Denny Walling
Born: 4/17/1954 in Neptune, NJ, USA
MLB Debut: 1975-09-07 | Final Game: 1992-04-10
Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 180 lbs
Full name: Dennis Martin Walling
Biography
Denny Walling was a professional baseball player who enjoyed a career spanning nearly two decades from 1975 to 1992. Born in 1954, Walling established himself as a versatile position player, known for his ability to play multiple infield and outfield positions. Over the course of 1,271 games, he recorded 799 hits, 49 home runs, and 380 RBIs, culminating in a respectable batting average of .271. Walling’s offensive contributions were complemented by his speed on the bases, as he successfully stole 44 bases during his career.
Walling played in a transitional era of baseball, witnessing the evolution of the game through the late 1970s and into the 1990s. His ability to adapt to different roles on the field made him a valuable asset to the teams he played for, which included the Houston Astros and the Oakland Athletics. Walling's career was marked by consistency and resilience, and he remains a notable figure for those who appreciate the multifaceted nature of baseball and the players who excel in various capacities.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1271 | 2945 | 372 | 799 | 142 | 30 | 49 | 380 | 44 | 308 | 316 | 0.271 | 0.339 | 0.390 | 0.728 | 1947.0 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | OAK | AL | 6 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.125 | 0.0 |
| 1976 | OAK | AL | 3 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.273 | 0.0 |
| 1977 | HOU | NL | 6 | 21 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0.286 | 0.0 |
| 1978 | HOU | NL | 120 | 247 | 30 | 62 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 36 | 9 | 30 | 24 | 0.251 | -51.2 |
| 1979 | HOU | NL | 82 | 147 | 21 | 48 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 31 | 3 | 17 | 21 | 0.327 | 613.1 |
| 1980 | HOU | NL | 100 | 284 | 30 | 85 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 29 | 4 | 35 | 26 | 0.299 | 452.6 |
| 1981 | HOU | NL | 65 | 158 | 23 | 37 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 23 | 2 | 28 | 17 | 0.234 | 168.9 |
| 1982 | HOU | NL | 85 | 146 | 22 | 30 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 4 | 23 | 19 | 0.205 | -435.2 |
| 1983 | HOU | NL | 100 | 135 | 24 | 40 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 2 | 15 | 16 | 0.296 | 338.9 |
| 1984 | HOU | NL | 87 | 249 | 37 | 70 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 31 | 7 | 16 | 28 | 0.281 | 66.0 |
| 1985 | HOU | NL | 119 | 345 | 44 | 93 | 20 | 1 | 7 | 45 | 5 | 25 | 26 | 0.270 | -105.6 |
| 1986 | HOU | NL | 130 | 382 | 54 | 119 | 23 | 1 | 13 | 58 | 1 | 36 | 31 | 0.312 | 1286.5 |
| 1987 | HOU | NL | 110 | 325 | 45 | 92 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 33 | 5 | 39 | 37 | 0.283 | 253.8 |
| 1988 | HOU | NL | 65 | 176 | 19 | 43 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 15 | 18 | 0.244 | -225.0 |
| 1988 | STL | NL | 19 | 58 | 3 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0.224 | -225.0 |
| 1989 | STL | NL | 69 | 79 | 9 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 14 | 12 | 0.304 | 342.6 |
| 1990 | STL | NL | 78 | 127 | 7 | 28 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 0.220 | -529.0 |
| 1991 | TEX | AL | 24 | 44 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0.091 | 0.0 |
| 1992 | HOU | NL | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.333 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 34 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0.206 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | NLCS | HOU | 5 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0.158 |
| 1981 | NWDIV | HOU | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.500 |
| 1980 | NLCS | HOU | 3 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.111 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 273 | 151 | 1598 | 102 | 15 | 131 |
| 3B | 387 | 320 | 245 | 637 | 49 | 60 |
| OF | 290 | 192 | 417 | 13 | 8 | 3 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | OAK | OF | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1976 | OAK | OF | 3 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1977 | HOU | OF | 5 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1978 | HOU | OF | 78 | 55 | 140 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| 1979 | HOU | OF | 42 | 32 | 65 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1980 | HOU | 1B | 63 | 56 | 505 | 31 | 6 | 46 |
| 1980 | HOU | OF | 19 | 14 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1981 | HOU | 1B | 27 | 18 | 188 | 8 | 2 | 17 |
| 1981 | HOU | OF | 27 | 21 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1982 | HOU | 1B | 20 | 10 | 129 | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| 1982 | HOU | OF | 32 | 18 | 38 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1983 | HOU | 1B | 42 | 5 | 115 | 8 | 1 | 12 |
| 1983 | HOU | 3B | 13 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 3 | 1 |
| 1983 | HOU | OF | 13 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1984 | HOU | 1B | 16 | 6 | 83 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| 1984 | HOU | 3B | 52 | 46 | 30 | 100 | 6 | 14 |
| 1984 | HOU | OF | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985 | HOU | 1B | 46 | 30 | 283 | 20 | 2 | 22 |
| 1985 | HOU | 3B | 51 | 48 | 31 | 104 | 9 | 9 |
| 1985 | HOU | OF | 13 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1986 | HOU | 1B | 4 | 2 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| 1986 | HOU | 3B | 102 | 81 | 59 | 156 | 9 | 6 |
| 1986 | HOU | OF | 11 | 5 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1987 | HOU | 1B | 16 | 12 | 95 | 9 | 0 | 8 |
| 1987 | HOU | 3B | 79 | 68 | 72 | 109 | 10 | 13 |
| 1987 | HOU | OF | 7 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | HOU | 1B | 3 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1988 | HOU | 3B | 51 | 42 | 33 | 99 | 7 | 14 |
| 1988 | HOU | OF | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | SLN | 1B | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | SLN | 3B | 5 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| 1988 | SLN | OF | 11 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1989 | SLN | 1B | 20 | 2 | 58 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| 1989 | SLN | 3B | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 1989 | SLN | OF | 6 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | SLN | 1B | 15 | 8 | 86 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
| 1990 | SLN | 3B | 11 | 11 | 6 | 19 | 0 | 1 |
| 1990 | SLN | OF | 8 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1991 | TEX | 3B | 14 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| 1991 | TEX | OF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 273 |
| Third Base | 387 |
| Left Field | 133 |
| Center Field | 24 |
| Right Field | 138 |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | HOU | NL | $300,000 |
| 1990 | SLN | NL | $500,000 |
| 1989 | SLN | NL | $615,000 |
| 1988 | HOU | NL | $575,000 |
| 1987 | HOU | NL | $595,000 |
| 1986 | HOU | NL | $366,667 |
| 1985 | HOU | NL | $341,667 |
| Total Career Earnings | $3,293,334 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clemson University | Clemson | SC | 1975 |
| Brookdale Community College | Lincroft | NJ | 1973, 1974 |