn Royal Giants (1907 to 1913), the Chicago Giants (1910 to 1921), the St. Louis Giants (1912), the Schenectady Mohawk Giants (1913), and the New York Lincoln Giants (1914), among other clubs in the table. Ball, a pitcher by primary position, both batted and threw right-handed. Ball was born on September 12, 1877, in Detroit, MI, USA. The bio records the death on December 16, 1946, in Chicago, IL, USA. The given name on file is Walter Thomas Ball.

Ball pitched in 78 games, starting 57, and finished with a 32-27 record and 2.65 ERA. The totals include 248 strikeouts, 49 complete games, and 5 shutouts.

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 run with 83 hits.
What teams did Walter Ball play for?
Walter Ball played for 9 teams: the Cuban X Giants (1904–1905), the Chicago Leland Giants (1905–1909), the Philadelphia Quaker Giants (1906), the Brooklyn Royal Giants (1907, 1913), the Chicago Giants (1910–1911, 1920–1921), the St. Louis Giants (1912), the Schenectady Mohawk Giants (1913), the New York Lincoln Giants (1914), and the New York Lincoln Stars (1914).
What were Walter Ball's career stats?
In 78 games, Walter Ball went 32-27 with a 2.65 ERA, 248 strikeouts, 530.1 innings pitched, and 2 saves. At the plate he had 83 hits and 1 home runs.
What position did Walter Ball play?
Walter Ball played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
What was Walter Ball's career ERA?
Walter Ball finished with a 2.65 career ERA, going 32-27 with 248 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Walter Ball have?
Walter Ball recorded 248 career strikeouts.
Is Walter Ball in the Hall of Fame?
No. Walter Ball has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.