Luke Walker, baseball player, 1965-1974

Luke Walker

Born: 9/2/1943 in DeKalb, TX, USA

MLB Debut: 1965-09-07 | Final Game: 1974-10-01

Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 190 lbs

Full name: James Luke Walker

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Biography

Luke Walker, born in 1943, was a professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1974. Throughout his career, Walker established himself as a reliable arm in the rotation, finishing with a record of 45-47 and an earned run average (ERA) of 3.65. His tenure in the league coincided with a transformative era in baseball, marked by both the expansion of teams and the integration of players, which began to reshape the game’s landscape. Walker was known for his durability and competitiveness on the mound, striking out a total of 558 batters during his career while also contributing to his teams with nine saves. His ability to manage games and keep runs to a minimum made him a valuable asset to the pitching staff. Though he may not have reached the heights of some of his contemporaries, Walker's contributions to the teams he played for remain a part of baseball history, reflecting the challenges and evolutions of the sport during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
45 47 243 100 16 7 9 824.7 763 334 43 408 558 3.65 0

Career ERA 3.65 vs. league average 3.52 across their career seasons — near 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
1965 PIT NL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 5.0 2 0 1 5 0.00 — 0.0
1966 PIT NL 0 1 10 1 0 0 0 10.0 8 5 15 7 4.50 3.52 (-28%) -609.8
1968 PIT NL 0 3 39 2 0 0 3 61.7 42 14 39 66 2.04 2.98 (+31%) 906.6
1969 PIT NL 4 6 31 15 3 1 0 118.7 98 48 57 96 3.64 3.61 (-1%) 2075.4
1970 PIT NL 15 6 42 19 5 3 3 163.0 129 55 89 124 3.04 3.89 (+22%) 2670.1
1971 PIT NL 10 8 28 24 4 2 0 159.7 157 63 53 86 3.55 3.47 (-2%) 1354.9
1972 PIT NL 4 6 26 12 2 0 2 92.7 98 35 34 48 3.40 3.26 (-4%) 564.4
1973 PIT NL 7 12 37 18 2 1 1 122.0 129 63 66 74 4.65 3.75 (-24%) -666.2
1974 DET AL 5 5 28 9 0 0 0 92.0 100 51 54 52 4.99 3.63 (-38%) -2152.1

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
243 188 4 11 0 0 0 7 0 12 107 0.059 0.115 0.059 0.174 -559.8

Career AVG .059 vs. league average .249 across their career seasons — 76.5% below league average.

Career OBP .115 vs. league average .316 across their career seasons — 63.7% below league average.

Career SLG .059 vs. league average .368 across their career seasons — 84.1% below league average.

Career OPS 0.174 vs. league average 0.685 across their career seasons — 74.7% 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
1965 PIT NL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1966 PIT NL 10 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1968 PIT NL 39 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1969 PIT NL 31 32 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 19 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1970 PIT NL 42 46 0 6 0 0 0 5 0 3 26 0.130 — — — — 0.0
1971 PIT NL 28 46 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 30 0.022 — — — — -559.8
1972 PIT NL 26 24 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 12 0.083 — — — — 0.0
1973 PIT NL 37 30 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 14 0.067 — — — — 0.0
1974 DET AL 28 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
3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1972 NLCS PIT 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1971 WS PIT 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1970 NLCS PIT 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 3 2 0 8.7 11 6 2 5 6.23

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1972 NLCS PIT 0 0 1 0 0 1.0 3 2 0 0 18.00
1971 WS PIT 0 0 1 1 0 0.7 3 3 1 0 40.50
1970 NLCS PIT 0 1 1 1 0 7.0 5 1 1 5 1.29

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 243 100 25 120 11 10

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1965 PIT P 2 0 0 1 0 0
1966 PIT P 10 1 1 1 1 0
1968 PIT P 39 2 3 12 0 0
1969 PIT P 31 15 2 24 2 0
1970 PIT P 42 19 3 24 1 3
1971 PIT P 28 24 3 18 1 3
1972 PIT P 26 12 3 13 3 3
1973 PIT P 37 18 4 16 2 1
1974 DET P 28 9 6 11 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 243

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Paris Junior College Paris TX 1961, 1962

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1970 Cy Young Award NL 10th 1.0 120 0
1970 Most Valuable Player NL 25th 4.0 336 0