| Wally Bunker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1945-01-25)January 25, 1945 (age 80) Seattle, Washington, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 29, 1963, for the Baltimore Orioles | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 26, 1971, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 60–52 |
| Earned run average | 3.51 |
| Strikeouts | 569 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Wallace Edward Bunker (born January 25, 1945)[1] is an American formerMajor League Baseballpitcher. A right-hander, Bunker pitched for theBaltimore Orioles from1963 to1968 andKansas City Royals from1969 to1971.[1][2]
Bunker pitched for theCapuchino High School varsity baseball team inSan Bruno, California, in 1962 and 1963, as the team won the Mid-Peninsula League championships. He also played on the varsitybasketball team.[3][verification needed] TheBaltimore Orioles had ranked him andDave Boswell as the two best pitching prospects in the country. Not able to afford giving each of them hugebonuses, the ballclub only signed Bunker after being disappointed by Boswell's performance in hissenior year of high school.[4]
As a 19-year-old in1964, Bunker won his first six starts of the season, the first of which was a 2–1 one-hitter over theWashington Senators. He became the ace of a staff that also featuredMilt Pappas andRobin Roberts. Bunker finished the season 19–5 to date, the 19 wins are an Oriole rookie single-season record) with a 2.69earned-run average and wonThe Sporting NewsAmerican League Rookie pitcher of the Year Award. He also received the only first-place vote not won byTony Oliva for the Rookie of the Year honors. That year, the Orioles fell short of the American League pennant, finishing in third place; theNew York Yankees won their fifth consecutive pennant, finishing one game ahead of theChicago White Sox and two games ahead of the Orioles.
So popular had Bunker become in his rookie season that Baltimore mayorTheodore McKeldin, prior to a June 17 game atMemorial Stadium, proclaimed the mound "Baltimore's Bunker Hill"–even christening it with a handful of earth fromthe actual Bunker Hill. Bunker then defeated the then-first place White Sox 6–1, the victory putting the Orioles in first place. Sixteen days later, he pitched his second one-hitter of the season, defeating theKansas City Athletics 4–0, the lone hit beingRocky Colavito's fourth-inning double.
After Bunker's rookie season, arm ailments — most likely torn tendons or ligaments of some kind, which often went undiagnosed in Bunker's era — in subsequent seasons prevented him from enjoying a 1964 sequel. A "sore arm" (which, according to Bunker, he incurred in late September 1964, on a cold night inCleveland) during the1965 season reduced him to a part-time starter afterwards. He posted a 10–8 record that year and a 10–6 record in1966. In the latter year, the Orioles won theWorld Series in a four-game sweep of the defending championLos Angeles Dodgers. In Game 3 of that Series, Bunker outdueledClaude Osteen with a six-hit, 1–0 shutout, which was sandwiched between shutouts byJim Palmer andDave McNally as the Orioles set a Series record by not allowing a run for33+1⁄3 consecutive innings. (Moe Drabowsky pitched6+1⁄3 scoreless innings inrelief in Game One to begin the streak.)
In1968 the Kansas City Royals selected Bunker in theexpansion draft, and he was their winningest pitcher in1969 with a 12–11 record. On April 8 of that year, he threw the very first pitch in Kansas City Royals history. The Royals defeated theMinnesota Twins 4–3 in 12 innings, with Drabowsky (whom the Royals had also acquired from Baltimore in the expansion draft) gaining the victory in relief.
After the 1969 season, the arm troubles that limited Bunker to a part-time starter shortened his career. After slumping to 2–11 in1970, he was released in May,1971. Bunker had pitched his final major-league game at just 26 years of age.
In his career, Bunker won 60 games against 52 losses, with 569strikeouts and a 3.51 earned-run average in1,085+1⁄3innings pitched. As a batter Bunker had 31hits in 331at-bats for a .094batting average. Defensively, he recorded a .969fielding percentage which was 16 points higher than the league average at his position.
Bunker'ssinker was his most effective pitch in his short career.Mickey Mantle once referred to Bunker's sinker as the type of pitch "you could break your back on."[5]
Bunker and his wife Kathy wereArtists in Residence at Palm Key Nature Getaway inRidgeland, South Carolina.[6][7] They began writing and illustratingchildren's literature under the "Wal-De-Mar, Friends and Such" collection. They published two books in 2015.A Lowcountry Tale Concerning Wal-De-Mar Wiggins[8] introduces a bird born in South Carolina's Lowcountry. InI Am Me, the bird dreams of who he could be and realizes the value of being himself.
Bunker and Kathy live inCoeur d'Alene, Idaho.[7]
· Baseball Almanac