Robert Vernon Walk (born November 26, 1956), nicknamed "The Whirly Bird", is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (),

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

(–), and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

(–).

Philadelphia Phillies

During his rookie season in Philadelphia, Walk won his first six decisions, finished with an 11–7 record and was the winning pitcher in Game One of the 1980 World Series, his Phillies defeating the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

in six games.

Atlanta Braves

Walk was traded from the Phillies to the Braves for Gary Matthews on March 25, 1981. He bounced between the main club and Triple-A, until being released in March 1984.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Walk was signed to a minor league contract by the Pirates and led the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL) in earned run average (ERA) and wins in , earning a trip back to the majors. He was named to the All-Star team in when he won 12 games and posted a 2.71 ERA. In his waning years, Walk served as a spot starter and swingman for the Pirates' teams that won three straight NL East titles from –. His most memorable outing being when manager Jim Leyland removed him from the bullpen and named him a surprise starter in Game Five of the 1992 NLCS against Atlanta. Walk tossed a complete game three-hitter to stave off elimination in a series which the Pirates would eventually lose in seven games. He was also the pitcher who was warming up in the bullpen when Francisco Cabrera hit the two-run, game-winning single against Stan Belinda, which won the series for Atlanta. Despite both Walk and Cabrera being right-handers, Leyland opted to keep Belinda (despite having walked Damon Berryhill to load the bases and giving up a deep fly ball to Ron Gant) to pitch to Cabrera. In 1993, Walk recorded an NL-worst 5.68 ERA and retired after the season.

Post-career

Walk is currently an announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh and radio. He is also a fill-in game analyst for ''

MLB on FOX The ''MLB on Fox'' (also known as ''Fox MLB'') is an American presentation of Major League Baseball (MLB) games produced by Fox Sports (United States), Fox Sports, the sports division of the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox), since June 1, 1996. Fo ...

'' as well as a game analyst for Peacock’s '' MLB Sunday Leadoff'' during Pirates games.

Personal

Walk is the father of three children, Tommy, Johnny, and Ronnie. When Walk was a teenager, he attended a game at

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...

and threw a

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from the stands at

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

centerfielder

César Cedeño César Cedeño Encarnación (born February 25, 1951) is a Dominican former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1970 to 1986, most prominently as a member of the Houston Astros whe ...

. He was charged with battery but ultimately released after promising to the judge that he would not go to Dodger Stadium again.

References

External links

Bob Walk
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Walk, Bob 1956 births Living people Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Los Angeles Carolina Mudcats players College of the Canyons Cougars baseball players Hawaii Islanders players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball pitchers National League All-Stars Oklahoma City 89ers players Peninsula Pilots players Sportspeople from Greater Los Angeles People from Van Nuys, Los Angeles Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates announcers Pittsburgh Pirates players Reading Phillies players Richmond Braves players Spartanburg Phillies players