Jerry Walker
Feb 12, 1939 (Ada, OK) – Jul 14, 2024 (Ada, OK) · died at 85
General manager for the Tigers (1992–1994).
Across the full 3-season sample, the measured profile stands out most for avoidance of dead payroll (91st percentile). The clearest contrast is net WAR per trade (16th percentile): the realized net WAR return per trade has ranked below most peers. Because the sample covers fewer than five seasons, those comparisons are descriptive rather than stable.
3 seasons with salary-era data across 1 stint. All figures are franchise-level outcomes during the tenure, not solely attributable to one executive.
0 pennants · 0 playoff appearances · 213–226 (0.485)
Overview
| Team | Role | Year | Pay $M |
Rel Pay |
Surp $M |
Surp WAR |
Dead % |
Cheap $M |
Draft $M |
Trd $M |
Int'l $M |
$ / WAR |
WAR | Depth | Dead WAR |
HG | Trade | Net/ Trd |
FA | R5 | RFA | PPA | CPA | WAB | TAB | W-L% | PO | Pen | WS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tigers |
GM | 1992 75–87 | $27 | 90 | -1 | -1.5 | 10% | +3 | +3 | +0 | -0 | $0.7M | 33.5 | 6.0 | -5.1 | +18.1 | -1.2 | -1.19 | -46.3 | +0.0 | 2.76 | 0.22 | -5.6 | +0.5 | 0.463 | ||||
| Tigers |
GM | 1993 85–77 | $38 | 121 | -9 | -11.1 | 18% | +4 | +3 | +2 | -0 | $1.0M | 34.6 | 8.0 | -4.4 | +11.8 | +0.3 | +0.16 | -50.5 | +0.0 | 1.63 | 0.16 | +0.7 | -1.9 | 0.525 | ||||
| Tigers |
GM | 1994 53–62 | $41 | 127 | -18 | -15.8 | 40% | -1 | -0 | -0 | -0 | $1.8M | 18.0 | 4.0 | -4.0 | -0.3 | -5.7 | -1.89 | -15.2 | +0.0 | 0.25 | 0.07 | -7.4 | -11.8 | 0.461 | ||||
| Career total (1985+ data) | $106 | 113 | -29 | -28.4 | 22% | +2 | +2 | +1 | -0 | $1.1M | 86.1 | 6.0 | -4.5 | +29.6 | -6.5 | -1.09 | -112.0 | +0.0 | – | 1.25 | 0.13 | -12.3 | -13.2 | 0.485 | – | – | – | ||
Roster Construction
Build channels — net fWAR
Acquired minus surrendered / signed minus walked.
Trades
Trades made — 7 deals credited to Jerry Walker, best expected value first; surplus is realized value in $M
NYM · Joe McIlvaine
+$13.6M
DET · Jerry Walker
−$13.6M
NYM · Al Harazin
+$2.4M
DET · Jerry Walker
−$2.4M
DET · Jerry Walker
+$0.8M
MIL · Sal Bando
−$0.8M
DET · Jerry Walker
+$0.8M
NYM · Joe McIlvaine
−$0.8M
LAD · Fred Claire
+$24.0M
DET · Jerry Walker
−$24.0M
BOS · Lou Gorman
+$4.0M
DET · Jerry Walker
−$4.0M
DET · Jerry Walker
+$4.8M
SDP · Randy Smith
−$4.8M
Players acquired — 38 players, by realized fWAR for the franchise (scroll for more)
| Player | Pos | Team | How | Year | Szns | fWAR | WAR/yr | RFA | PPA | CPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Higginson | OF | DET |
Draft | 1992 | 9 | +17.8 | +2.0 | – | – | – |
| Brian Moehler | P | DET |
Draft | 1993 | 7 | +12.0 | +1.7 | – | – | – |
| David Wells | P | DET |
Free agency | 1993 | 3 | +5.3 | +1.8 | – | 4.8% | 0.49% |
| Chad Kreuter | C | DET |
Free agency | 1992 | 3 | +4.8 | +1.6 | – | 2.4% | 0.19% |
| Juan Encarnación | OF | DET |
Intl FA | 1992 | 3 | +2.7 | +0.9 | – | – | – |
| Tom Bolton | P | DET |
Free agency | 1992 | 1 | +1.4 | +1.4 | – | 2.2% | 0.22% |
| Bill Krueger | P | DET |
Free agency | 1992 | 1 | +1.4 | +1.4 | – | 2.3% | 0.23% |
| Dan Gladden | OF | DET |
Trade | 1992 | 2 | +1.4 | +0.7 | – | 1.8% | 0.14% |
| Tim Belcher | P | DET |
Free agency | 1994 | 1 | +1.2 | +1.2 | – | 0.4% | 0.11% |
| Junior Félix | OF | DET |
Free agency | 1994 | 1 | +1.1 | +1.1 | – | 0.4% | 0.11% |
| Juan Samuel | 2B | DET |
Free agency | 1994 | 1 | +1.1 | +1.1 | – | 0.4% | 0.10% |
| Frank Catalanotto | OF | DET |
Draft | 1992 | 2 | +0.6 | +0.3 | – | – | – |
| Ron Tingley | C | DET |
Free agency | 1994 | 1 | +0.4 | +0.4 | – | 0.0% | 0.01% |
| Storm Davis | P | DET |
Free agency | 1993 | 2 | +0.3 | +0.1 | – | 0.7% | 0.07% |
| Greg Cadaret | P | DET |
Trade | 1994 | 1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | – | 0.1% | 0.02% |
| Gene Harris | P | DET |
Trade | 1994 | 1 | +0.2 | +0.2 | – | 0.1% | 0.02% |
| Mark Grater | P | DET |
Free agency | 1992 | 1 | +0.1 | +0.1 | – | 0.1% | 0.01% |
| Pat Ahearne | P | DET |
Draft | 1992 | – | -0.0 | – | – | – | – |
| Javier Cardona | C | DET |
Draft | 1994 | 1 | +0.0 | +0.0 | – | – | – |
| Francisco Cordero | P | DET |
Intl FA | 1994 | – | -0.0 | – | – | – | – |
| Eddie Gaillard | P | DET |
Draft | 1993 | 1 | +0.0 | +0.0 | – | – | – |
| Mike Moore | P | DET |
Free agency | 1992 | 2 | -0.0 | -0.0 | – | 0.5% | 0.04% |
| Willis Roberts | P | DET |
Intl FA | 1992 | – | -0.0 | – | – | – | – |
| Sean Whiteside | P | DET |
Draft | 1992 | – | -0.1 | – | – | – | – |
| Luis Garcia | SS | DET |
Intl FA | 1993 | – | -0.2 | – | – | – | – |
| Franklin Stubbs | 1B/OF | DET |
Free agency | 1994 | – | -0.2 | – | – | – | – |
| Mike Christopher | P | DET |
Free agency | 1994 | 1 | -0.3 | -0.3 | – | 0.0% | 0.01% |
| Dave Johnson | P | DET |
Free agency | 1992 | – | -0.3 | – | – | – | – |
| Bubba Trammell | OF | DET |
Draft | 1994 | – | -0.3 | – | – | – | – |
| Eric Davis | OF | DET |
Trade | 1993 | 1 | -0.4 | -0.4 | – | 1.3% | 0.12% |
| Mike Gardiner | P | DET |
Free agency | 1993 | 1 | -0.4 | -0.4 | – | 0.1% | 0.01% |
| Joe Boever | P | DET |
Free agency | 1993 | 1 | -0.5 | -0.5 | – | 0.5% | 0.05% |
| John Flaherty | C | DET |
Trade | 1994 | 2 | -0.5 | -0.3 | – | 0.0% | 0.00% |
| Brian Maxcy | P | DET |
Draft | 1992 | – | -0.6 | – | – | – | – |
| Les Lancaster | P | DET |
Free agency | 1992 | – | -1.1 | – | – | – | – |
| Mark Carreon | 1B/OF | DET |
Trade | 1992 | – | -1.2 | – | – | – | – |
| Derrick White | 1B | DET |
Free agency | 1994 | – | -1.3 | – | – | – | – |
| Chris Gomez | SS | DET |
Draft | 1992 | – | -2.3 | – | – | – | – |
Trade-side columns: RFA is playoff-readiness percentage points added to the future roster foundation. It grades the franchise's entire side of a trade, so the same score repeats for every player acquired in that package. PPA/CPA remain player-level arrival-year probability points.
WAB = wins above what the team's payroll predicted (resource-controlled). WAR surplus = era-neutral value (WAR minus payroll in win-equivalents). Roster surplus $M = dollar value of WAR over cost. Build channels (realized fWAR): HG = home-grown via amateur draft / international signing; Trade = acquired minus surrendered (incl. purchases/waivers); FA = signed minus walked; R5 = Rule-5 / minor-league-draft pickups. Credit follows the acquisition year — home-grown to the regime at the player's draft/signing (not whoever was in the chair when he peaked), trade/FA/R5 to the GM who made the move. Players acquired as prospects before debuting (e.g. Smoltz, Bagwell; Rule-5 picks like Uggla) are counted as trade/R5, not home-grown. All are franchise-level outcomes during the stint, not solely attributable to one executive.