The Uniform Made A Difference

Bucky Walters

Bucky Walters is one of many players that history has overlooked. Bucky started his career in 1934 playing 3B for the Boston Red Sox where he batted a mediocre .244 with 8 HRs in 75 games. After being traded to the hapless Philadelphia Phillies he was unexpectedly called, out of desperation, in to pitch and threw a perfect ninth inning. He followed this with an impressive start a few days later which changed his career direction. Initially, it was not a particularly successful move as he went 15 – 38 in his first three seasons as a pitcher for the last place Phillies before being traded to an equally bad team, the Reds, in 1938. But strange things can happen in baseball. In 1939 he led the Reds to an unexpected pennant by winning the NL MVP with 27 wins, an ERA of 2.28, and 137 strikeouts. He was a triple crown winning pitcher. He followed that up with 22 wins and a 2.48 ERA in 1940. In his 8 years with the Reds, he was 160-107. He also did quite well at the plate as a pitcher, hitting .243, 23 HRs, and 234 RBIs. What a difference a uniform change can make.