Bucky Walters
Born: 4/19/1909 in Philadelphia, PA, USA
Died: 4/20/1991 in Abington, PA, USA
MLB Debut: 1931-09-17 | Final Game: 1950-07-23
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 180 lbs
Full name: William Henry Walters
Biography
Bucky Walters, born in 1909, was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball, whose career spanned from 1931 to 1950. He became known for his impressive skills on the mound, finishing his career with a record of 198 wins and 160 losses. Walters posted an earned run average (ERA) of 3.3 and accumulated 1,107 strikeouts, showcasing his ability to dominate opposing batters. He also recorded 4 saves throughout his career, contributing to his team's success in various roles. Walters was selected as an All-Star six times, reflecting his status as one of the elite pitchers of his era.
Walters played during a transformative period in baseball history, witnessing the transition from the deadball era to a more offensively charged game. His excellence was recognized when he received the TSN Guide MVP award, marking him as a standout player of his time. With his combination of skill, resilience, and competitive spirit, Bucky Walters left a lasting impact on the game, earning a place among the notable pitchers of his generation.
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 | 2990 | 1139 | 154 | 1121 | 1107 | 3.30 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | 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 | -2163.2 |
| 1936 | PHI | NL | 11 | 21 | 40 | 33 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 258.0 | 284 | 122 | 115 | 66 | 4.26 | -1223.5 |
| 1937 | PHI | NL | 14 | 15 | 37 | 34 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 246.3 | 292 | 130 | 86 | 87 | 4.75 | 707.4 |
| 1938 | CIN | NL | 11 | 6 | 27 | 22 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 168.3 | 168 | 69 | 66 | 65 | 3.69 | 2323.5 |
| 1938 | PHI | NL | 4 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 82.7 | 91 | 48 | 42 | 28 | 5.23 | -1799.1 |
| 1939 | CIN | NL | 27 | 11 | 39 | 36 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 319.0 | 250 | 81 | 109 | 137 | 2.29 | 3912.2 |
| 1940 | CIN | NL | 22 | 10 | 36 | 36 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 305.0 | 241 | 84 | 92 | 115 | 2.48 | 2172.4 |
| 1941 | CIN | NL | 19 | 15 | 37 | 35 | 27 | 5 | 2 | 302.0 | 292 | 95 | 88 | 129 | 2.83 | 6085.7 |
| 1942 | CIN | NL | 15 | 14 | 34 | 32 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 253.7 | 223 | 75 | 73 | 109 | 2.66 | 3972.8 |
| 1943 | CIN | NL | 15 | 15 | 34 | 34 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 246.3 | 244 | 97 | 109 | 80 | 3.54 | -1227.9 |
| 1944 | CIN | NL | 23 | 8 | 34 | 32 | 27 | 6 | 1 | 285.0 | 233 | 76 | 87 | 77 | 2.40 | 813.0 |
| 1945 | CIN | NL | 10 | 10 | 22 | 22 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 168.0 | 166 | 50 | 51 | 45 | 2.68 | 733.5 |
| 1946 | CIN | NL | 10 | 7 | 22 | 22 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 151.3 | 146 | 43 | 64 | 60 | 2.56 | -842.8 |
| 1947 | CIN | NL | 8 | 8 | 20 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 122.0 | 137 | 78 | 49 | 43 | 5.75 | -2450.8 |
| 1948 | CIN | NL | 0 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 35.0 | 42 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 4.63 | -1079.1 |
| 1950 | BSN | NL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4.50 | 0.0 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 715 | 1966 | 227 | 477 | 99 | 16 | 23 | 234 | 12 | 114 | 303 | 0.243 | 0.286 | 0.344 | 0.630 | -4166.8 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | BSN | NL | 9 | 38 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.211 | 0.0 |
| 1932 | BSN | NL | 22 | 75 | 8 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 0.187 | -489.7 |
| 1933 | BOS | AL | 52 | 195 | 27 | 50 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 28 | 1 | 19 | 24 | 0.256 | 38.5 |
| 1934 | BOS | AL | 23 | 88 | 10 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 0.216 | -92.0 |
| 1934 | PHI | NL | 83 | 300 | 36 | 78 | 20 | 3 | 4 | 38 | 1 | 19 | 54 | 0.260 | -92.0 |
| 1935 | PHI | NL | 49 | 96 | 14 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 12 | 0.250 | -289.4 |
| 1936 | PHI | NL | 64 | 121 | 12 | 29 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 15 | 0.240 | -365.1 |
| 1937 | PHI | NL | 56 | 137 | 15 | 38 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 0.277 | -335.4 |
| 1938 | CIN | NL | 36 | 64 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 0.141 | -512.8 |
| 1938 | PHI | NL | 15 | 35 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0.286 | -512.8 |
| 1939 | CIN | NL | 40 | 120 | 16 | 39 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 0.325 | 119.5 |
| 1940 | CIN | NL | 37 | 117 | 11 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 0.205 | -667.7 |
| 1941 | CIN | NL | 39 | 106 | 6 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 0.189 | -582.7 |
| 1942 | CIN | NL | 40 | 99 | 13 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0.242 | -114.6 |
| 1943 | CIN | NL | 37 | 90 | 11 | 24 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 0.267 | 61.1 |
| 1944 | CIN | NL | 37 | 107 | 9 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 8 | 18 | 0.280 | -79.2 |
| 1945 | CIN | NL | 24 | 61 | 11 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 0.230 | -19.6 |
| 1946 | CIN | NL | 24 | 55 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 0.127 | -438.8 |
| 1947 | CIN | NL | 20 | 45 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 0.267 | 0.0 |
| 1948 | CIN | NL | 7 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.267 | 0.0 |
| 1950 | BSN | NL | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
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 | 0.200 |
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 | 0.286 |
| 1939 | WS | CIN | 2 | 3 | 0 | 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 |
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 | P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 1934 | PHI | 2B | 3 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 1934 | PHI | 3B | 80 | 0 | 74 | 136 | 11 | 12 |
| 1935 | PHI | P | 24 | 0 | 7 | 40 | 0 | 4 |
| 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 |
| 1936 | PHI | P | 40 | 0 | 15 | 96 | 3 | 6 |
| 1936 | PHI | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1936 | PHI | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1937 | PHI | P | 37 | 0 | 7 | 76 | 1 | 7 |
| 1937 | PHI | 3B | 8 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 1938 | CIN | P | 27 | 0 | 3 | 48 | 1 | 2 |
| 1938 | PHI | P | 12 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 1 | 3 |
| 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 | P | 34 | 0 | 13 | 60 | 3 | 6 |
| 1942 | CIN | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 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 | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 428 |
| Second Base | 17 |
| Third Base | 183 |
| Left Field | 5 |
| Center Field | 1 |
Awards & Honors
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 |