Jerry Walker | |||
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Pitcher | |||
Born: Ada, Oklahoma |
February 12, 1939 |||
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MLB debut | |||
July 6, 1957, for the Baltimore Orioles | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
September 25, 1964, for the Cleveland Indians | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Win–loss record | 37–44 | ||
ERA | 4.36 | ||
Strikeouts | 326 | ||
Innings pitched | 774 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
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Jerry Allen Walker (born February 12, 1939 in Ada, Oklahoma) is a former right-handed pitcher in American Major League Baseball who performed for the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Athletics and Cleveland Indians between 1957 and 1964. During his career, he stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 195 pounds (88 kg). He signed with Baltimore as a "bonus baby" out of Ada's Byng High School on June 28, 1957.
A member of the Orioles' fabled "Kiddie Corps" of young pitchers signed in the late 1950s (others included Milt Pappas, Steve Barber and Chuck Estrada), Walker is one of a very few players to have gone straight to the Major Leagues without ever playing a game in the minor leagues. In his debut, on July 6, 1957, against the Boston Red Sox, he failed to retire a batter, issuing bases on balls to Mickey Vernon and Jackie Jensen, then uncorking a wild pitch. Walker then was lifted from the game, but both runners scored, giving Walker an earned run average of infinity coming out of his first MLB game. However, he was consistently more effective as the season progressed, and threw a four-hit, complete game shutout against the Washington Senators on September 4, beating Camilo Pascual 1–0 for his first big-league victory.