Danny Walton
Daniel James Walton was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. Walton attended Bishop Amat [Memorial High School], and was selected in the 10th round of the 1965 [Major League Baseball draft|1965 MLB draft] by the Houston Astros. He played for the Houston Astros, Seattle Pilots / Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Yokohama Taiyo Whales, and Texas Rangers. During a nine-year major league baseball career, he hit.223, with 28 home runs, and 107 runs batted in in 297 career games.
Walton, along with Sandy Valdespino, was traded from the Houston Astros to the Seattle Pilots for Tommy Davis on August 31, 1969. Popular with the Brewers fans who sat in the left field bleachers at Milwaukee County Stadium, Walton was dealt to the 1971 [New York Yankees season|Yankees] for Bobby Mitchell and Frank Tepedino on June 7, 1971. Walton was sent by the Yankees to the Minnesota Twins for Rick Dempsey on October 31, 1972.
The Sporting News awarded Walton their The Sporting News [Minor League Player of the Year Award|Minor League Player of the Year Award] in 1969 for his season with the Oklahoma City 89ers. He batted.332 with 25 home runs and 119 RBI that season.
Walton's friend and minor-league teammate while in the Dodgers organization, longtime Atlanta Braves broadcaster Joe Simpson, called Walton "arguably the strongest man I ever played with." One season while Walton was playing winter ball in Puerto Rico, he answered an advertisement seeking a sparring partner for boxer Joe King Roman. Walton had small amount of previous experience as an amateur boxer and without much effort, in his words, "Beat the hell out of ." Walton was immediately fired as Roman's sparring partner.
Walton died August 9, 2017, in Morgan, Utah, aged 70. He worked as a welder after his retirement from professional baseball.