Jerome Walton
From Sports Library
| Jerome Walton | |
|---|---|
| Outfield | |
| Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| April 4, 1989 for the Chicago Cubs | |
| Final game | |
| May 6, 1998 for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays | |
| Career statistics | |
| Batting average | .269 |
| Home runs | 25 |
| RBI | 132 |
| Teams | |
|
|
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
Jerome O'Terrell Walton (born July 8, 1965 in Newnan, Georgia) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago Cubs (1989-1992), California Angels (1993), Cincinnati Reds (1994-1995), Atlanta Braves (1996), Baltimore Orioles (1997), and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998). He batted and threw right-handed.
He graduated from Enterprise High School in Enterprise, Alabama and attended Enterprise State Junior College. Walton was drafted in the second round (36th overall) of the 1986 Major League Baseball draft by the Chicago Cubs. Walton made a meteoric rise in the Cubs' organization, and made the big league squad during the 1989 preseason.
Walton made his major league debut on April 4, 1989 as a Chicago Cub. He was named the 1989 National League MLB Rookie of the Year, playing in 116 games, hitting .293 with 24 stolen bases and a 30-game hitting streak, a record for a Cubs' rookie. The season was a magical one for Walton and the Cubs, as the team won the National League East. Walton's teammate and friend, Dwight Smith, was runner-up. (Walton apparently keeps in contact with Smith to this day as Walton and his bodyguard hung out with Smith during the 2007 Chicago Cubs Convention.)
The next season, Walton arrived at Mesa 30 pounds overweight, and his career started on a precipitous decline. By 1991, he was out of the Cubs' organization, as the Cubs moved to replace him, first with the diminutive Doug Dascenzo, then with budding superstar Sammy Sosa.
In a 10 year Major League career, Walton compiled a .269 batting average with 25 home runs, 132 RBI and 58 stolen bases.
Teams
- Chicago Cubs (1989-1992)
- California Angels (1993)
- Cincinnati Reds (1994-1995)
- Atlanta Braves (1996)
- Baltimore Orioles (1997)
- Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998)
External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
| Preceded by Chris Sabo |
National League Rookie of the Year 1989 |
Succeeded by David Justice |
| 1989 National League East Champion Chicago Cubs Starting Lineup: 1. Jerome Walton CF | 2. Ryne Sandberg 2B | 3. Andre Dawson RF | 4. Mark Grace 1B | 5. Dwight Smith/Lloyd McClendon LF | 6. Luis Salazar/Vance Law 3B | 7. Shawon Dunston SS | 8. Joe Girardi/Damon Berryhill/Rick Wrona C Starting Pitchers: Greg Maddux | Mike Bielecki | Rick Sutcliffe | Scott Sanderson | Paul Kilgus |
Categories: Baseball Rookies of the Year | Major league players from Georgia | 1965 births | African American baseball players | Living people | Major league center fielders | Chicago Cubs players | California Angels players | Cincinnati Reds players | Baltimore Orioles players | Tampa Bay Devil Rays players
