Bucky Walters

I have long wanted to do a post about Bucky Walters and now is the perfect time to do so given that I recently added this Helmar Art Stamp.  This is of course not from the original set.  More of a later continuation of it.

Walters had a fascinating career.  He came up with the Boston Braves 1931 where he played sparingly.  In 1933 the Red Sox purchased his contract from a minor league team.  With the Red Sox, he primarily played third base, with the occasional game at second.  He was with the Red Sox into the 1935 season, making it into 75 games and hitting .244/.301/.420 with eight home runs and 46 RBIs.  Not exactly eye-opening numbers.  So why the interest?

In June of 1934, the Red Sox sold his contract to the Phillies and his career changed overnight.  Walters had a strong arm and the Phillies eventually turned him into a pitcher.  And Walters was one of the best pitchers in the game for a stretch in the late 30's to early 40's.  He was a 6-time All Star and won more than 20 games three times, including a high of 27 in 1939.  He also led the league in ERA twice as well as a host of other categories.  Walters finished his career with a 198-160 record and a 3.30 ERA.

This is another example of the Red Sox not quite knowing what they really had.  Boston obviously had Babe Ruth early in his career when he was a pitcher, though he was basically a regular position player by 1919, the year before he was sold to the Yankees.  They had Lefty O'Doul briefly in the 1920's when he was a pitcher before he went on a tear for the Giants, Phillies and Dodgers, with a high of .398.  And here they had Walters, who went on to stardom as a pitcher, playing third base at a time when they could have used some better arms.