Bucky Walters

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1931-1950)

W–L 198–160
ERA 3.30
WHIP 1.32
SO 1,107
Pitcher PIV 4048.2
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 180 lb
Born
4/19/1909 in Philadelphia, PA, USA
Died
4/20/1991 in Abington, PA, USA
MLB Debut
1931-09-17
Last Game
1950-07-23
Awards
6× All-Star · MVP · Pitching Triple Crown

Full name: William Henry Walters

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
198 160 428 398 242 42 4 3104.7 2,990 1,139 154 1,121 1,107 3.30 4048.2

Career ERA 3.30 vs. league average 4.03 across their career seasons — 18.2% 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
1934 PHI NL 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 7.0 8 1 2 7 1.29 — 0.0
1935 PHI NL 9 9 24 22 8 2 0 151.0 168 70 68 40 4.17 4.35 (+4%) -2183.0
1936 PHI NL 11 21 40 33 15 4 0 258.0 284 122 115 66 4.26 4.59 (+7%) -1347.2
1937 PHI NL 14 15 37 34 15 3 0 246.3 292 130 86 87 4.75 4.34 (-9%) 126.6
1938 PHI NL 4 8 12 12 9 1 0 82.7 91 48 42 28 5.23 4.35 (-20%) -1982.0
1938 CIN NL 11 6 27 22 11 2 1 168.3 168 69 66 65 3.69 4.35 (+15%) 1870.8
1939 CIN NL 27 11 39 36 31 2 0 319.0 250 81 109 137 2.29 4.28 (+47%) 3254.5
1940 CIN NL 22 10 36 36 29 3 0 305.0 241 84 92 115 2.48 4.21 (+41%) 1626.2
1941 CIN NL 19 15 37 35 27 5 2 302.0 292 95 88 129 2.83 3.94 (+28%) 5318.8
1942 CIN NL 15 14 34 32 21 2 0 253.7 223 75 73 109 2.66 3.57 (+25%) 3468.3
1943 CIN NL 15 15 34 34 21 5 0 246.3 244 97 109 80 3.54 3.50 (-1%) -1606.5
1944 CIN NL 23 8 34 32 27 6 1 285.0 233 76 87 77 2.40 3.57 (+33%) 172.0
1945 CIN NL 10 10 22 22 12 3 0 168.0 166 50 51 45 2.68 3.67 (+27%) 325.3
1946 CIN NL 10 7 22 22 10 2 0 151.3 146 43 64 60 2.56 3.59 (+29%) -1074.5
1947 CIN NL 8 8 20 20 5 2 0 122.0 137 78 49 43 5.75 3.97 (-45%) -2734.4
1948 CIN NL 0 3 7 5 1 0 0 35.0 42 18 18 19 4.63 4.10 (-13%) -1186.5
1950 BSN NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4.0 5 2 2 0 4.50 — 0.0
Career · 17 seasons 198 160 428 398 242 42 4 3,104.2 2,990 1,139 1,121 1,107 3.30 — 4,048

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
715 1,966 227 477 99 16 23 234 12 114 303 .243 .286 .344 .630 -3,757

Career AVG .243 vs. league average .268 across their career seasons — 9.6% below league average.

Career OBP .286 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — 14.9% below league average.

Career SLG .344 vs. league average .380 across their career seasons — 9.4% below league average.

Career OPS .630 vs. league average .716 across their career seasons — 12.0% 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
1931 BSN NL 9 38 2 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 .211 — — — — 0.0
1932 BSN NL 22 75 8 14 3 1 0 4 0 2 18 .187 .275 (-32%) .335 (-38%) .391 (-35%) .726 (-37%) -454.7
1933 BOS AL 52 195 27 50 8 3 4 28 1 19 24 .256 .270 (-5%) .329 (-1%) .377 (+3%) .707 (+1%) 35.1
1934 BOS AL 23 88 10 19 4 4 4 18 0 3 12 .216 .278 (-22%) .340 (-29%) .392 (+24%) .733 (avg) -78.8
1934 PHI NL 83 300 36 78 20 3 4 38 1 19 54 .260 .278 (-6%) .340 (-9%) .392 (-2%) .733 (-5%) -78.8
1935 PHI NL 49 96 14 24 2 1 0 6 0 9 12 .250 .279 (-11%) .342 (-8%) .399 (-27%) .742 (-18%) -273.6
1936 PHI NL 64 121 12 29 10 1 1 16 0 7 15 .240 .283 (-16%) .349 (-20%) .404 (-10%) .753 (-14%) -327.0
1937 PHI NL 56 137 15 38 6 0 1 16 1 5 16 .277 .276 (avg) .342 (-12%) .398 (-14%) .740 (-13%) -296.9
1938 PHI NL 15 35 6 10 2 0 1 3 1 1 5 .286 — — — — 0.0
1938 CIN NL 36 64 10 9 1 0 0 5 0 7 18 .141 .272 (-48%) .341 (-31%) .392 (-60%) .734 (-47%) 0.0
1939 CIN NL 40 120 16 39 8 1 1 16 1 5 12 .325 .274 (+19%) .342 (+4%) .393 (+10%) .735 (+8%) 134.0
1940 CIN NL 37 117 11 24 3 0 1 18 2 4 14 .205 .267 (-23%) .335 (-31%) .387 (-34%) .722 (-33%) -618.0
1941 CIN NL 39 106 6 20 6 0 0 9 0 7 13 .189 .262 (-28%) .332 (-28%) .373 (-34%) .705 (-31%) -533.2
1942 CIN NL 40 99 13 24 6 1 2 13 0 3 13 .242 .253 (-4%) .323 (-18%) .349 (+10%) .672 (-4%) -104.4
1943 CIN NL 37 90 11 24 7 1 1 12 1 6 15 .267 .255 (+4%) .324 (-4%) .346 (+15%) .671 (+6%) 52.8
1944 CIN NL 37 107 9 30 4 0 0 13 0 8 18 .280 .261 (+7%) .325 (+1%) .357 (-11%) .683 (-5%) -73.0
1945 CIN NL 24 61 11 14 3 0 3 8 2 3 14 .230 .260 (-12%) .328 (-19%) .354 (+20%) .683 (+1%) -17.9
1946 CIN NL 24 55 6 7 2 0 0 5 2 4 12 .127 .256 (-50%) .328 (-43%) .358 (-54%) .687 (-49%) -418.7
1947 CIN NL 20 45 3 12 2 0 0 4 0 2 13 .267 — — — — 0.0
1948 CIN NL 7 15 1 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 .267 — — — — 0.0
1950 BSN NL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 21 seasons 715 1,966 227 477 99 16 23 234 12 114 303 .243 — — — — -3,053

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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
4 10 2 2 1 0 1 2 0 1 .200

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1940 WS CIN 2 7 2 2 1 0 1 2 0 1 .286
1939 WS CIN 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2 2 4 3 0 29.0 21 9 7 12 2.79

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1940 WS CIN 2 0 2 2 0 18.0 8 3 6 6 1.50
1939 WS CIN 0 2 2 1 0 11.0 13 6 1 6 4.91

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1144 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home386104712725711131.245
Away33091710022012103.240

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home2191636.215665785495803.18
Away2091467.014255605745333.44

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1950-07-23 BSNSTLL 200000000
1948-09-09 CINPITL 200000000
1948-07-31 CINPHIL 301000001
1948-05-24 CINBROL 201000101
1948-05-23 CINBROW 000000000
1948-05-16 CINCHCW 312000100
1948-05-11 CINPHIL 300000000
1948-04-25 CINPITW 200000000
1947-09-21 CINPITL 000000000
1947-09-16 CINBROL 300000003

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1950-07-23 BSNSTL — 4.0522200
1948-09-09 CINPIT L 5.2330650
1948-07-31 CINPHI L 8.0942420
1948-05-24 CINBRO — 3.0322032
1948-05-23 CINBRO — 1.0000200
1948-05-16 CINCHC — 4.11077053
1948-05-11 CINPHI L 8.01044221
1948-04-25 CINPIT — 5.0743421
1947-09-21 CINPIT — 0.2455100
1947-09-16 CINBRO L 7.1563212

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 16 0 28 47 4 5
3B 184 0 176 341 35 38
OF 6 0 7 1 0 0
P 428 0 153 746 24 76

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1931 BSN 2B 3 0 2 9 0 2
1931 BSN 3B 6 0 5 13 1 0
1932 BSN 3B 22 0 17 44 6 8
1933 BOS 2B 7 0 16 23 2 3
1933 BOS 3B 43 0 42 84 8 11
1934 BOS 3B 23 0 33 54 9 6
1934 PHI 2B 3 0 9 7 1 0
1934 PHI 3B 80 0 74 136 11 12
1934 PHI P 2 0 0 3 0 1
1935 PHI 2B 2 0 1 7 1 0
1935 PHI 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1935 PHI OF 5 0 7 1 0 0
1935 PHI P 24 0 7 40 0 4
1936 PHI 2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1936 PHI 3B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1936 PHI P 40 0 15 96 3 6
1937 PHI 3B 8 0 5 9 0 1
1937 PHI P 37 0 7 76 1 7
1938 PHI P 12 0 3 18 1 3
1938 CIN P 27 0 3 48 1 2
1939 CIN P 39 0 16 77 2 10
1940 CIN P 36 0 13 56 4 7
1941 CIN P 37 0 18 68 2 6
1942 CIN OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1942 CIN P 34 0 13 60 3 6
1943 CIN P 34 0 19 49 2 7
1944 CIN P 34 0 15 55 0 7
1945 CIN P 22 0 6 33 1 3
1946 CIN P 22 0 10 37 3 7
1947 CIN P 20 0 6 19 1 0
1948 CIN P 7 0 1 11 0 0
1950 BSN P 1 0 1 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 428
Second Base 17
Third Base 183
Left Field 5
Center Field 1

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1944 Baseball Magazine All-Star P2
1944 Baseball Magazine All-Star P1
1940 Baseball Magazine All-Star P2
1940 Baseball Magazine All-Star P1
1940 TSN All-Star P
1939 Baseball Magazine All-Star P1
1939 Most Valuable Player
1939 Pitching Triple Crown
1939 TSN All-Star P
1939 TSN Guide MVP

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1944 Most Valuable Player NL 5th 107.0 336 3
1943 Most Valuable Player NL 32th 1.0 336 0
1941 Most Valuable Player NL 28th 6.0 336 0
1940 Most Valuable Player NL 3rd 146.0 336 0
1939 Most Valuable Player NL 1st 303.0 336 18

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Bucky Walters (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Lee Meadows
    188-180, 3.37 ERA
  2. 83
    Bill Lee
    169-157, 3.54 ERA
  3. 80
    Hal Schumacher
    158-121, 3.36 ERA
  4. 78
    Bob Buhl
    166-132, 3.55 ERA
  5. 76
    Ken Holtzman
    174-150, 3.49 ERA
  6. 75
    Howard Ehmke
    166-166, 3.75 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Bucky Walters

What years did Bucky Walters play?
Bucky Walters played in Major League Baseball from 1931 to 1950.
Was Bucky Walters a pitcher?
Yes. Bucky Walters pitched in the major leagues, recording 198 wins and 1107 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Bucky Walters hit?
Bucky Walters hit 23 career home runs with 477 hits.