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.

What teams did Bucky Walters play for?

Bucky Walters played for 4 teams: the Boston Braves (1931–1932, 1950), the Boston Red Sox (1933–1934), the Philadelphia Phillies (1934–1938), and the Cincinnati Reds (1938–1948).

How many MVP awards did Bucky Walters win?

Bucky Walters won 1 MVP award, in 1939.

What awards did Bucky Walters win?

Bucky Walters won the MVP award (1939) and the pitching Triple Crown (1939). He was selected to 6 All-Star Games.

What were Bucky Walters's career stats?

In 428 games, Bucky Walters went 198-160 with a 3.30 ERA, 1,107 strikeouts, 3,104.2 innings pitched, and 4 saves. At the plate he had 477 hits and 23 home runs.

What position did Bucky Walters play?

Bucky Walters played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Bucky Walters and how much did he weigh?

Bucky Walters was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 180 pounds.

What was Bucky Walters's career ERA?

Bucky Walters finished with a 3.30 career ERA, going 198-160 with 1,107 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Bucky Walters have?

Bucky Walters recorded 1,107 career strikeouts.

Is Bucky Walters in the Hall of Fame?

No. Bucky Walters has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

How many All-Star Games did Bucky Walters make?

Bucky Walters was selected to 6 All-Star Games.

Bucky Walters

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

Bucky Walters was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1931 to 1950 for 4 teams, including the Boston Braves, a span of 20 seasons. Across 428 career appearances, he went 198-160 with a 3.30 ERA and 1,107 strikeouts. He also batted .243 with 23 home runs. Bucky Walters was a 6-time All-Star, an MVP, and a Pitching Triple Crown. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 4048.2.

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 October 15, 2026

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

Bucky Walters — 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	3104.2	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.

Bucky Walters Stats, Bio & Career Records
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	246.1	292	130	86	87	4.75	4.34 (-9%)	126.6
1938	PHI	NL	4	8	12	12	9	1	0	82.2	91	48	42	28	5.23	4.35 (-20%)	-1982.0
1938	CIN	NL	11	6	27	22	11	2	1	168.1	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	253.2	223	75	73	109	2.66	3.57 (+25%)	3468.3
1943	CIN	NL	15	15	34	34	21	5	0	246.1	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	151.1	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

Bucky Walters — 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.

Bucky Walters 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
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

Bucky Walters — 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

Bucky Walters — 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

Bucky Walters — 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

Bucky Walters — 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

Bucky Walters — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	386	1047	127	257	11	131	.245
Away	330	917	100	220	12	103	.240

Pitching — Home / Away

Bucky Walters — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	219	1636.2	1566	578	549	580	3.18
Away	209	1467.0	1425	560	574	533	3.44

Last 10 Games — Batting

Bucky Walters — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	RBI	SO
1950-07-23	BSN	STL	L	2	0	0	0	0
1948-09-09	CIN	PIT	L	2	0	0	0	0
1948-07-31	CIN	PHI	L	3	0	1	0	1
1948-05-24	CIN	BRO	L	2	0	1	1	1
1948-05-23	CIN	BRO	W	0	0	0	0	0
1948-05-16	CIN	CHC	W	3	1	2	1	0
1948-05-11	CIN	PHI	L	3	0	0	0	0
1948-04-25	CIN	PIT	W	2	0	0	0	0
1947-09-21	CIN	PIT	L	0	0	0	0	0
1947-09-16	CIN	BRO	L	3	0	0	0	3

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Bucky Walters — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1950-07-23	BSN	STL	—	4.0	5	2	2	2	0	0
1948-09-09	CIN	PIT	L	5.2	3	3	0	6	5	0
1948-07-31	CIN	PHI	L	8.0	9	4	2	4	2	0
1948-05-24	CIN	BRO	—	3.0	3	2	2	0	3	2
1948-05-23	CIN	BRO	—	1.0	0	0	0	2	0	0
1948-05-16	CIN	CHC	—	4.1	10	7	7	0	5	3
1948-05-11	CIN	PHI	L	8.0	10	4	4	2	2	1
1948-04-25	CIN	PIT	—	5.0	7	4	3	4	2	1
1947-09-21	CIN	PIT	—	0.2	4	5	5	1	0	0
1947-09-16	CIN	BRO	L	7.1	5	6	3	2	1	2

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Bucky Walters — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	PO	A	E	DP
2B	16	28	47	4	5
3B	184	176	341	35	38
OF	6	7	1	0	0
P	428	153	746	24	76

Season-by-Season Fielding

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

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Bucky Walters Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	428
Second Base	17
Third Base	183
Left Field	5
Center Field	1

Awards & Honors

Bucky Walters — 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

Bucky Walters — 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.

Compare Bucky Walters

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Bucky Walters: the record in brief

Between the debut on September 17, 1931 and the final game on July 23, 1950, Bucky Walters built the record summarized on this page. The season rows list, in order, the Boston Braves (1931 to 1950), the Boston Red Sox (1933 through 1934), the Philadelphia Phillies (1934 through 1938), and the Cincinnati Reds (1938 to 1948). Walters played primarily as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on April 19, 1909, in Philadelphia, PA, USA and a listed size of 180 pounds on a 6-foot-1 frame. The bio records the death on April 20, 1991, in Abington, PA, USA. The given name on file is William Henry Walters.

Walters pitched in 428 games, starting 398, and finished with a 198-160 record and 3.30 ERA. The same table counts 1,107 strikeouts, 242 complete games, and 42 shutouts. The leagues Walters pitched in allowed 4.03 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 18.2% better than average.

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.
What teams did Bucky Walters play for?: Bucky Walters played for 4 teams: the Boston Braves (1931–1932, 1950), the Boston Red Sox (1933–1934), the Philadelphia Phillies (1934–1938), and the Cincinnati Reds (1938–1948).
How many MVP awards did Bucky Walters win?: Bucky Walters won 1 MVP award, in 1939.
What awards did Bucky Walters win?: Bucky Walters won the MVP award (1939) and the pitching Triple Crown (1939). He was selected to 6 All-Star Games.
What were Bucky Walters's career stats?: In 428 games, Bucky Walters went 198-160 with a 3.30 ERA, 1,107 strikeouts, 3,104.2 innings pitched, and 4 saves. At the plate he had 477 hits and 23 home runs.
What position did Bucky Walters play?: Bucky Walters played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Bucky Walters and how much did he weigh?: Bucky Walters was listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 180 pounds.
What was Bucky Walters's career ERA?: Bucky Walters finished with a 3.30 career ERA, going 198-160 with 1,107 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Bucky Walters have?: Bucky Walters recorded 1,107 career strikeouts.
Is Bucky Walters in the Hall of Fame?: No. Bucky Walters has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
How many All-Star Games did Bucky Walters make?: Bucky Walters was selected to 6 All-Star Games.