Bill Walker, baseball player, 1927-1936

Bill Walker

Born: 10/7/1903 in East St. Louis, IL, USA

Died: 6/14/1966 in East St. Louis, IL, USA

MLB Debut: 1927-09-13 | Final Game: 1936-09-14

Bats: R | Throws: L | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 175 lbs

Full name: William Henry Walker

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Biography

Bill Walker, born in 1903, was a professional baseball pitcher who played in the major leagues from 1927 until 1936. Over the course of his career, he compiled a record of 97 wins and 77 losses, showcasing his ability to perform consistently on the mound. With an earned run average (ERA) of 3.59, Walker was known for his competitive spirit and effective pitching style, which allowed him to strike out 626 batters during his tenure. Additionally, he contributed to his teams with 8 saves, demonstrating his versatility as a pitcher capable of closing out games. Walker was selected as an All-Star once during his career, highlighting his standing among the elite players of his time. Playing in an era that straddled the late 1920s and mid-1930s, he faced the challenges of a rapidly evolving game, including the transition from the deadball era to a more offense-driven style of play. His contributions to the mound and overall impact on baseball during this transformative time solidified his place in the sport's history.

Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
5.0 5.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000

Pitching

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA
4.0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0.0 10.0 12.0 0 4.0 0 0 0.00

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1931 5.0 5.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching

Season W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA
1931 4.0 0 0 1.0 0 0 0 0.0 10.0 12.0 0 4.0 0 0 0.00

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
97 77 272 192 83 15 8 1489.7 1576 594 99 538 626 3.59 0

Career ERA 3.59 vs. league average 4.29 across their career seasons — 16.4% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1927 NY1 NL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 4.0 6 4 5 4 9.00 — 0.0
1928 NY1 NL 3 6 22 8 1 0 0 76.3 79 40 31 39 4.72 4.13 (-14%) -1413.8
1929 NY1 NL 14 7 29 23 13 1 0 177.7 188 61 57 65 3.09 4.60 (+33%) 705.3
1930 NY1 NL 17 15 39 34 13 2 1 245.3 258 107 88 105 3.93 4.80 (+18%) -616.1
1931 NY1 NL 16 9 37 28 19 6 3 239.3 212 60 64 121 2.26 4.10 (+45%) 5074.0
1932 NY1 NL 8 12 31 22 9 0 2 163.0 177 75 55 74 4.14 4.13 (avg) -4194.5
1933 STL NL 9 10 29 20 6 2 0 158.0 168 60 67 41 3.42 3.86 (+11%) -
1934 STL NL 12 4 24 19 10 1 0 153.0 160 53 66 76 3.12 4.29 (+27%) -
1935 STL NL 13 8 37 25 8 2 1 193.3 222 82 78 79 3.82 4.35 (+12%) -
1936 STL NL 5 6 21 13 4 1 1 79.7 106 52 27 22 5.87 4.59 (-28%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
275 489 24 62 3 3 4 26 1 13 162 0.127 0.151 0.170 0.321 -4555.8

Career AVG .127 vs. league average .281 across their career seasons — 54.9% below league average.

Career OBP .151 vs. league average .343 across their career seasons — 56.0% below league average.

Career SLG .170 vs. league average .399 across their career seasons — 57.5% below league average.

Career OPS 0.321 vs. league average 0.743 across their career seasons — 56.8% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1927 NY1 NL 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1928 NY1 NL 22 22 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0.091 — — — — 0.0
1929 NY1 NL 29 61 4 7 0 0 1 4 1 2 21 0.115 .289 (-60%) .353 (-60%) .415 (-61%) .769 (-60%) -658.7
1930 NY1 NL 40 86 4 16 0 2 2 11 0 0 21 0.186 .293 (-37%) .354 (-47%) .429 (-30%) .784 (-38%) -622.6
1931 NY1 NL 37 77 3 5 0 0 0 3 0 4 22 0.065 .276 (-76%) .338 (-67%) .388 (-83%) .726 (-76%) -1002.4
1932 NY1 NL 31 52 1 7 0 1 0 2 0 2 20 0.135 .275 (-51%) .335 (-50%) .391 (-56%) .726 (-53%) -477.2
1933 STL NL 29 53 2 7 0 0 1 2 0 1 16 0.132 .270 (-51%) .329 (-55%) .377 (-50%) .707 (-52%) -462.5
1934 STL NL 24 54 4 5 1 0 0 1 0 1 26 0.093 .278 (-67%) .340 (-68%) .392 (-72%) .733 (-70%) -642.4
1935 STL NL 38 59 4 6 1 0 0 3 0 2 21 0.102 .279 (-64%) .342 (-62%) .399 (-70%) .742 (-66%) -690.0
1936 STL NL 22 25 2 7 1 0 0 0 0 1 7 0.280 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1934 WS SLN 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 2 2 0 0 6.3 6 5 6 2 7.11

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1934 WS SLN 0 2 2 0 0 6.3 6 5 6 2 7.11

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 272 0 64 282 24 7

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1927 NY1 P 3 0 0 0 0 0
1928 NY1 P 22 0 0 17 1 0
1929 NY1 P 29 0 10 23 3 1
1930 NY1 P 39 0 10 44 4 1
1931 NY1 P 37 0 8 31 4 1
1932 NY1 P 31 0 10 39 2 1
1933 SLN P 29 0 11 40 4 0
1934 SLN P 24 0 8 23 1 2
1935 SLN P 37 0 4 42 4 0
1936 SLN P 21 0 3 23 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 272