Lee Walls: Difference between revisions

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In February 1951, [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] [[Scout (sport)|scout]] [[Howie Haak]] signed Walls to play for the Pirates.<ref name=”:0″ /> Walls played in the Pirates’ [[Farm team|minor league farm system]] from 1951 to 1955, principally playing in the outfield or at third base.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lee Walls Minor & Japanese Leagues Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=walls-001ray |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> In a full season with the [[Minor League Baseball|Class C]] [[Modesto Reds]] in 1951, he had a .342 [[Batting average (baseball)|batting average]], with 14 [[Home run|home runs]], 109 [[Run batted in|runs batted in]] (RBI) and 100 [[Run (baseball)|runs scored]] and a .923 OPS (on-base plus slugging).<ref>{{Cite web |title=1951 Modesto Reds Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> He was second in the [[California League]] in batting average, and in the top ten in RBI, runs and OPS.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1951 California League Batting Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/leader.cgi?id=15f9d7d6&type=bat |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>

In February 1951, [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] [[Scout (sport)|scout]] [[Howie Haak]] signed Walls to play for the Pirates.<ref name=”:0″ /> Walls played in the Pirates’ [[Farm team|minor league farm system]] from 1951 to 1955, principally playing in the outfield or at third base.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lee Walls Minor & Japanese Leagues Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=walls-001ray |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> In a full season with the [[Minor League Baseball|Class C]] [[Modesto Reds]] in 1951, he had a .342 [[Batting average (baseball)|batting average]], with 14 [[Home run|home runs]], 109 [[Run batted in|runs batted in]] (RBI) and 100 [[Run (baseball)|runs scored]] and a .923 OPS (on-base plus slugging).<ref>{{Cite web |title=1951 Modesto Reds Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> He was second in the [[California League]] in batting average, and in the top ten in RBI, runs and OPS.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1951 California League Batting Leaders |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/leader.cgi?id=15f9d7d6&type=bat |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>

In 1952, he split the season between the [[Minor League Baseball|Class B]] [[Waco Pirates]] and the MLB Pittsburgh Pirates. He began and finished the season with the Pittsburgh Pirates.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lee Walls 1952 Batting Game Logs |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=wallsle01&t=b&year=1952 |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> He played 30 MBL games that year, batting only .188 in 80 [[At bat|at bats]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1952 Pittsburgh Pirates Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/PIT/1952.shtml |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> He was sent down to Waco, where in 80 games he had an extraordinary .727 batting average and 1.999 OPS, with 10 home runs, 59 RBI and 46 runs in only 132 at bats.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1952 Waco Pirates Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> Walls returned to the minor leagues for another three years before playing MLB baseball again. From 1953 to 1955, Walls played with the [[Hollywood Stars]] of the [[Pacific Coast League]], batting .268, .290 and .283, respectively. In 1955, he had 24 home runs, 99 RBI, 81 runs and an .801 OPS.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lee Walls Minor & Japanese Leagues Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=walls-001ray |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>

In 1952, he split the season between the [[Minor League Baseball|Class B]] [[Waco Pirates]] and the MLB Pittsburgh Pirates. He began and finished the season with the Pittsburgh Pirates.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lee Walls 1952 Batting Game Logs |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=wallsle01&t=b&year=1952 |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> He played 30 games that year, batting only .188 in 80 [[At bat|at bats]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1952 Pittsburgh Pirates Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/PIT/1952.shtml |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> He was sent down to Waco, where in 80 games he had an extraordinary .727 batting average and 1.999 OPS, with 10 home runs, 59 RBI and 46 runs in only 132 at bats.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1952 Waco Pirates Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> Walls returned to the minor leagues for another three years before playing MLB baseball again. From 1953 to 1955, Walls played with the [[Hollywood Stars]] of the [[Pacific Coast League]], batting .268, .290 and .283, respectively. In 1955, he had 24 home runs, 99 RBI, 81 runs and an .801 OPS.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lee Walls Minor & Japanese Leagues Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=walls-001ray |access-date=2025-11-07 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>

In {{mlby|1956}}, his first full MLB season, Walls [[batting average (baseball)|batted]] .274 with 11 triples (third in the [[National League (baseball)|National League]]), 11 home runs and 54 [[runs batted in|RBI]]s. On July 2, {{mlby|1957}}, Walls—by this time a member of the Cubs—[[Hitting for the cycle|hit for the cycle]] in an 8–6 loss to Cincinnati at [[Wrigley Field]].<ref name=”The Ballplayers”>{{cite book |editor=Mike Shatzkin |title=The Ballplayers: Baseball’s Ultimate Biographical Reference |publisher=[[Arbor House]] |year=1990 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/ballplayersbaseb00shat/page/1137 1137] |isbn=0-87795-984-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/ballplayersbaseb00shat/page/1137 |url-access=registration }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1957/B07020CHN1957.htm |title=Cincinnati Reds 8, Chicago Cubs 6 |website=[[Retrosheet]] |date=July 2, 1957}}</ref> It was the highlight of a poor sophomore season for Walls, with his batting average dropping to .237 in 125 games played.

In {{mlby|1956}}, his first full MLB season, Walls [[batting average (baseball)|batted]] .274 with 11 triples (third in the [[National League (baseball)|National League]]), 11 home runs and 54 [[runs batted in|RBI]]s. On July 2, {{mlby|1957}}, Walls—by this time a member of the Cubs—[[Hitting for the cycle|hit for the cycle]] in an 8–6 loss to Cincinnati at [[Wrigley Field]].<ref name=”The Ballplayers”>{{cite book |editor=Mike Shatzkin |title=The Ballplayers: Baseball’s Ultimate Biographical Reference |publisher=[[Arbor House]] |year=1990 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/ballplayersbaseb00shat/page/1137 1137] |isbn=0-87795-984-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/ballplayersbaseb00shat/page/1137 |url-access=registration }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1957/B07020CHN1957.htm |title=Cincinnati Reds 8, Chicago Cubs 6 |website=[[Retrosheet]] |date=July 2, 1957}}</ref> It was the highlight of a poor sophomore season for Walls, with his batting average dropping to .237 in 125 games played.

American baseball player (1933–1993)

Baseball player

Lee Walls
Outfielder
Born: (1933-01-06)January 6, 1933
San Diego, California, U.S.
Died: October 11, 1993(1993-10-11) (aged 60)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Batted: Right

Threw: Right
April 21, 1952, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
October 4, 1964, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Batting average .262
Home runs 66
Runs batted in 284
Stats at Baseball Reference 

Raymond Lee Walls Jr. (January 6, 1933 – October 11, 1993) was an American professional baseball player who was an outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1952 and 1964 as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers. He also played the 1965 season in Japan, for the Hankyu Braves. The native of San Diego threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall, and weighed 205 pounds (93 kg). Walls wore eyeglasses on the field during his active career — a rarity for players of his era — and was nicknamed “Captain Midnight” because of his eyewear.[1]

Walls was born on January 6, 1933, in San Diego, California.[2] Walls graduated from Pasadena High School, where he starred on the baseball team. He attended Pasadena City College, where he was known as a great all-around athlete in basketball (as a leading scorer on the school’s team), baseball and football. He played third base on the school’s baseball team. He made the All-Southern California team two consecutive years.[3][4][5] He also pitched in American Legion Baseball while in high school.[6]

In February 1951, Pittsburgh Pirates scout Howie Haak signed Walls to play for the Pirates.[3] Walls played in the Pirates’ minor league farm system from 1951 to 1955, principally playing in the outfield or at third base.[7] In a full season with the Class C Modesto Reds in 1951, he had a .342 batting average, with 14 home runs, 109 runs batted in (RBI) and 100 runs scored and a .923 OPS (on-base plus slugging).[8] He was second in the California League in batting average, and in the top ten in RBI, runs and OPS.[9]

In 1952, he split the season between the Class B Waco Pirates and the MLB Pittsburgh Pirates. He began and finished the season with the Pittsburgh Pirates.[10] He played 30 MLB games that year, batting only .188 in 80 at bats.[11] He was sent down to Waco, where in 80 games he had an extraordinary .727 batting average and 1.999 OPS, with 10 home runs, 59 RBI and 46 runs in only 132 at bats.[12] Walls returned to the minor leagues for another three years before playing MLB baseball again. From 1953 to 1955, Walls played with the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League, batting .268, .290 and .283, respectively. In 1955, he had 24 home runs, 99 RBI, 81 runs and an .801 OPS.[13]

In 1956, his first full MLB season, Walls batted .274 with 11 triples (third in the National League), 11 home runs and 54 RBIs. On July 2, 1957, Walls—by this time a member of the Cubs—hit for the cycle in an 8–6 loss to Cincinnati at Wrigley Field.[14][15] It was the highlight of a poor sophomore season for Walls, with his batting average dropping to .237 in 125 games played.

The next season, 1958, proved to be Walls’ best year. Playing as the Cubs’ regular right fielder, Walls reached career highs in hits (156), home runs (24), RBIs (72) and batting average (.304) in 136 games played. On April 24, against the newly relocated Dodgers at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, minutes down the freeway from his hometown of Pasadena, Walls hit three home runs and had eight RBIs in a 15–2 Chicago rout.[16] Selected to the National League All-Star team as a reserve, he pinch hit for the Pirates’ Bob Skinner in the seventh inning and grounded out against Billy O’Dell. Walls stayed in the game to play left field, but that was his only plate appearance as the American League won, 4–3, at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium.[17]

Walls’ production declined in 1959, and after that season his last five years in MLB were spent as a utility player, playing infield, outfield, and pinch hitting. Walls delivered 45 hits in 176 at bats (.256) during his career as a pinch hitter, and was particularly effective in 1962, going 13-for-27 (.482) in the pinch for the Dodgers, who ended the 162-game season in a tie with the San Francisco Giants, necessitating a best-of-three playoff round.

Walls played all three games of the 1962 National League tie-breaker series, including a Game 1 start at first base, and contributed a pinch double in Game 2 (coincidentally, off O’Dell), driving home three RBIs to spark a crucial, seven-run Los Angeles rally.[18] By winning, 8–7, the Dodgers staved off elimination and extended the series to a decisive third contest. The next day, however, the Dodgers fell to the Giants in the ninth and final inning. Walls, pinch hitting for Larry Burright, made the final out, lining to center fielder Willie Mays.[19]

The following year, Walls was a member of the world champion Dodgers, but did not appear in his club’s four-game sweep of the New York Yankees in the 1963 World Series. In 902 total games played over ten National League seasons, Walls collected 670 hits, with 88 doubles, 31 triples and 66 homers. After spending 1965 playing baseball in Japan, Walls retired as an active player.

A decade and a half after his last appearance for the Dodgers, Walls returned to MLB as a coach for the Oakland Athletics (1979–82) and Yankees (1983), working primarily for Billy Martin, a teammate on the 1960 Reds. He also worked as a minor league manager. He died in Los Angeles at the age of 60 after suffering from liver disease.

  1. ^ Votano, Paul (2003). Stand and Deliver: A History of Pinch-Hitting. McFarland & Company. p. 119. ISBN 0786484519.
  2. ^ “Lee Walls Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More”. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  3. ^ a b “Pirates Sign Up Lee Walls”. Pasadena Star-News. February 22, 1951. pp. A-6.
  4. ^ “PCC Wins Pair of Exhibitions”. Pasadena Independent (Pasadena, California). January 5, 1951. p. 40.
  5. ^ The Old Observer (June 7, 1965). “Sportsviews”. South Pasadena Review (South Pasadena, California). pp. 1, 8.
  6. ^ “Legions Nine Collide Today”. Pasadena Independent (Pasadena, California). June 6, 1948. p. 30.
  7. ^ “Lee Walls Minor & Japanese Leagues Statistics”. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  8. ^ “1951 Modesto Reds Statistics”. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  9. ^ “1951 California League Batting Leaders”. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  10. ^ “Lee Walls 1952 Batting Game Logs”. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  11. ^ “1952 Pittsburgh Pirates Statistics”. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  12. ^ “1952 Waco Pirates Statistics”. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  13. ^ “Lee Walls Minor & Japanese Leagues Statistics”. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
  14. ^ Mike Shatzkin, ed. (1990). The Ballplayers: Baseball’s Ultimate Biographical Reference. Arbor House. pp. 1137. ISBN 0-87795-984-6.
  15. ^ “Cincinnati Reds 8, Chicago Cubs 6”. Retrosheet. July 2, 1957.
  16. ^ “Chicago Cubs 15, Los Angeles Dodgers 2”. Retrosheet. April 24, 1958.
  17. ^ “American League 4, National League 3”. Retrosheet. July 8, 1958.
  18. ^ “Los Angeles Dodgers 8, San Francisco Giants 7”. Retrosheet. October 2, 1962.
  19. ^ “San Francisco Giants 6, Los Angeles Dodgers 4”. Retrosheet. October 3, 1962.

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