You are purchasing a one of a kind 2021
Panini National Treasures Rising Star Print Plate auto #RS-LW of MLB HOF’er Larry
Walker. The card was redeemed from a
redemption and still has the seal on an Ultra Pro one touch. The card is signed in a crisp blue sharpie that is authenticated by
Panini. Five Tool talents are rare to
come by. When Colorado saw the chance to
add one in Walker in 1995, they jumped.
The seven-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner led the league in average three
times and homers once during his time with the team. A walk may as well have been a double to the
slugger thanks to his fleet feet. At the time of this posting, no other 1/1
from 2021 National Treasures has been posted.
As a bonus, you will receive a 2021 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary
card # 527 that is in the style of 1952 Topps.
You will also receive a 2023 Panini Donruss Baseball Larry Walker
card #180. These cards are an absolute
must have for any HOF, Colorado Rockies, or Larry Walker
collector/fan/investor!
Larry
Kenneth Robert Walker (born
December 1, 1966) is a Canadian former professional baseball right
fielder and an MLB HOF’er. During his 17-year Major League
Baseball (MLB) career, he played with the Montreal
Expos, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals. In 1997, he became
the only player in major league history to register both a .700 slugging
percentage (SLG) and 30 stolen bases in the same season, on his
way to winning the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player
Award (MVP). The first player in more than 60 years to record
a batting average of .360 in three consecutive seasons from 1997 to
1999, Walker also won three NL batting championships. He was inducted
into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Canadian
Baseball Hall of Fame in the Class of 2009, and was named the
13th-greatest sporting figure from Canada by Sports Illustrated in
1999. In 2020, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Widely considered
a five-tool talent of prodigious athleticism and instincts, Walker
hit for both average and power, combined with
well-above-average speed, defense and throwing strength and
accuracy. He was recognized as the top Canadian athlete in 1998 with the Lou
Marsh Trophy. Other honors include five MLB All-Star selections,
seven Gold Glove Awards, three Silver Slugger Awards, and
nine Tip O'Neill Awards. His career SLG of .565 ranks 12th all time.
Walker is one of only 19 hitters in history to accomplish a .300 batting
average, .400 on-base percentage (OBP), and .500 SLG with at least
5,000 plate appearances, and one of six whose careers began after 1960.
Considering advanced metrics, he is one of only three players in history
to rank within the top 100 of each of batting runs, base-running runs,
and defensive runs saved; the others are Barry
Bonds and Willie Mays.
Raised in the Greater
Vancouver area of British Columbia, Walker spent his youth
playing street hockey with
consuming NHL goaltender aspirations. That dream never
materialized; however, the Expos saw his baseball potential and signed him in
1984. By 1990, Walker became their starting right fielder, propelling them to
the majors' best record in 1994 when that year's strike stopped their
first serious World Series run. He signed with the Rockies as
a free agent following the season, and, during a six-year period
starting in 1997, was the major league batting leader three times while
finishing second in the NL twice. In 1997, he also led the league in home runs,
OBP, and SLG, while joining the 30–30 club, registering 12
outfield assists and leading his position with four double
plays turned; he won the NL MVP Award that year. Desiring a trade to a
contending team, Walker was sent by the Rockies to St. Louis in the middle of
their 105-win season of 2004 where he made his first World
Series appearance while tying or setting three Cardinals postseason
records. He announced his retirement from playing baseball after Game 6 of
the 2005 National League Championship Series.
Following his playing career,
Walker has served as a guest instructor for the Cardinals, and, since 2009,
has coached the Canadian national team. In that time, Team
Canada has competed in three World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournaments,
and twice at the Pan American Games, winning consecutive gold
medals in 2011 and 2015.
Larry Kenneth Robert Walker
Jr. was born on December 1, 1966, in Maple Ridge,
a suburb of Greater Vancouver in British Columbia, to
Larry Sr., and Mary Walker, both of Scottish descent. Larry Jr. was the
youngest of four boys, Barry, Carey and Gary. The five men often played
together in a fastpitch softball league, frequently all in the same
starting lineup. Walker grew up passing much of his free time
playing street hockey, especially as part of a group of boys in the
backyard and driveway of another boy named Rick Herbert. In that group was
future Hockey Hall of Famer Cam Neely, who became one of Walker's
close friends. Walker dreamed of a career in the National Hockey
League (NHL) as a goaltender, only casually playing an
occasional baseball game during the summer.
He played hockey
and volleyball at Maple Ridge Secondary School; baseball was not
offered. One of his boyhood idols was NHL goalie Billy
Smith, winner of four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1980−83
during Walker's teenage years. Walker sharpened his skills by
blocking shots against Neely. Brother Carey, also a goaltender, was
drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 12th round of the 1977
NHL Draft.
At the age of 16, Walker was
offered tryouts with Junior A teams in Regina, Saskatchewan,
and Kelowna, British Columbia, however, he was cut from both
teams. However, Herbert made the Regina Pats. Other offers
Walker received were from Western Hockey League teams,
including Swift Current, which he toured. After seeing substandard
conditions there, he decided that he no longer wanted to pursue hockey once he
arrived at the rink, and subsequently focused his athletic aspirations on
baseball.
The popularity of baseball in
Canada during Walker's youth was minuscule in contrast to the following he
would help spawn related to his later success with the Montreal
Expos. Previously, Canadian baseball luminaries included Tip O'Neill,
the first Canadian to win a Triple Crown back in 1887,
and Ferguson Jenkins, Canada's first selectee to the American
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991. It was Walker who would help
dramatically increase the profile of the sport in a hockey-mad nation. Part
of the factor are Canada's short summers, which make it more challenging to
play outdoors than in the United States. Recalled Walker later in his
major league career, "I'd never seen a forkball, never seen
a slider. I didn't know they existed. I had never really seen a
good curveball. In Canada, as a kid, we'd play 10 baseball games a year.
Fifteen, tops. Some pitchers had a thing they'd call a spinner, but nothing
like this. Baseball just wasn't big. The weather was against it. Nobody ever
played baseball thinking about making the major leagues." He was also
unaware of many of the rules, attesting to his lack of experience playing when
he turned a professional.
In 1984, Walker played for
the Coquitlam Reds of the British Columbia Premier Baseball League.
He was selected to join the Canadian team at the 1984 World Youth Championships
in Kindersley, Saskatchewan. At that tournament, he caught the eye of
Expos scouting director Jim Fanning after hitting
a home run with a wooden bat, in contrast to all the other players
who were using metal bats. Fanning signed Walker for $1,500 (USD, $4,225.2
today) as an amateur free agent owing to his relative lack of
experience playing organized baseball. At that time, Canadians were not
eligible to be selected through the Major League Baseball draft. While the
Expos perceived Walker to be very athletic, they decided that he was very raw,
and that he did not initially warrant rating as a top prospect.
Walker attended
Expos minor league spring training camp in 1985 and it
was clear from the outset that pitching was a complete mystery to him. He swung
indiscriminately, expecting every pitch to be a fastball, including at ones
that bounced 10 feet in front of, or on, home plate. When the camp ended, there
was still about one and a half months remaining until the start of the season,
so he returned home, seeking additional preparation. He joined a fast-pitch
softball team sponsored by a bowling alley, but this brought little
relief. The Expos assigned Walker to the Utica Blue Sox of
the New York–Penn League, a Class A Short Season league, for his first
season of professional baseball. He played third
base and first base. Although he could hit fastballs well,
he continued to have difficulties with strike zone judgment and the
more sophisticated pitches, finishing with a .223 batting average and
two home runs. Manager Ken Brett, who was less preoccupied with
fielding a winning team than giving the athletic players the opportunity to
experiment, allowed Walker to stay in the lineup as a regular in part because
of his willingness to learn. Walker heard that he would be released, but
Brett recalled that "he was just so tough," and marveled at his
"outstanding athleticism, freakish hand-eye coordination and mental
approach;" he also had 12 stolen bases Expos hitting
coach Ralph Rowe successfully lobbied for him to be sent to
the Florida Instructional League (FIL). With further tutelage,
relentless preparation, and sheer hard work, Walker soon developed into one of
the Expos' best young prospects. He continued to make annual off-season returns
to FIL in West Palm Beach to calibrate and refine his approach, and
eventually made his home there.
In his second professional
season in 1986, Walker achieved his breakthrough while playing for two
A-level clubs, the Burlington Expos and West Palm Beach Expos.
His combined totals in 133 games included a .288 average, .397 on-base
percentage (OBP), .602 slugging percentage (SLG), 87 runs
scored, 19 doubles, 11 triples, 33 home runs, 90 runs batted
in (RBI) and 18 stolen bases. Walker caught the eye of his fellow
Canadians, and, as a 19-year-old minor leaguer, had acquired an entourage of
Canadian reporters. "I know now I can hit the ball. I have a lot of
confidence even though I still strike out a lot. I swing at too many bad
pitches," he contemplated. Asserted West Palm Beach manager Felipe
Alou, "If he keeps improving the way he has the last 12 months, there's no
telling what he could do. You have a kid with his kind of potential, they don't
last long in the minor leagues." Meanwhile, the club clinched
the Florida State League South division, winning by two games over
the Fort Lauderdale Yankees.
After promotion
to Jacksonville Expos of the Southern League in 1987,
Walker totaled a .287 average, .383 OBP, .534 SLG, 91 runs, 26 home runs, 24
stolen bases and three times caught stealing. He won his first Tip
O'Neill Award that year as the top Canadian baseball player. He
missed the 1988 season after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery
for an injury while playing in the Mexican Pacific League. The Expos moved him up to Indianapolis
Indians of the Triple-A International League in 1989.
There, he played in 114 games and batted .270 with 68 runs scored, 12 home
runs, 36 stolen bases and six times caught stealing.
Walker made his debut with
the Montreal Expos on August 16, 1989. He walked twice in
the game while recording a single in his first official at
bat, off Mike LaCoss of the San Francisco Giants. Walker's
first season totals included a .170 batting average, .264 OBP, and .170 SLG in
56 plate appearances. Montreal fans gave him the nickname
"Booger."
Ranked No. 42 on Baseball
America's list of top prospects in advance of the 1990 season,
the Expos never optioned Walker back to the minor leagues, instead, he became
their regular right fielder following Hubie Brooks' departure
via free agency, patrolling an outfield which at times featured Tim Raines and Marquis
Grissom, both ultra-fleet basestealers and well-accomplished hitters.
Walker batted .241 with a .326 OBP and .434 SLG for a 112 OPS+ in his
first full season. He also hit 19 home runs with 21 stolen bases and produced
3.4 Wins Above Replacement (WAR). He placed seventh in
the National League (NL) Rookie of the
Year balloting. One of the few native Canadians to ever play for the
Expos, Walker became a role model for thousands of young Canadian baseball players.
Over the next four seasons, Walker
combined to hit .293/.366/.501 for a 134 OPS+, with an average of 20 home runs,
19 stolen bases, excellent defense (+10 runs per year) and 4.5 WAR. He became
another in the succession of Montreal's great outfielders. He never appeared in
more than 143 games, spending significant time on the disabled
list (DL) in 1991 and 1993 while playing on Olympic
Stadium's notorious artificial turf, a product perceived to create
excessive stress on knees, accelerating injuries to players like former
Expo Andre Dawson. In 1991, Walker appeared in 39 games at first
base, including Dennis Martínez's perfect game on July 28, a 2−0
victory versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. In that contest, Walker hit
the only RBI, driving in Dave Martinez on a triple, and scored the
second run on an error. He was involved in 17 of 27 outs: 16 putouts and one
assist.
Approximately one-quarter
through the 1992 season, the Expos made Alou manager at the
major league level, touching off a period of heightened success that lasted the
rest of Walker's time in Montreal. In the July 4 contest versus
the San Diego Padres, he fielded a ground ball to right field and threw
out speedy shortstop Tony Fernández at first base. Walker
was named to his first All-Star Game, debuting as a pinch
hitter in the fourth inning for Greg Maddux and producing
a single. Walker was
also selected to his first Home Run Derby, hitting four home
runs. For the 1992 season, Walker batted .301/.353/.506 and rated 10 runs
above average while fielding, with 16 outfield assists, for a total
value of 5.4 WAR. He won his first both of a Gold
Glove and Silver Slugger Award, and became the first and only
Canadian to win the Expos Player of the Year award. Walker
received consideration for the Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) for
the first time in 1992, finishing fifth in the National League.
The 1993 Expos
reached a rare watermark, winning 94 games. A core of immense young talent
propelled the club, including Grissom and a rising Moisés Alou (son
of manager Felipe) complementing Walker in the outfield, Ken
Hill and Jeff Fassero in the starting rotation and John
Wetteland and Mel Rojas anchoring the bullpen. An
improbable finish to the regular season including a record of 30−9 catapulted
Montreal to a second-place standing with a 94−68 record, thus nearly matching
the club record of 95 wins set in 1979. Now the delight of Montreal fans
who had watched the team struggle through decades of futility, excitement in
Canada began to crescendo over the prospect of the first-ever
all-Canadian World Series, as the Toronto Blue Jays were
defending champions in 1993, and repeated that
October. Walker batted .265, 22 home runs, and 86 RBI, setting then-career
highs each of 80 walks, 20 intentional walks, 29 stolen bases, and .371
OBP. He won his second Gold Glove Award.
Before the start of
the 1994 season, the Expos, seeking to replace
departed ace Dennis Martínez in the starting rotation, acquired
a young reliever in Pedro Martínez, who the Los Angeles
Dodgers had cast doubt over his potential as starter and pitched him out
of the bullpen. One amusing moment (video) materialized on April 24 while
playing the Dodgers in Los Angeles and Martínez starting.
With one out in the third inning, Walker caught a Mike Piazza fly
ball and innocently handed it to a young fan, six-year-old Sebastian Napier,
thinking it was the third out of the inning. He then quickly noticed
that José Offerman, already on base, was running at full speed. Walker
managed to retrieve the ball from Napier and held Offerman to third base.
Embarrassed, Walker admitted that he "told the little kid that maybe next
time I'll give him a ball when there are three outs instead of two. Everybody
around him was laughing." Where Offerman was stationed made little
difference as Tim Wallach homered on the next pitch from Martínez for
two runs. True to his word, when the Expos assumed the field in the bottom half
of the fourth inning, Walker gave Napier a signed ball, inducing a standing
ovation.
From June 1 forward, Montreal
transformed into the dominant club in the National League, going 46−18 until
the players' strike halted the season on August 11. In turn,
they produced the most successful season in franchise history in
terms of winning percentage (.649) as they attained a major
league-best 74−40 record. Walker was suspended four games starting June 24 for
inciting a bench-clearing brawl by charging the mound in a game against
Pittsburgh. He paced for new levels production in spite of a shoulder
injury in late June that confined him to first base for the remainder of the
season. He easily accelerated past his previous career highs set in 1992 with a
.322 batting average, .394 OBP, and .587 SLG, including an immanency of his
first 100-RBI year. He finished with 86 RBI, 151 OPS+, and a league-leading 44
doubles; the latter two figures were also new career-highs. He was sixth
in the league in RBI, seventh in WAR (4.7), offensive win % (.739) and
OPS+, and eighth in batting and SLG. He placed 11th in the NL MVP voting.
Perhaps the most remarkable
aspect of the Expos' transcendent season was that they did so with the
second-lowest payroll in baseball. However, as the team lost millions of
dollars in revenue from 29 canceled home games and playoffs, general
manager Kevin Malone was given orders to drastically reduce payroll.
The club dealt away their young stars, including declining to
offer arbitration to Walker. As such, he was granted free agency.
Walker signed a four-year
contract with the Colorado Rockies worth nearly
$22.5 million USD ($43.2 million today), the largest agreement
since the strike. The average annual value equated to more than $5.6
million ($10.8 million today), up from the $4,025,000 ($7.9 million today) the
Expos had paid him the year prior. From Olympic Stadium to Coors
Field, Walker transitioned into the most benevolent hitting environment
since World War II. Nonetheless, even after mathematically adjusting for
stadium and altitude advantages, his production during his Rockie years consistently
rivaled other hitters whose accomplishments came in settings of greater
difficulty.
In his Rockies debut and
inaugural game of Coors Field on April 26 versus the New York Mets, Walker
doubled three times, including one that tied the score with two outs in the
ninth resulting in an 11−9 extra innings win. On May 7, 1995, he hit
his 100th career home run versus Hideo Nomo of Los Angeles.
Walker attained new
career-highs with 36 home runs and 101 RBI − reaching both 30 home runs and 100
RBI for the first time in his career − in spite of missing 13 games of a season
shortened by the strike that had begun the year before. His rate numbers were
.306/.381/.607, and as the average club scored 5.4 runs per game, his OPS+
fell about 20 percent from the year before to 131. Walker ranked second in
the NL in home runs (tied with Sammy Sosa), slugging, extra base hits
(72), total bases (300), at bats per home run (13.7) and hits by
pitch (14), third in OPS (.988), and seventh in runs scored (96) and
RBI. He placed seventh in the NL MVP voting, his second time in the top
ten.
One of a quartet of Rockies
players who became known as The Blake Street Bombers, Walker, Dante
Bichette, Vinny Castilla and former Expos teammate Andrés
Galarraga each contributed at least 30 home runs in 1995. The Rockies
simultaneously won the first-ever National League wild card berth
under the new postseason format and first playoff appearance in
franchise history in just their third season of play. Walker collected three
hits in 14 at bats in the National League Division Series (NLDS)
versus the Atlanta Braves. He hit his first career postseason home run
off Tom Glavine in the sixth inning of a 7−4 Game 2 loss. The Braves
defeated the Rockies in four games.
Walker primarily
played center field in 1996—54 of 83 total games—in a season cut
short by injury. In the May 21 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates,
he doubled, tripled and hit a pair of two-run home runs to drive in a
career-best six runs in a 12–10 win. He set a club record with 13 total bases
in one game. The next day, also against the Pirates, he set an MLB record
with six consecutive extra base hits. On May 26, Walker was selected for his first
MLB Player of the Week Award. He missed more than two months of the
1996 season due to a fractured clavicle that occurred in a collision with
an outfield fence. He hit .393 at Coors Field and .142 on the road.
The Rockies commenced
the 1997 season on the road, and thus Walker started a reversal of
his poor fortunes away from Coors. He hit two home runs in the season-opening
series against the Reds in Cincinnati, and, on April 5, hit
three more versus the Expos in Montreal for his first
career three home run game. The second landed near a home-made sign reading
"Boogerville." After the third, fans cheered Walker for
the hat-trick in recognition of his former dream of playing hockey
professionally. His first week accomplishments included a .440 batting average
with six home runs in 25 at bats and the NL Player of the Week Award for
the second time on April 6. He concluded the month of April batting .456
with 41 hits, 29 runs scored, 11 home runs, 29 RBI, seven stolen bases, .538
OBP, .911 SLG, and 1.449 OPS. He set major league records for March–April
for both OPS—until surpassed by Barry Bonds in 2004—and runs
scored—until surpassed by Bryce Harper in 2017. Walker was
named NL Player of the Month for the first time.
Walker sat out an interleague
game on June 12 versus the Seattle Mariners. Former Expos teammate Randy
Johnson, a left-handed pitcher standing 6 feet 10 inches
(2.08 m) and one of the most intimidating players in sports history, was
scheduled as the starter. "I faced Randy one time in spring training
and he almost killed me," Walker explained of the rationale. He
collected his 1,000th career hit and 108th of the season on June 20
against Andy Ashby of San Diego.
However, the decision to not
bat against Johnson instigated a debacle as one of the indelible moments of
Walker's career one month later in the 1997 All-Star Game. This time,
Walker faced Johnson, who theatrically threw over his head. Ever adaptable,
Walker placed his batting helmet backwards and switched sides in the
batters' box to stand right-handed for one pitch. He ended the
at bat by drawing a walk. The incident momentarily drew mirth and laughter
from players in both dugouts, fans and announcers, and
comparisons to Johnson pitching against John Kruk in the 1993
All-Star Game, in which he also threw over his head. In spite of garnering
a reputation of avoiding Johnson, Walker batted .393 (11 hits in 28 at
bats) against him in his career, nearly double the rate of all left-handed
batters at .199.
During the All-Star break,
Walker participated in the Home Run Derby, placing second with 19 home
runs. Both he and Tony Gwynn of the Padres, also a selectee that
year's All-Star Game, were batting near .400, and right fielders for teams in
the National League West division. They were jointly
interviewed, as batting .400 is one of the most difficult achievements in
all of sports. Asked just how challenging it is, Gwynn, known to be a very
studious hitter, elaborated with what he later termed a "complete
dissertation." Walker responded, "I don't know anything about that
stuff. I just hit the ball." While neither player wound up achieving the
statistic over any full season, Gwynn won that year's National
League batting championship and Walker was second.
Continuing his remarkable
season, Walker was batting .402 as late as July 17. On September 12,
Walker was batting a league-leading .371 with 43 home runs; no National League
player had ever simultaneously marshaled those totals. He then experienced
another power surge, hitting home runs in four consecutive games – a total of
five in that span – including the 199th and 200th of his career in San Diego on
September 17. He injured the right elbow while swinging at the pitch that was
pre-flight to his 49th home run in the Rockies' 160th game, forcing him out of
the last two games. In spite of Walker's magnificent season, the Rockies were
unable to capitalize, missing the playoffs with an 83–79 record.
The career season for Walker
was 1997, when he hit .366 with 49 home runs, 130 RBI, 208 hits, 143 runs
scored, 33 stolen bases, .720 slugging percentage, 1.172 OPS, 409 total
bases and 9.8 WAR. He won the NL MVP Award, thus becoming the first
Canadian player to win the MVP in Major League Baseball. The home run and stolen
base totals placed him in the 30–30 club. He became and remains the only
player to have reached at least 30 stolen bases and a slugging percentage of
.700 in the same season, the second with at least 45 home runs and 30
stolen bases, and the fifth with 40−30. The 9.8 WAR produced is tied for
the 64th-highest single-season total among position players in MLB history, per
Baseball-Reference.com. Walker's production slotted within four hits and
10 RBI of winning the first batting Triple Crown in 60 years. He
led the major leagues in WAR, slugging, OPS, total bases, runs
created (187), adjusted batting runs (71), adjusted batting wins (6.7),
extra base hits (99), and offensive win % (.857); and the NL in
on-base percentage (.452), and at bats per home run (11.6).
Also, Walker's 409 total
bases were the most in an NL season since Stan Musial gained 429
in 1948, and is tied with Lou Gehrig and Rogers
Hornsby for the 18th-highest in MLB history. Walker's season marked
the 23rd occasion in MLB history a batter reached 400 total bases and the first
time in the National League since Hank Aaron's 400
in 1959. Combined with 12 outfield assists, and a league-leading of
both a .992 fielding percentage and four double plays turned, Walker's
1997 season remains one of the finest all-around performances in recent
baseball history. Further, he won a series of other awards, including
the Players Choice Award for National League Outstanding
Player, the Baseball Digest Player of the Year
Award, his seventh Tip O'Neill Award, third Gold Glove, second
Silver Slugger, and first Rockies Player of the Year Award. In honor
of Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation on July 1,
2017, The Sports Network named Walker's achievement of the MVP award
among the nation's most iconic sports moments.
The 49 home runs set a
single-season club record for Colorado. Walker's production held up well on the
road, including nine more home runs than at Coors Field: .346 average, 29 home
runs and 62 RBI in 75 games. Other single-season franchise records Walker set
in 1997 were WAR, slugging percentage, OPS, runs scored, total bases, adjusted
OPS+, offensive win percentage, and at bats per home run.
Although he rested the right
elbow in the off-season, Walker aggravated the injury while
playing golf the following January. The elbow soreness kept him
at one home run through April of the 1998 season. He produced a
season-high 20-game hitting streak from May 4−25, and the second-longest in the
NL, batting .342 in that span, which was actually worse than
his average at season's end. In that streak, Walker hit a pinch hit grand slam
on May 6 versus Jerry Spradlin of the Philadelphia
Philles. The Rockies placed Walker on the DL for two weeks in June due to
the elbow soreness, and he managed to hit .331 through the first half of
the season. Walker started in the All-Star Game for the second
consecutive season, playing center field and batting seventh. He drew
a walk and scored a run.
Immediately following the
All-Star break, Walker collected six hits in his first 32 at bats (.188),
bringing his average to .314, its lowest since April 5. During a seven-game
homestand spanning July 23−28, he produced 15 hits in 27 at bats (.556) with
three doubles, two triples, four home runs and nine RBI, raising his average
from .319 to .340. He surged from tenth to second place for the batting crown.
From August 19 to the end of the season, he hit .440 (78-for-177). He endured
back spasms toward the end of the season, starting in nine of the team's final
17 games.
Walker produced a .402
second-half batting average. After 1997, he never reached 500 at bats again as
various injuries cut short each season. With a .363 batting average, he became
the first Canadian-born player to win a major league batting title in the 20th
century, the first to do so in the National League, and broke Gwynn's streak of
four consecutive National League batting championships.
Walker won the
prestigious Lou Marsh Trophy in 1998 as Canadian athlete of the year,
one year after finishing runner-up to Formula
One champion Jacques Villeneuve, of which he remarked at the
time that he lost "to a car." Walker also attained
the Lionel Conacher Award as the top male Canadian athlete, the ESPY
Award for Best Major League Player, and a Tip O'Neill Award. He also
received his fourth Gold Glove.
Plagued by injuries for the
last several years of his career, Walker nevertheless continued to produce. He
missed the first week of the 1999 season with a strained rib cage. On
April 28, he hit three home runs against the St. Louis Cardinals for
his second career three home run game while contributing eight RBI in a 9–7
win. Walker hit safely in 21 consecutive games from April 25−May 19,
making that the second occasion since 1987 a reigning batting champion had
achieved a hit streak of at least 20 games. On May 19, Walker collected four
hits versus the Cincinnati Reds to raise his season average to .431,
but the Rockies were on the losing end of a 24−12 final, tied for the
fourth-highest run-scoring output in MLB history. For the month of May, Walker
batted .392, .647 slugging, and 40 hits in 102 at bats.
From June 18−23, Walker tied
Bichette's club record by homering in five consecutive games. The following
day, Walker tied another club record, held by Galarraga, with his sixth
consecutive multi-hit game. In June, Walker played in 25 games, and batted
.385, .813 SLG, 10 home runs, 30 RBI, 25 scored, 35 hits, 10 walks, and nine
strikeouts. On July 8, Walker hit his 250th career home run versus Chan
Ho Park of the Dodgers. Walker batted .326 in July with 15 walks
and 10 home runs.
Carrying a .382 first-half
average, Walker had batted .390 (189 hits in 484 at bats) from the 1998
All-Star break to the same point in 1999, the equivalent of a full
season. He was named to his third consecutive All-Star team.
Played at Fenway Park in Boston, he started in right field and
batted second. He was one of the strikeout victims of former Expos teammate
Pedro Martínez, who became the first to strike out the first three batters in
an All-Star Game. In the July 19 contest versus the Oakland
Athletics, Walker became the second player to homer into the plaza reserve
seating of one of the upper decks in the Oakland Coliseum,
following Mark McGwire, who had done so three seasons earlier. On July 27,
Walker recorded his 100th and 101st career outfield assists. He hit the
game-winning home run August 18 versus John
Rocker of Atlanta for his 1,400th career hit. Walker closed his
season by hitting safely in 12 consecutive starts, including multiple hits in
the final six. Limited to 15 games and 49 plate appearances in September,
Walker batted .513 with 20 hits in 39 at bats, 10 runs scored, five doubles,
four home runs, 13 RBI, nine walks and two strikeouts.
For the season, Walker batted
.379 − setting a Rockies record and the fourth-highest since Ted
Williams hit .406 in 1941 − while leading the major leagues in
batting for a second time. Walker also led the major leagues in offensive win %
(.838), on-base percentage (.458), slugging percentage (.710), and OPS (1.168). Sometimes
referred to as the "Slash Stat Triple Crown," he became the seventh
player within the previous 60 years to lead the league in each of average, OBP
and SLG in the same season, and first since George
Brett in 1980. The last NL player to lead the majors in each of
the three slash stat categories was Musial in 1943. Walker also hit
37 home runs and 115 RBI in just 438 at bats, stole 11 bases in 15 attempts,
and registered 12 outfield assists.
Per the Elias Sports Bureau
(ESB), Walker's .461 average at Coors is the highest home batting average since
ESB began tracking home/road splits in 1974, and 43 points higher than any
other player's in that span. In 66 games at Coors, Walker also hit .531
OBP, .879 SLG, 26 home runs, 70 RBI, 107 hits, 72 runs, nine stolen bases, 31
walks, and 17 strikeouts in 273 plate appearances. On the road, he batted .286,
.894 OPS, 11 home runs and 35 strikeouts. He won his fifth Gold
Glove and was selected as Rockies Player of the Year for the second
time. He placed 10th in the NL MVP balloting. Following the season,
he underwent knee surgery.
Walker produced 10.8 WAR
combined in 1998−99 while missing at least 30 games in both seasons, and
from 1997−99, he hit .314/.410/.592 ... away from Coors
Field. His aggregate batting average at .369 in that same time, he
became the first player since Al Simmons from 1929–31 to
hit at least .360 in each of three consecutive seasons. Walker signed a
six-year, $75 million (USD, $131.8 million today) contract extension after the
1999 season. He was named as the ninth top male athlete of Canada's
Athletes of the 20th Century list compiled in 1999, trailing
only Ferguson Jenkins (number seven) among baseball players. Sports
Illustrated listed Walker as the 13th greatest sporting figure in
Canadian history in 1999.
While missing a major portion
of 2000 with a stress fracture in the right elbow, Walker spent
two stints on the DL. He recorded an outfield fielder's choice on April 16
versus St. Louis, leading to a forceout at second base. On April 19 versus
the Arizona Diamondbacks, he collected his 1,448th career hit to
pass Jeff Heath as the major's all-time hits leader for Canadian-born
players. Walker completed his longest hitting streak of the season, at eight
games, from April 21−May 1. In that time, he batted .471 (16-for-34) with three
home runs and nine RBI. On May 13, the team received diagnostic results
revealing he had a stress reaction irritation in his right elbow, and placed
him on the DL, in which he missed 23 games. To that point, he was batting .347.
Walker returned from the DL
notably weakened, batting .286 over his final 57 games of the season. He
homered to drive in his 888th career run on July 1 versus the Oakland
Athletics, passing Heath for the all-time lead among Canadian-born players. He
also collected his 1,500th career hit in that game. On the August 10−17 road
trip, he collected five outfield assists. On September 8, he had surgery
on the elbow after it was revealed to be troubled with soreness. Walker appeared in 87 games and batted .309
with nine home runs and 51 RBI. He led the club with 10 outfield assists, eight
from right field and two from left field. He ended the season as Canada's
all-time leader in hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, and runs scored in the major
leagues. First baseman Todd Helton, Walker's teammate on the Rockies
from 1998 until his trade to the Cardinals in 2004, won the MLB Slash Stat
Triple Crown in 2000, making them the first teammates in history to accomplish
the feat in consecutive years. It also gave the Rockies four consecutive MLB
batting champions in 1998−2001. Helton eventually succeeded Walker as the
Rockies' career franchise leader in a number of statistical categories.
Prior
the 2001 season, Walker committed to a new fitness regimen, including
enlisting a personal trainer. He displayed restored health in his right
arm on Opening Day, throwing out Fernando Viña of
the Cardinals at home plate (video). Walker opened the season
with a 10-game hit streak, from April 4−13, batting .425 with six home runs and
16 RBI. From April 17 to May 23, Walker safely reached base in 31
consecutive games. He batted .375, 11 home runs, 30 RBI during the month
of April, becoming the first player in NL history to hit at least 11 home runs
in the month of April twice. On May 22, he swiped his 200th career base. He
scored his 1,000th career run on June 3 versus San Francisco.
Walker was selected to play
in the 2001 All-Star Game, starting as the designated hitter and
batting fifth. On August 5, he hit his 300th career home run, coming
against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 5−4 loss. He hit his 204th
home run for Colorado on August, passing Castilla for the franchise record. On
September 5, he took the lead for good for the batting title from former Expos
teammate Moisés Alou. By scoring five runs on September 24 versus San
Diego, Walker tied his career-high and the Rockies franchise record.
On the season, Walker
tied Ichiro Suzuki for the major league lead in batting at
.350 for his third batting title, with 38 homers and 123 RBI in 497 at
bats. He did not reach his personal goal of 150 games, but did play in 142 and
managed 601 plate appearances, his highest totals since 1997. Also he
finished in the top ten in numerous other categories, including second in OBP
(.449), third in offensive win % (.831), fifth in SLG (.663), sixth in OPS
(1.111), adjusted OPS+ (160), at bats per home run (13.1), and WAR (7.8), and
ninth in home runs. He led the majors with a .406 home batting average and
in left-hander versus left-hander batting average at .378. He won another
Gold Glove that year.
The Rockies struggled to play
well in 2002, including a franchise-worst 6−16 start, and ended the season
25 games out of first place. Walker played his 1,532nd game on April 6,
surpassing Terry Puhl for most games played by a Canadian-born player
in MLB history. Walker's 74th outfield assist with Colorado on May 23 gave him
the franchise record, passing Bichette. Walker raised his average from
.310 to a season-high .368 in June and July. His June totals included
.410, seven doubles, seven home runs and 21 RBI. He hit safely in 20 of 24
games In July, he was the NL Player of the Month for the second time,
batting .438/.505./742, five home runs, and 17 RBI. He became the first
player since Paul O'Neill in April and May of 1994 to hit
at least .400 in successive months.
Overall, Walker batted .338
in 2002, second in the NL to Bonds' .370 average, and reached 100 RBI for the
second consecutive year. Walker also hit 26 home runs and led the team with 40
doubles. He played in 136 games, and hit for a .421 OBP and .602 SLG. He
won his seventh Gold Glove Award and was 20th in the MVP voting. His .452
average in interleague play led the major leagues. Throughout
his age-36 season of 2003, Walker battled knee, shoulder, hamstring, groin
and hip ailments. The knee injury occurred in a collision with Preston
Wilson on August 2. In spite of all the injuries, Walker never missed more
than three consecutive games and made 143 appearances. He hit 16 home runs and
79 RBI while batting .284, just the second time since 1993 his average had
slipped below .300. He drew a career-high 98 bases on balls, resulting in
a .422 on-base percentage, the seventh time in his career he reached
.400. He was fifth in the NL in OBP, sixth in IBB (16), eighth in BB, and
ninth in HBP (11). Commented manager Don Baylor, "Even with
the injuries and the lack of numbers from what they used to be in the past, Larry
is still pitched to very carefully and fearfully throughout the league. He's
played beaten up and bruised." Walker underwent surgery to repair the
labrum in the left shoulder and meniscus in the right knee following the
season.
A groin strain caused Walker
to miss the first 68 games, or two and one-half months, of
the 2004 season. His first three home runs of the season (video)
came on June 25, 2004, versus the Cleveland Indians, including one
off José Jiménez which won the game in the 10th inning for a 10−8
margin. Walker totaled four hits and five RBI on the day, and it was his third
career three-home run game. He reached 2,000 career hits on June 30, 2004,
becoming the 234th player in major league history to do so (video). Having
already achieved 400 doubles, 300 home runs, 1,000 runs scored, and 1,000 RBI,
Walker became the 40th player to reach all five totals. The milestone hit was a
double off Ben Sheets in the fourth inning versus the Milwaukee
Brewers. Through that point, Walker was the Rockies' career leader in 12
categories.
With the Rockies struggling
to make the playoffs—which they had not accomplished since his first year in
Colorado in 1995—Walker indicated a desire to be traded to a
contender. The Texas Rangers agreed to send to the Rockies two
of their prospects then-minor leaguer Ian Kinsler and prospect
right-hander Erik Thompson in exchange for Walker in July, but he vetoed the
trade.
On August 6, 2004, Colorado
sent Walker, who was batting .324 in 38 games, to the St. Louis
Cardinals for minor league pitcher Jason Burch and
two players to be named later. On August 11, those players were
identified as Chris Narveson and Luis Martínez. Customarily
the Rockies' number three hitter, Walker became the Cardinals' number two
hitter. He hit behind a speedy Tony Womack and in front of the
3−4−5 hitters of Jim Edmonds, Albert Pujols and Scott
Rolen, who combined for 122 home runs and 358 RBI that year. Walker made his
Cardinals debut on August 8, playing the New York Mets, and appeared as a
pinch-hitter and struck out in the seventh inning. He drew a walk
from Mike Stanton in the ninth inning and scored the game-winning run
on a Yadier Molina single. Walker appeared in 44 games for the
Cardinal powerhouse that won a major league-best 105 games, batting .280, .393
OBP, .560 SLG and 11 home runs.
In three playoff rounds in
2004, Walker combined to hit .293/.379/.707 with a pair of home runs in each
tournament, setting a franchise record for home runs hit by a left-handed
batter in one postseason. Walker made his playoff debut with the Cardinals
in Game 1 of the NLDS versus the Dodgers, homering twice and
scoring four runs in an 8−3 Cardinals win. He became the first Cardinal
with a multi-home run game in LDS play. In Game 1 of the National League
Championship Series (NLCS) versus the Houston Astros, he was a home
run short of hitting for the cycle.
St. Louis advanced to
the World Series to face the Boston Red Sox − the first and
only of Walker's playing career. In his debut, he collected four hits in five
at bats with a home run and two doubles. His four-hit outing tied a
Cardinals World Series record, becoming the seventh overall and first to do so
since Lou Brock in 1967. Boston won the Series by sweeping
St. Louis. The Cardinals struggled to hit, batting .190 with a .562 OPS,
while Walker batted .357 with a 1.366 OPS. His two home runs accounted for the
only two hit by the entire Cardinals team. In the 2004 postseason, Walker
scored 21 percent (14 of 68) of Cardinals runs.
Walker also contributed to
the 2005 NL Central division champions, winners of 100 games. A
herniated disc in his neck prevented him from turning his head to the left, and
on June 27, 2005, he received a second cortisone shot to alleviate the pain.
With eight previous surgeries and now playing in pain that impeded his ability
to continue to produce at a high level, Walker signaled that he would retire
from playing after the season. He had $12 million team option for 2006.
In 100 regular-season games,
Walker batted .289/.384/.502, good for a 130 OPS+. His playoff effort
yielded much less success than the year prior, combining to collect three hits
in 28 at bats in two rounds. The Astros defeated the Cardinals
in the NLCS in the last game ever played at Busch Memorial
Stadium, the second iteration of Busch Stadium. Walker doubled in the
sixth inning in elimination Game 6 versus Roy Oswalt for his final
major league hit, but struck out in the ninth inning versus Dan Wheeler,
his final at bat. He retired shortly after the game.
Walker ended his career 50th
on Major League Baseball's all-time home run list with 383.
Walker, in spite of earnestly
concentrating his efforts at baseball much later than nearly all other players,
excelled at all aspects of the game, including hitting for both average and
power, plate discipline, speed, defense, and throwing strength and accuracy,
almost seamlessly translating the smoothness and agility of his hockey game to
the diamond. Famously distinguished as "the accidental ballplayer" by
a Sports Illustrated article in 1993, he displayed all skills
of the ideal five-tool player. The transition was a feat even more impressive
considering he only began playing organized baseball after graduating high
school and did not attend college, and maintained staggering productivity
over the course of his career in spite of myriad injuries. Baseball-Reference's
advanced metrics of the three major areas of the game (excluding pitching)
−batting, baserunning and fielding−, echo a multitude of observations of
Walker's overall excellence. He produced 420 runs above average in batting, or
batting runs (Rbat), 94 fielding runs (Rfield), 40 baserunning runs (Rbase),
and 10 runs above average avoiding grounding into double plays (Rdp).
In every season following his short debut campaign of 1989, his adjusted OPS+
graded at minimum at 110; in just four seasons did he rate below average in
fielding runs and twice in baserunning runs.
Per a profile of Walker's
batting technique in Lau's Laws on Hitting, he met all checkpoints
on the list of absolutes for a complete swing that would generate the greatest
possible success as prescribed by former hitting coach Charley Lau.
Overall, Walker produced "a beautiful, one-piece swing." Highlights
included "an exceptionally balanced stance," "excellent weight
transfer" and "admirable ... hip rotation." All energy
transferred to the ball in an explosion upon impact with the bat. The authors
assert that due to this balance, he was able to post excellent numbers in
Montreal before playing for Colorado.
Rival right fielder and
long-time San Diego Padre Tony Gwynn epitomized Walker as "the most
complete player in the National League," and "best baserunner in the
game" in a 2002 profile for ESPN. He observed that, in addition to his
obvious athletic gifts, Walker approaches the game very cerebrally and is
always thinking ahead, unearthing a wide array of advantages that he applied to
the game. Said one sportswriter, "His hand-eye co-ordination was off
the charts, and his instincts as an outfielder and baserunner were
unmatched." To Denver Post sports writer Tony Renck,
"Walker is the most talented player I have ever covered. His 1997 National
League MVP season was breathtaking in every way from baserunning to defense to
his rifle arm and 49 home runs." Quipped his former manager with the
Rockies Don Baylor, "He's a six-tool guy. Most talented player I've ever
had." Former manager Bobby Cox remarked, "He's better than
one of the best. He is the best."
On defense, Walker combined
uncanny awareness and competence with the aplomb of an expert actor. By tapping
into extensive knowledge of where to play for each hitter with what the pitcher
was going to throw, he recognized where to position himself accordingly. He
understood how to read the path and angle of the ball and anticipate how it
would ricochet off the wall. His arm strength and accuracy often made it
intimidating for baserunners to seize extra bases. Adept at mimicking catching
long fly balls and line drives that he was actually unable to apprehend, he
often fooled hitters into settling for singles when they could have taken extra
bases.
Although Walker was not the
first Canadian to become a star player in the major leagues, his influence in
Canada and native British Columbia is far-reaching. "He was the standard
for the height of baseball in Canada," commented Jeff Francis, a
former major league pitcher from North Delta, Vancouver. "If you went
to a provincial championship, his picture was on your T-shirt. Or if you went
to play in Maple Ridge, you were playing at Larry Walker Field. The fact that
he played for the Montreal Expos helped, too, so even people who weren't
baseball fans knew who he was. He was that unreachable dream for kids who let
you know it was reachable, that a Canadian could go do it."
As of 2008, Walker was an
instructor on the St. Louis Cardinals' spring training staff under former
manager Tony La Russa and did fill-in training with the Cardinals
staff. He was offered a full-time position but chose to remain in his part-time
position.
Since 2009, Walker has served
as a hitting coach and first base coach for the Canadian
national team. He has coached for Team Canada in three World Baseball
Classic (WBC) tournaments, 2009, 2013, and 2017. In
2011, he served as hitting and first base coach for Canada at the Pan Am
Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, where Team Canada won their
first major international baseball championship. In the semifinal, Canada
defeated host Mexico, 5–3. Next, Canada won by a score of 2–1 versus
the United States in the final, crowning them with that
edition's gold medal. Walker reprised his coaching role at the 2015
Pan Am Games in Toronto. In a rematch of 2011, Canada defeated
the United States in extra innings, 7–6, to claim their second consecutive gold
medal at the Pan Am Games.
During
the 2006 season, MLB and DHL Express announced a
promotional event, named DHL Hometown Heroes, for fans to vote for the
most outstanding player in the history of each franchise among five nominees
each. Nominees for the Colorado Rockies included Walker, Bichette, Castilla,
Galarraga, and Helton. On October 1, 2006, Walker was announced as
the winner for the Colorado Rockies franchise.
Walker was elected to
the BC Sports Hall of Fame, and inducted May 13, 2009,
and CTV Vancouver noted that he was "perhaps the greatest
Canadian-born ballplayer of all time."
On June 20, 2009, it was
announced that Walker and former major league catcher Ernie
Whitt were inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. Walker
was elected on his first ballot.
Of 33 MLB players and
employees surveyed in 2012 to solicit the opinion of the greatest Canadian
baseball player, Walker led with 16 votes, Jenkins was second with 10,
and Joey Votto, Justin Morneau and Stubby Clapp each
received two.
Fellow British Columbia
native Justin Morneau signed with the Rockies prior to
the 2014 season and requested and wore uniform number 33 in honor of
Walker. Morneau had previously won an MVP in the American League. At
the end of the 2014 season, he won the NL batting title, joining Walker as the
second Canadian to win a batting title as a member of the Rockies.
MLB held a contest dubbed
"The Franchise Four" in 2015 for fans to select the four
most influential players in the history of each franchise. On July 14, it was
announced that Walker was selected along with Galarraga, Helton, and Troy
Tulowitzki for the Colorado Rockies.
Walker became eligible for
induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011.
During his first year of eligibility, he received 118 votes, or 20.3 percent of
all ballots cast; the threshold for entry is 75 percent. With a 34.1% of
voters supporting enshrinement in 2018 — Walker's personal high at
that point — he had previously yet to receive more than 22.9% of the
vote. As Jay Jaffe noted, Walker has had difficulty gaining more support
for election as he is "in something of a perfect storm" — low
counting statistics relative to already-elected Hall of Famers, playing a large
part of his career during the "steroid era," and taking more turns at
the plate at Coors Field than anywhere else. One perception of Coors Field
is that it inflates batting statistics far beyond a hitter's true ability.
Jaffe wrote that he found
Walker to be well-qualified for induction into the Hall of Fame, contending
that even though "his counting stats were low for the era, ... his
all-round greatness added a considerable amount of hidden value that made up
for lost time."[5]
Of all who played right field
as their primary position, Walker's 72.7 career Baseball-Reference WAR ranks
tenth all-time, and all nine ahead of him are in the National Baseball Hall of
Fame. A top-heavy list highlights five achievers of over 100 WAR and another
two who accumulated at least 90. Three of the most accomplished hitters in
history are there − Ruth (163.1), Aaron, (142.6), and Musial (128.1). Three of
the next four after Walker, including Gwynn, have also been elected to the Hall
of Fame.
Wrote Tom
Verducci of Walker's American Hall of Fame credentials, the difference
between playing in Denver and all other locations, including producing a
98-point in difference in average (.380 vs. .282), and a 49% higher home run
rate, were "bothersome." Further, the lack of longevity kept him from
election, as no right fielder with fewer than 2,500 games played or 2,500 hits
has been selected. John Brattain noted for Baseball
Prospectus in 2002 that Walker had "Hall of Fame talent" and
named him "among the elite National League outfielders, Coors Field or
not," but without Hall of Fame credentials, due to a lack of longevity
from injury. Brattain compared him to a number of failed hopefuls with similar
statistics, including Dick Allen, who accrued impressive rate statistics
adjusted for era and an MVP award. However, the comparisons only extended to
batting accomplishments, leaving out defense and baserunning.
Noted of Walker's proper
swing balance by the authors of Lau's Laws on Hitting, "don't
be fooled into thinking that all of his glowing statistics are the result of
playing at Coors Field. He posted some superb numbers in Montreal, too.” Former
AL batting champion George Brett offered on playing at Coors that "you
have to adjust to what the ballpark offers you. The reason I hit the way I do
is [Kauffman] Stadium — the big outfield and the turf. You play half
your games there." Mike Piazza, who finished second to Walker in the 1997
NL MVP voting, commented the same year that "Walker is a great player
having a great year. He plays in a great hitter's park, and I think it's
unfortunate that some of their players don't get the credit they deserve
because of that."
Walker was elected into the
National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020 in his 10th and final year of
eligibility; he was named on 304 of the 397 ballots (76.57%) cast by the
writers. He became only the second Canadian elected into the Baseball Hall of
Fame after Ferguson Jenkins was elected in 1991. Walker is
also the first Hall of Fame player to wear a Rockies cap on his plaque. He created
a sensation by wearing a NASCAR-style SpongeBob SquarePants shirt
during the video interviews to commemorate the announcement of his election,
citing that he was not optimistic he would be elected to the Hall of Fame.
Both Amazon and Walmart in its online apparatus were found
to have sold out of the shirt shortly after the interview aired. The
SpongeBob shirt that Larry Walker wore on the day he was elected was itself put
in the Hall of Fame as part of an exhibit in 2021.
Over his career, Walker
produced a .313 batting average, .400 on-base percentage, and .565 slugging
percentage for a 141 adjusted OPS+. One of only 19 hitters in history with a
.300/.400/.500 batting line with at least 5,000 career plate appearances, his
is one of only six whose careers began after 1960. Injuries forced him to miss
375 games from 1996 to 2004 as he appeared in 1,083 of 1,458 possible
games. He hit over .300 nine times, hit at least 30 home runs four times
and drove in 100 RBI five times. Defensively, he ranks eighth all-time among
right fielders with 94 runs above average, per Baseball-Reference. He was
the 40th player in history to reach 2,000 hits, 400 doubles, 300 home runs,
1,000 runs scored, and 1,000 RBI.
Per Baseball-Reference's
advanced metrics, Walker produced 420 runs above average in batting, or batting
runs (Rbat), 94 fielding runs (Rfield), and 40 base-running runs (Rbase). According
to sports journalist Joe Posnanski, of all players who rank within
the top 100 of either Rbat, Rfield, and defensive runs saved, 34 are in
the top 100 in two of the categories, and three are in the top 100 in all
three: Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, and Walker. His 94 Bfield ranks
eighth all-time among right fielders, and Rbase are third all-time among right
fielders and 32nd among all outfielders. Considering players of all positions
in MLB history, just 13 others achieved a combination of 94 Rfield and 40
Rbase. When also considering Walker's 420 Rbat (which are park-adjusted), just
three others met or exceeded all three levels: Hank Aaron, Bonds, and
Mays.
With 72.6 career WAR
according to Baseball-Reference, Walker ranks 10th all-time among right
fielders, including a top-heavy class where five achieved over 100 WAR and
another two accumulated 90 WAR. All nine ahead of him are in the National Hall
of Fame, and eight of nine played at least 2,400 games, compared to Walker's
1,988. There are 24 right fielders in the Hall of Fame. Populating the list are
two of the top three home run hitters in history (Babe Ruth, 163.1; and Hank
Aaron, 142.6), Musial (128.1), Mel Ott (107.8), Frank
Robinson (107.2), Roberto Clemente (94.5) and Al
Kaline (92.5). Three of the next four after Walker, including Gwynn, are
also in the Hall of Fame. Walker is the
only player in MLB history to have met or exceeded a .310 batting average, 380
home runs, 1,300 RBI, .965 OPS and 471 doubles, and 230 stolen bases. Just four
others players reached all levels other than the stolen base category: Musial,
Ruth, Ted Williams, and Lou Gehrig. Among all players with at least
8,000 plate appearances, Walker is tied with Chipper Jones for 36th
all-time with a 141 OPS+. Walker's slugging percentage ranks 12th
all-time. His 140 wRC+ ranks 34th in history among players with
at least 8,000 plate appearances. He is one of twenty players to win at
least three batting titles.
Remarkably, Walker maintained
superior longevity in right field in spite of persistent injuries over the
course of his career. Never having to permanently move off the position, he
made significant contributions there every season of his career, while at times
covering for significant stretches at first base (1991 and 1994), center field
(1996) and left field (2000). He ranks 17th in games played in right field,
with 1,718, 18th in assists (150), tenth in double plays turned (40), eighth in
defensive zone runs (100), and 29th in fielding percentage (.986). Among all
outfielders, he is 21st in defensive zone runs (101), 77th in double plays
turned (40), and 93st in games played (1,804).
Over his general peak seasons
covering 1992−2002, Walker ranked sixth among all MLB position players in WAR
with 53.9, while batting .327, .410 OBP, .602 SLG, with 300 home runs. Among
all players with at least 4,000 at bats in that span, the average ranked second
to Gwynn, weighted on-base average (wOBA, .428) and slugging third to McGwire
and Bonds, and OBP eleventh. During his five highest peak seasons spanning
1997−2001, he batted .357/.445/.658.
In Colorado, Walker batted
.382/.462/.710 and 229 of his career home runs in 2,501 PA. At all other
locations, he batted .282/.372/.501 and 154 of career home runs in 5,529 PA. His
road OPS in nine full seasons playing for the Rockies was .890, and his career
road OPS was .865, just ahead of Ken Griffey Jr. at .860. Of all
players with at least 1,000 road games played, Walker's OPS ranks 39th. As
of 2016, the number of Hall of Famers who had exceeded his road totals followed
as thus: 35 hit more than his 168 home runs, 63 drove in more than his 564 RBI,
32 stole more than his 109 bases, 33 hit for a higher OPS than his .865, and 56
hit more than his 203 doubles.
Walker is the Rockies' career
leader in batting average (.334), on-base percentage (.426), slugging
percentage (.618), OPS (1.044), and OPS+ (147). He remains in the top ten in
many cumulative offensive categories for the Rockies, many of which he is in
second place trailing Todd Helton, who played nearly twice as many games for
Colorado as Walker (2247 to 1170). He is the Rockies' single-season record
holder for numerous categories, many of them set during his MVP season of 1997.
Of frequent debate for
"greatest Canadian-born player ever" is between Walker and pitcher
Ferguson Jenkins. Jenkins was, prior to Walker's election, the only native
Canadian to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and the first of
only two Canadians to win the Cy Young Award (the second is Éric
Gagné in 2003). Since Walker won the MVP Award in 1997, Justin Morneau
(2006) and Joey Votto (2010) became the second and third Canadians
win the MVP award of MLB. Only Walker and Votto (six) have won the Tip O'Neill
Award more than three times in their career.
Title |
Date |
BC Sports Hall of
Fame inductee |
2009 |
Canada's Athletes of the
20th Century #9 Greatest Male Athlete |
1999 |
Canada's Sports Hall of
Fame inductee |
2007 |
Canadian Baseball Hall of
Fame inductee |
2009 |
Colorado Sports Hall of
Fame inductee |
2011 |
National Baseball Hall of
Fame inductee |
2020 |
Name of award |
Times |
Dates |
Baseball Digest Player of the Year |
1 |
1997 |
Colorado
Rockies Player of the Year |
2 |
1997, 1999 |
DHL Hometown
Hero for Colorado Rockies franchise |
1 |
2006 |
ESPY Award for Best Major
League Player |
1 |
1998 |
Home Run
Derby participant |
3 |
1992, 1997, 1999 |
Lionel Conacher Award |
1 |
1998 |
Lou Marsh Trophy |
1 |
1998 |
MLB All-Star |
5 |
1992, 1997–99, 2001 |
MLB Franchise Four
selection for Colorado Rockies |
1 |
2015 |
Montreal Expos Player of
the Year |
1 |
1992 |
National League Most
Valuable Player |
1 |
1997 4× Top-10 MVP (1992 − 5th; 1995 − 7th;
1997 − Won; 1999 − 10th) |
National League Player of the
Month |
2 |
April 1997, July 2002 |
National League Player of the
Week |
4 |
May 26, 1996; Apr. 6, 1997;
Sep. 21, 1997; May 2, 1999 |
Players Choice Award for
National League Outstanding Player |
1 |
1997 |
Rawlings Gold Glove Award at outfield |
7 |
1992, 1993, 1997–99, 2001,
2002 |
Silver Slugger
Award at outfield |
3 |
1992, 1997, 1999 |
Tip O'Neill Award |
9 |
1987, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, |
Career offensive totals |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Category |
G |
PA |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
SB |
BB |
SO |
AVG |
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
OPS+ |
TB |
RC |
P−S |
Off% |
Totals |
1,988 |
8,030 |
6,907 |
1,355 |
2,160 |
471 |
62 |
383 |
1,311 |
230 |
913 |
1,231 |
.313 |
.400 |
.565 |
.965 |
141 |
3,904 |
1,619 |
287.4 |
.746 |
Top 10 |
— |
— |
— |
3 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
6 |
8 |
8 |
7 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
8 |
All-time |
— |
— |
— |
107 |
199 |
88 |
— |
66 |
105 |
— |
165 |
162 |
78 |
55 |
12 |
14 |
74 |
103 |
66 |
31 |
29 |
Career defensive totals |
||||||||||
Category |
G |
Innings |
TC |
PO |
A |
E |
DP |
Fld |
RF/9 |
Rtot |
Right field |
1,718 |
14,987 |
3,322 |
3,125 |
150 |
47 |
40 |
.986 |
2.07 |
96 |
First base |
81 |
691.2 |
729 |
661 |
59 |
9 |
53 |
.988 |
9.37 |
−2 |
Center field |
69 |
490.2 |
133 |
129 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
.992 |
2.42 |
−4 |
Left field |
33 |
261 |
68 |
66 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1.000 |
2.34 |
5 |
Designated hitter |
27 |
|||||||||
Second base |
1 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|||
Third base |
1 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|||
Top 5 as RF |
4 |
— |
— |
3 |
7 |
1 |
11 |
7 |
2 |
8 |
National League statistical leader |
||
Category |
Times |
Seasons |
All players |
||
Wins Above
Replacement (WAR) leader |
1 |
1997 |
Offensive statistics |
||
Batting champion |
3 |
1998, 1999, 2001 |
Doubles leader |
1 |
1994 |
Extra base
hits leader |
1 |
1997 |
Home run leader |
1 |
1997 |
On-base
percentage leader |
2 |
1997, 1999 |
On-base plus
slugging leader |
2 |
1997, 1999 |
Slugging percentage
leader |
2 |
1997, 1999 |
Total bases leader |
1 |
1997 |
Defensive statistics as RF |
||
Assists |
3 |
1992, 1995, 2002 |
Double plays turned |
5 |
1991, 1992, 1997, 2000, 2002 |
Fielding percentage |
1 |
1997 |
Total zone runs |
1 |
1993 |
Records and distinctions
Walker resides in West
Palm Beach, Florida. Walker is married and has three daughters, including one
from a previous marriage.
Walker's talents extend
beyond the diamond. He enjoys playing and watching soccer. In West Palm Beach,
he frequently bowls for recreation. He bowled a 300 game on April 10,
2014.
Superstitious about the
number three, Walker wore number 33 during his playing career and was married
on November 3 at 3:33. All of his in-game rituals would involve the number
three, including taking three swings, or any multiple thereof, in
the batter's box before each at bat.
Further to the number 3, in
2020 Walker became the 333rd person to be named to the National Baseball Hall
of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.
A donor to the Rockies Youth
Field of Dreams program, Walker opened five facilities
in Colorado − Aurora, Denver, Fort
Collins, Northglenn and Thornton.
Buy/ bid with confidence. Total Shipping (USPS Ground Advantage/First
Class Mail) inside the US is FREE. If SHIPPING IS OUTSIDE THE US, please
add $25 (approximately) for First Class
International Mail. We will gladly
ship to Japan and most countries. We will
check with our local post office for the exact price to your address rounded up to the nearest dollar.
(Please request an invoice after adding to card) Bubble mailer or sturdy box
and careful packaging are included
with all orders. We will ship out your item within two business days after your payment arrives. Check out our other
weekly auctions and our eBay store (click on the Blue door icon
next to our eBay ID). Good Luck and Thank You for looking!