Kenneth Rogers Walters (November 11, 1933 – January 26, 2010) was a right-handed

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

outfielder who played from 1960 to 1961 for the Philadelphia Phillies and in 1963 with the Cincinnati Reds. Walters was born in 1933 in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

. Signed as an amateur free agent by the Detroit Tigers in 1952, he began his minor league career that year, with the

Jamestown Falcons Jamestown often refers to: * Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas Jamestown may also refer to Places Australia *Jamestown, South Australia Barbados * Holetown, Saint James, Barbados; sometimes called its ...

. In 125 games, he hit .273 with three home runs and 32 doubles. He played with Jamestown in 1953 as well, hitting .320 with 13 home runs in 122 games. Walters did not play in 1954 and 1955, however in 1956 he played for the

Augusta Tigers The Augusta Tigers was the primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams in Augusta, Georgia. Beginning in 1884, Augusta has hosted numerous teams in various leagues. History The Augusta Yankees were a South Atlantic League minor league ba ...

and

Charleston Senators The Charleston Senators were an American minor league baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They were the first professional baseball team to play in Charleston, beginning play in 1910. The team was inactive during a few periods, playi ...

, hitting a combined .251 with 20 home runs in 124 games. For the Birmingham Barons in 1957, he hit .275 with 17 home runs in 138 games, and in 1958 he hit .255 with eight home runs in 123 games for Charleston. He played for the

Fort Worth Cats The Fort Worth Cats was a professional baseball team based in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. The Cats were a member of the South Division of the now disbanded United League Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Basebal ...

in 1959, hitting .291 with 21 home runs in 152 games. On December 5, 1959, he was traded to the Phillies with minor league Alex Cosmidis and

Ted Lepcio Thaddeus Stanley "Ted" Lepcio (July 28, 1929 – December 11, 2019) was an American professional baseball utility infielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Whit ...

for Chico Fernandez and

Ray Semproch Roman Anthony Semproch (born January 7, 1931), also known as Baby and Ray, is a retired right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1958 to 1961 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels. He was signed by ...

. On April 12, 1960, he made his big league debut. In his first game – which was against the Cincinnati Reds – he went 1-for-3, singling in his first big league at-bat. Overall that season, he hit .239 with eight home runs in 124 games. In 426 at-bats, he struck out 50 times and walked 16 times. He was on the Phillies' bench in 1961, hitting .228 with two home runs in 180 at-bats over 86 games. He was purchased by Cincinnati from the Phillies on February 9, 1962. He spent all of that season in the minors, hitting .300 with 22 home runs, 43 doubles, six triples and 96 RBI in 152 games for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

. Back in the big leagues in 1963, he appeared in only 49 games for the Reds, hitting .187 in 75 at-bats. He played his final big league game on September 29, 1963. Although his big league career was over after 1963, his minor league career continued until 1965. He played for the minor league San Diego Padres in both 1964 and 1965, hitting .263 with 16 home runs in the former season and .227 with nine home runs in the latter. Overall, Walters hit .231 with 11 home runs and 58 RBI in 259 big league games. In 681 at-bats, he struck out 89 times and walked 25 times. In the minors, he hit .276 with 129 home runs and 233 doubles in 1195 games. Walters died in San Ramon,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

on January 26, 2010.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Walters, Ken 1933 births 2010 deaths Augusta Tigers players Baseball players from California Birmingham Barons players Charleston Senators players Cincinnati Reds players Fort Worth Cats players Jamestown Falcons players Major League Baseball outfielders Philadelphia Phillies players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Sportspeople from Fresno, California