Jerry Walker had one good season with the Baltimore Orioles, which resulted in some All-Star Game history.
Jerry Walker, who made his Major League debut with the Baltimore Orioles at the age of 18 and later worked as a front-office executive, died recently at the age of 85, the team reported.
Walker died last weekend, shortly before the All-Star Game, where he holds a historical distinction.
When Walker made the American League All-Star squad in 1959, he was designated the starting pitcher for the second All-Star Game that year.
At 20 years and 172 days old, he became the game’s youngest starting pitcher, a record he still retains today. He also became the first Orioles pitcher to start an All-Star Game. Corbin Burnes, the current ace, opened Tuesday’s game.
Paul Skenes, a Pittsburgh Pirates rookie who started for the National League on Tuesday, became the game’s sixth-youngest starting pitcher.
In between the two are Fernando Valenzuela, Dwight Gooden, Mark Fidrych, and Vida Blue.
In that third All-Star season of his eight-year Major League career, he went 11-10 with a 2.92 ERA in 30 games, 22 of which he started. He had 100 strikeouts and 52 walks in 182 innings. His final victory that season was a 16-inning shutout.
The Ada, Oklahoma native was a “bonus baby” who signed with the Orioles right out of high school after graduating from Byng High. He continued his study at East Central University before joining the Orioles and pitching in 1957, skipping the minors.
He was a member of the “Kiddie Corps,” alongside Milt Pappas, Steve Barber, and Chuck Estrada.
He spent four seasons with Baltimore, where he went 15-14 with a 3.33 ERA. The Orioles traded him to the Kansas City Athletics for future Oakland Athletics manager and Baseball Hall of Fame member Dick Williams.
He spent two seasons with Kansas City and another two with Cleveland before retiring in 1964. He concluded with a career record of 37-44 with a 4.36 ERA. While in Cleveland, he salvaged pitcher Early Wynn’s 300th career victory. Wynn is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
After retiring from baseball, he worked behind the scenes, including a one-year tenure as general manager of the Detroit Tigers in 1993.
After that, he worked as the St. Louis Cardinals’ vice president and director of player personnel from 1995 until 2007 under Walt Jocketty. From 2009 until 2014, he served as vice president and special assistant to Jocketty at Cincinnati.
