Gene Walter worked hard, made bigs, then came injury

-

Gene Walter 1989 Seattle Mariners baseball card

Still relatively new in the majors, San Diego Padre Gene Walter tried to explain to his college area's newspaper The Berwyn Life how he got there.

It came down to work.

"I'm not the greatest athlete in the world," Walter told The Life in June 1986. "More so than some other guys, I have to work harder."

Walter eventually worked hard enough to see the majors over four seasons. He then worked unsuccessfully to get back, despite throwing a AAA no-hitter after returning from shoulder surgery.

Walter's career began in 1982, taken by the Padres in the 29nd round of the draft out of Eastern Kentucky University. He also attended Morton College outside Chicago.

Walter started with the Padres at short-season Walla Walla. He made single-A Miami in 1983,  then AA Beaumont in 1984. 

For 1985, he made AAA Las Vegas and, that August, San Diego.

Walter saw 15 relief appearances with the Padres that first year. He went 0-2, with three saves and a 2.05 ERA. He then returned for 1986 and went 2-2, with a 3.86 ERA in 57 relief outings.

That offseason, he moved to the Mets in a trade. Walter saw 21 outings with the Mets that year and 33 at AAA Tidewater. Early control problems sent him back to AAA in late May, The New York Daily News wrote.

"He's lost the confidence that he can throw strikes right now," Mets pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre told The Daily News of Walter. "He's not just missing the plate. He's missing by a great deal."

Walter made it back to the majors for 1988 for 35 total relief outings, 19 with the Mets and then 16 with the Mariners. He had a 4.60 combined ERA.

Walter, however, then lost 1989 to shoulder surgery. He returned in 1990 to see 20 outings, 7 starts at AAA Omaha with the Royals and three relief outings at AAA Tucson with the Astros.

In July 1990, he threw that no-hitter with Omaha, which Walter told The Omaha World-Herald showed he was making progress.

"I feel confident that I'm making quality pitches," Walter told The World-Herald. "I'm getting the sharpness back on my pitches, the sink on my fastball, the break on my slider, my location."

Walter continued pitching in the minors for three more seasons, with the Red Sox, Cardinals, Blue Jays and Marlins. He last played in 1993 at AAA Edmonton with the Marlins to end his career.

Gene Walter 1989 Seattle Mariners baseball card


1990 Minor League Tally 
Players/Coaches Featured:4,565
Made the Majors:1,446-31.7%-X
Never Made Majors:3,119-68.3%
5+ Seasons in the Majors:590
10+ Seasons in the Minors:361

Browse By:

-Player Name
-Player Team
-Date Featured

Players A to Z

Popular posts from this blog

Jim Clancy became early Blue Jays regular, passed in 2025

-
Image
Toronto Blue Jays starter Jim Clancy admitted his legs were shaking toward the end of this September 1982 game - as fans cheered more the deeper into the game he took his perfect game bid, he told The Associated Press later. He ultimately made it to the ninth inning, before he gave up a broken-bat bloop single that fell just out of the reach of his second baseman, The AP wrote . "It was a good pitch," Clancy told The AP . "It was a fastball in. It broke his bat, but I guess I didn't get it in good enough." Clancy flirted with perfection in that game in his sixth season in the majors. He went on to throw enough good pitches to see 15 major league campaigns , 12 as an original Blue Jay. Clancy's career began in 1974, taken by the Rangers in the fourth round of the draft out of St. Rita of Cascia High in Chicago. He started with the Rangers in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He then moved to single-A Anderson and AA San Antonio for 1976. He then moved to the...
Read more

A to Z: 1990 Minor League Players, Baseball Profiles

-
Image
What happened to your favorite minor league team in 1990? Find out here. Since late 2009, the players of 1990 have been featured at Greatest21Days.com, one at a time. Here, they've been ordered here alphabetically.  Every player has a story. With the help of contemporaneous newspaper articles, find that story here. Most recent players added Dec. 1, 2024 List of 1990 minor league players featured, in alphabetical order: Total: 4,457 A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z A  -  Bill Abare  got big hit at Dunedin, saw three pro seasons, 10/31/13  -  Glenn Abbott  saw bigs over decade, later turned coach, 7/27/14  -  Kurt Abbott 's first ML hit went for homer, saw 9 seasons, 3/22/15  -  Kyle Abbott  saw time in four major league seasons, Japan, 10/4/17  -  Paul Abbott  returned from injuries, made 11 ML seasons, 5/23/11 ...
Read more

Features from the 1990 minor league sets (By Date)

-
Image
What happened to your favorite minor league team in 1990? Find out here. Since late 2009, the players of 1990 have been featured at Greatest21Days.com, one at a time. Here, they've been ordered here by the date published, newest first.  Every player has a story. With the help of contemporaneous newspaper articles, find that story here. Most recent players added July 13 ,  2025 Features in order of when the y appeared: July 2025 Trenidad Hubbard  dreamed, made bigs over 10 seasons,  7/13/25 Glenn Davis  got help, went from tough youth to ML star, 7/12/25 Matt Rambo   had jitters early, saw 5 seasons, AA, injury, 7/9/25 Bryan Foster  improved enough for 5 pro seasons, high-A, 7/6/25 T.J. Lucin  hoped to be FMLBBP, saw 2 seasons, single-A, 7/5/25 Edwin Valentin  saw 3 seasons, single-A, from Puerto Rico, 7/1/25 June 2025 Perry Berry  saw 4 seasons, high-A, went into education , 6/30/25 Jorge Pineda  made perfect throw, played one pr...
Read more

Bob Buchanan got majors opportunities with Reds, Royals

-
Image
Called up to the Reds in July 1985, Bob Buchanan looked forward to getting into his first game, The Cincinnati Enquirer wrote . "I'm anxious to get my first major league appearance over with," Buchanan told The Enquirer . "But as a reliever you're so used to waiting for the right time. When I get the opportunity I'll do it." Buchanan got that opportunity in his seventh pro season . He saw 14 outings. He then waited four more seasons for his next shot. In more than a decade in the pros, those two opportunities proved the extent of his time in the majors. Buchanan's career began in 1979, taken by the Reds in the second round of the draft out of Riverview High School in Florida. Buchanan started with the Reds at rookie Billings . He went 7-5 in 14 starts. He then moved to single-A Tampa in 1980, where he went 7-7, with a 4.28 ERA. He picked up one of his 1980 wins in a June game as he struck out four, The Tampa Tribune wrote . "My fastball was w...
Read more

Eddie Williams, Been Interesting - 131

-
Image
Eddie Williams had his share of trials and tribulations over his career, he told The Beaver County Times in 1997. The former first-round pick was in his ninth season with time in the bigs that year. He had also played in Japan and Mexico . "I've been around the world and I've played just about everywhere," Williams told The Times that August. "But you know what? I wouldn't change a thing. It's been tough at times, but it's also been interesting." Williams started off with the expectations that came with being the fourth-overall pick in the draft. The Mets selected him there in 1983 out of Herbert Hoover High School in San Diego. Williams started off at short-season Little Falls, moving to single-A Columbia to start 1984. In June, he was traded to the Reds. After playing at single-A Cedar Rapids in 1985, Williams was taken by the Indians in the rule 5 draft. After never playing higher than single-A, Williams made his major league ...
Read more

1990 Wichita Wranglers player profiles, AA San Diego

-
Image
Features on each member of the 1990 Wichita Wranglers, AA affiliate of the San Diego Padres, as included in that year's team set. Wichita Wranglers (28) Andy Benes  made the Olympics, then bigs over 14 seasons Ricky Bones  used luck, opportunity over 11 majors seasons Doug Brocail  saw 15 major league campaigns, later coached Rafael Chaves  made AA as player, bigs as coach, cried Brian Cisarik  hit well in college, played 5 pro seasons Wichita Wranglers mascot  Cookie  had versatile performers Greg David  learned pro realities over 8 seasons, made AA Todd Hansen  knew he had to pitch well in 1987 start; Saw pros over seven seasons, made AA , 10/20/20 Jeremy Hernandez  moved from starting to relief and then made the bigs over five seasons , 3/30/20 Charlie Hillemann  made AAA, later decided to quit baseball, go home and be a dad , 11/2/20 Rich Holsman  liked to play the game, did so over five seasons; Made AA , 10/30/20 Mike Hum...
Read more

Mark Thurmond helped Padres to Series, saw 8 ML seasons

-
Image
With 14 regular season wins in 1984, the Padres' Mark Thurmond helped his team to the playoffs and then to the World Series . His reward: Starting World Series Game 1 . "It's gonna be fun," Thurmond told UPI ahead of the contest. "I'm gonna have a good time and enjoy the game. When you don't enjoy the game, you've got to get out of it. We like to play the game here." Thurmond ended up not having the best of games, he took the loss. But Thurmond made there in his second major league season. He went on to see time in eight big league campaigns , and nearly throw a no-hitter. Thurmond's career began in 1979, taken by the Padres in the fifth round of the draft out of Texas A&M University . Thurmond started with the Padres at AA Amarillo . He spent three seasons there, then made AAA Hawaii in 1982. In May 1983, he made San Diego . He saw 21 outings, 18 starts and went 7-3, with a 2.65 ERA. He then returned for 1984 and went 14-8 overall, wi...
Read more