Bob Walk

American baseball player (born 1956)

Robert Vernon Walk (born November 26, 1956), nicknamed "The Whirly Bird", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies , Atlanta Braves (–), and Pittsburgh Pirates (–).

During his rookie season in Philadelphia, Walk won his first six decisions, finished with an 11–7 record and was the winning pitcher in Game One of the 1980 World Series, his Phillies defeating the Kansas City Royals in six games.

Walk was traded from the Phillies to the Braves for Gary Matthews on March 25, 1981. He bounced between the main club and Triple A, until being released in March 1984.

Walk was signed to a minor league contract by the Pirates and led the Pacific Coast League (PCL) in earned run average (ERA) and wins in , earning a trip back to the majors. He was named to the All Star team in when he won 12 games and posted a 2.71 ERA. In his waning years, Walk served as a spot starter and swingman for the Pirates' teams that won three straight NL East titles from –. His most memorable outing being when manager Jim Leyland removed him from the bullpen and named him a surprise starter in Game Five of the 1992 NLCS against Atlanta. Walk tossed a complete game three hitter to stave off elimination in a series which the Pirates would eventually lose in seven games. He was also the pitcher who was warming up in the bullpen when Francisco Cabrera hit the two run, game winning single against Stan Belinda, which won the series for Atlanta. Despite both Walk and Cabrera being right handers, Leyland opted to keep Belinda (despite having walked Damon Berryhill to load the bases and giving up a deep fly ball to Ron Gant) to pitch to Cabrera. In 1993, Walk recorded an NL worst 5.68 ERA and retired after the season.

Walk is currently an announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh and radio. He is also a fill in game analyst for MLB on FOX as well as a game analyst for Peacock’s MLB Sunday Leadoff during Pirates games.

Walk is the father of three children, Tommy, Johnny, and Ronnie. When Walk was a teenager, he attended a game at Dodger Stadium and threw a tennis ball from the stands at Houston Astros centerfielder César Cedeño. He was charged with battery but ultimately released after promising to the judge that he would not go to Dodger Stadium again.