Up on the blog today we have a “not so missing” 1978 card for former outfielder Denny Walling, who played in a half-dozen games during the 1977 season for the Houston Astros:
Walling hit a solid .286 with six hits over 21 at-bats for Houston,
scoring a run and driving in six while hitting the first extra-base-hit
of his career, a triple.
He would go on to put in a very nice 18-year Big League career that saw
him play through the 1992 season, finishing up with a .271 batting
average, with 799 hits over 2945 at-bats, most for the Houston Astros
for whom he played between 1977 and 1988.
The most action he ever got in any one season would be 1986, helping the
Houston Astros reach the National League championship series against
the New York Mets, which was epic.
That season all Walling did was hit a career high .312 with 119 hits
over 382 at-bats, the only time over his career he’d reach triple-digits
in hits.
A man of all positions, Walling played all three outfield slots while
also putting in substantial time at third base and first base, with
third seeing the most action over his career.
