He also became the youngest pitcher ever to start a Major League Baseball All-Star game when, at age 20, he went to mound for the American League in the second All-Star contest of 1959.[4] He went three innings and allowed one run on two hits and one base on balls, and was credited with the win in a 5–3 AL victory at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Later that season, on September 11, 1959, he hurled a 16-inning, complete game shutout against the eventual league champion Chicago White Sox, winning 1–0.[5][6] It was his 11th and final win of the 1959 season, his most successful campaign in the big leagues.
Walker was traded along with outfielder Chuck Essegian from the Orioles to the Athletics for pitcher Dick Hall and outfielder Dick Williams on April 12, 1961.[7] Coincidentally, only 22 months later, on February 27, 1963, Kansas City dealt Walker to Cleveland to reacquire outfielder Essegian.[8]
In 1963, Walker became a part of baseball history when he savedEarly Wynn's 300th win on July 13, 1963. Wynn and the Indians were leading 5–1 heading to the bottom of the fifth, but when Wynn let up three runs in the bottom of the inning, he was pinch-hit for in the top of the sixth. Walker was tasked with preserving the one-run lead to keep Wynn eligible for the victory, and he threw four scoreless innings to secure the 7–4 victory.[9]
By age 26, however, Walker was out of the Majors. In 190 games pitched, 90 as a starter, he allowed 734 hits and 341 bases on balls over 747 innings. He had 326 strikeouts, 16 complete games, four shutouts and 13 saves.
From 1995 through 2007, Walker was the vice president and director of player personnel in the front office of the St. Louis Cardinals, working as a key assistant to then-GM Walt Jocketty. He then became a vice president and special assistant to Jocketty with the Cincinnati Reds, 2009–14.[10]
Personal life
Walker died after a heart attack at his home in Ada, Oklahoma, on July 14, 2024, at the age of 85.[4][11]
