Denny Walling
Encyclopedia
Dennis Martin Walling is a former Major League Baseball
player. Walling played all or part of eighteen seasons in the majors, from 1975 to 1992. He played his most games as a third baseman
, but also saw significant time as an outfielder
and first baseman
.
Walling may be best known as a pinch-hitting specialist
for the Houston Astros
. Nicknamed "Good Wood", Walling was a valuable bat off the bench for most of his career. Entering the 2009 season, his 108 career pinch hits are tied for 13th all-time. He hit
.271 out of 2,945 lifetime at bat
s. Walling currently serves as a roving hitting instructor for the Baltimore Orioles
.
.
Walling played college baseball at Clemson University
. He was originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals
in the 8th round of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft
, but chose to remain at Clemson. He was then drafted in the secondary phase of the 1975 draft
by the Oakland Athletics
.
, Walling made his major league debut on September 7, 1975. He appeared in six games for Oakland down the stretch, getting one hit
in eight at bats for a batting average of .125.
Walling opened the next season in the minors with the Chattanooga Lookouts
, the A's Class-AA affiliate. After batting .257 in 115 games for Chattanooga, Walling was again in Oakland in September. This time, he played just three games, going 3-for-11 for a .273 average.
In , Walling was back in the minors to start the year, but played just three games for the Class-AAA San Jose Missions
in the first two months due to injuries. On June 15, Walling was traded to the Houston Astros
for outfielder Willie Crawford
, who was playing his last season in the majors after a long career.
. He played 29 games for Charleston and batted .348. It would be the last time Walling played in the minor leagues for over a decade. He was once again promoted to the majors in September, this time playing in six games, going 6-for-21 (.286 average) with 6 RBI
.
In , Walling was the closest thing the Astros had to a regular left fielder, playing 49 games there, more than anyone else on the team. However, even then, he made more appearances as a pinch hitter than in the field, as he played only 55 of his 120 games as an outfielder. The Astrodome was a notoriously difficult place to be a batter, but Walling managed to be about an average major league hitter, posting an OPS+ of exactly 100. Overall, Walling batted .251 for the Astros, with 36 RBI.
Over the next ten seasons, Walling played pretty much the same role on the Astros, generally playing only against right-handed pitchers. For his career, Walling batted seven times as often against righties as against left-handed pitchers, prompted perhaps by his significantly lower batting average (.276 vs. righties, .236 vs. lefties) and slugging percentage (.399, .330). Statistically, his best year was , when he set career highs in several categories, most notably in home run
s (13) and RBI (58) while batting .312 in 130 games.
During this time, he shifted all over the field, playing good chunks of time at first base in , and , while playing mostly third base from until , when he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals
on August 31 for pitcher
Bob Forsch
.
at the end of the season.
. However, he went just 4-for-44 in 27 games, for a batting average of just .091. He had just one double and three singles among his hits, and had just 2 RBI. He was released by the Rangers in June, and did not play professionally for the rest of the season. In , Walling briefly attempted a comeback with his long-time team, the Houston Astros. However, he batted just three times with one hit before retiring.
for the Athletics from until , and for the New York Mets
from until . In both positions, he served under manager
Art Howe
, who was his teammate in Houston. In , he was hired by the Orioles as their roving minor league instructor, a position which he currently holds.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player. Walling played all or part of eighteen seasons in the majors, from 1975 to 1992. He played his most games as a third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
, but also saw significant time as an outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
and first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
.
Walling may be best known as a pinch-hitting specialist
Pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead ; the manager may use any player that has not yet entered the game as a substitute...
for the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
. Nicknamed "Good Wood", Walling was a valuable bat off the bench for most of his career. Entering the 2009 season, his 108 career pinch hits are tied for 13th all-time. He hit
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.271 out of 2,945 lifetime at bat
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
s. Walling currently serves as a roving hitting instructor for the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
.
Amateur career
Walling played at Howell High School in New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Walling played college baseball at Clemson University
Clemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
. He was originally drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
in the 8th round of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft
1974 Major League Baseball draft
-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1974 Major League Baseball draft.* Did not sign- Background :With the number one pick of the June regular phase, San Diego tabbed infielder Bill Almon from Brown University, one of six shortstops selected in round one...
, but chose to remain at Clemson. He was then drafted in the secondary phase of the 1975 draft
1975 Major League Baseball Draft
-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1975 Major League Baseball draft..Many baseball draft experts consider the 1975 draft to be the weakest in MLB history.- External links :*- References :...
by the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
.
Oakland
Walling began his professional career as an outfielder. Just three months after being drafted by the A's, and before he appeared in a game in the minor leaguesMinor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
, Walling made his major league debut on September 7, 1975. He appeared in six games for Oakland down the stretch, getting one hit
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
in eight at bats for a batting average of .125.
Walling opened the next season in the minors with the Chattanooga Lookouts
Chattanooga Lookouts
The Chattanooga Lookouts are a minor league baseball team based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. They are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team, which plays in the Southern League, has been a Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club since the 2009 season. The Lookouts...
, the A's Class-AA affiliate. After batting .257 in 115 games for Chattanooga, Walling was again in Oakland in September. This time, he played just three games, going 3-for-11 for a .273 average.
In , Walling was back in the minors to start the year, but played just three games for the Class-AAA San Jose Missions
San Jose Missions
The San Jose Missions were a minor league baseball team which played in the Pacific Coast League in 1977 and 1978. The team had been known as the Sacramento Solons prior to 1977, and played its home games in a football stadium there...
in the first two months due to injuries. On June 15, Walling was traded to the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
for outfielder Willie Crawford
Willie Crawford
Willie Murphy Crawford was a Major League Baseball outfielder who played with Los Angeles Dodgers , St. Louis Cardinals , Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics . Crawford was born in Los Angeles, California. He batted and threw left-handed...
, who was playing his last season in the majors after a long career.
Houston
After being traded to the Astros, Walling was assigned to Class-AAA Charleston CharliesCharleston Charlies
The Charleston Charlies was the name of the third and most recent Class AAA minor league baseball franchise that was located in Charleston, West Virginia, United States. The Charlies played in the International League from 1971 to 1976 as the relocated Columbus Jets franchise. In 1977 the franchise...
. He played 29 games for Charleston and batted .348. It would be the last time Walling played in the minor leagues for over a decade. He was once again promoted to the majors in September, this time playing in six games, going 6-for-21 (.286 average) with 6 RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
.
In , Walling was the closest thing the Astros had to a regular left fielder, playing 49 games there, more than anyone else on the team. However, even then, he made more appearances as a pinch hitter than in the field, as he played only 55 of his 120 games as an outfielder. The Astrodome was a notoriously difficult place to be a batter, but Walling managed to be about an average major league hitter, posting an OPS+ of exactly 100. Overall, Walling batted .251 for the Astros, with 36 RBI.
Over the next ten seasons, Walling played pretty much the same role on the Astros, generally playing only against right-handed pitchers. For his career, Walling batted seven times as often against righties as against left-handed pitchers, prompted perhaps by his significantly lower batting average (.276 vs. righties, .236 vs. lefties) and slugging percentage (.399, .330). Statistically, his best year was , when he set career highs in several categories, most notably in home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s (13) and RBI (58) while batting .312 in 130 games.
During this time, he shifted all over the field, playing good chunks of time at first base in , and , while playing mostly third base from until , when he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
on August 31 for pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
Bob Forsch
Bob Forsch
Robert Herbert Forsch was an American right-handed starting pitcher who spent most of his sixteen years in Major League Baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals before finishing his playing career with the Houston Astros...
.
Cardinals
Walling played two and a half seasons in St. Louis, mostly as a pinch hitter. While he batted .304 in in 79 at bats, he batted just .220 in , and was allowed to become a free agentFree agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
at the end of the season.
End of career
Going into , Walling signed with the Texas RangersTexas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
. However, he went just 4-for-44 in 27 games, for a batting average of just .091. He had just one double and three singles among his hits, and had just 2 RBI. He was released by the Rangers in June, and did not play professionally for the rest of the season. In , Walling briefly attempted a comeback with his long-time team, the Houston Astros. However, he batted just three times with one hit before retiring.
Coaching career
After his playing career ended, Walling remained in baseball as a coach. In the major leagues, he has served as the hitting coachCoach (baseball)
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...
for the Athletics from until , and for the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
from until . In both positions, he served under manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
Art Howe
Art Howe
Arthur Henry Howe Jr. is a former Major League Baseball infielder, coach, scout and manager. He is an alumnus of the University of Wyoming...
, who was his teammate in Houston. In , he was hired by the Orioles as their roving minor league instructor, a position which he currently holds.