Raymond Lee Walls Jr. (January 6, 1933 – October 11, 1993) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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, an

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who appeared in

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(MLB) between and as a member of the

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 (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. He also played the 1965 season in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, for the

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. The native of

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threw and batted right-handed, stood tall, and weighed . Walls wore eyeglasses on the field during his active career — a rarity for players of his era — and was nicknamed "

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" because of his eyewear.

Playing career

Walls graduated from Pasadena High School and attended

Pasadena City College Pasadena City College (PCC) is a Public college, public community college in Pasadena, California. History Pasadena, California, Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. From 1928 to 1953, it operated as a four- ...

. He signed with the Pirates in 1951. In , his first full MLB season, Walls batted .274 with 11 triples (third in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

), 11 home runs and 54 RBIs. On July 2, , Walls—by this time a member of the Cubs— hit for the cycle in an 8–6 loss to Cincinnati at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...

. 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, , 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 The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...

, minutes down the

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from his hometown of Pasadena, Walls hit three

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s and had eight RBIs in a 15–2 Chicago rout. Selected to the National League All-Star team as a reserve, he

pinch hit In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

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 In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

as the

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won, 4–3, at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. Walls' production declined in , and after that season his last five years in MLB were spent as a

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

, playing infield, outfield, and

pinch hitting In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, American ...

. Walls delivered 45

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in 176 at bats (.256) during his career as a pinch hitter, and was particularly effective in , 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 The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

, necessitating a best-of-three playoff round. Walls played all three games of the

1962 National League tie-breaker series The 1962 National League tie-breaker series was a three-game playoff series that extended Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1962 regular season to determine the winner of the National League (NL) pennant. The games were played from October 1 to 3, ...

, 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. 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 Larry Allen Burright (born July 10, 1937 in Roseville, Illinois) is a retired American professional baseball player and former second baseman and shortstop. He appeared in 159 games played in Major League Baseball between and for the Los Angel ...

, made the final

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Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...

. 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 The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

in the

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. 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.

Later career

A decade and a half after his last appearance for the Dodgers, Walls returned to MLB as a

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for the

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(1979–82) and Yankees (1983), working primarily for Billy Martin, a teammate on the 1960 Reds. He also worked as a

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manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. He died in

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at the age of 60 after suffering from liver disease.

References

External links

Lee Walls
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Cartoon of Lee Walls
in the

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

(June 7, 1958) via

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walls, Lee 1933 births 1993 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Pasadena, California Baseball players from San Diego Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Hankyu Braves players Hollywood Stars players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball right fielders Modesto Reds players Nashville Sounds managers National League All-Stars New York Yankees coaches Oakland Athletics coaches Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates players Sportspeople from Pasadena, California Waco Pirates players Pasadena High School (California) alumni Pasadena City College alumni

Playing career

Later career

See also

References

External links