Larry Walker

• Born: December 1, 1966
• Place of Birth: Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada

Sport: Baseball

Early Life

Larry Kenneth Robert Walker was born December 1, 1966, in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. As with many young Canadians, his first athletic interest was ice hockey, which he played for thirteen years as a goaltender. He began playing baseball when he was unfairly cut from a youth league hockey team. Walker became adept at both sports.

Nearing high school graduation, Walker was scouted by professional teams in both hockey and baseball. However, the promise of a successful career in the “big leagues” was greater in baseball. He was projected as a “five-tool” player. This is a baseball prospect with the potential to hit for both average and power, speed, and strong throwing and fielding abilities. In baseball, he was on the fast track to the majors. Thus, he quit hockey and signed a free-agent contract with the Montreal Expos in 1984.

The Road to Excellence

Walker did not immediately play well in the minor leagues, despite his impressive potential. In 1985, at Utica in the low Class-A New York-Pennsylvania League, he batted just .223 with 2 home runs and 26 RBIs in 62 games. However, his offensive abilities developed rapidly in 1986. Moving up to Burlington, Iowa, in the Midwest League, he hit 29 home runs and drove in 74 runs in just 95 games while batting a solid .289 with 16 stolen bases. Walker earned a promotion to West Palm Beach in the Florida League for the last part of the season. He responded well, batting .283 with 4 home runs in 113 at-bats. Also, in 1986, after experimenting at third base, he discovered his permanent defensive position as an outfielder. Nevertheless, he struck out 144 times and occasionally lost his composure when he struggled.

In 1987, Walker continued to progress, moving up to the AA Southern League while batting .287 with 26 home runs and 83 RBIs. He also stole 24 bases in 27 attempts. In 1988, Walker suffered his first major injury, which cost him the entire season. However, he returned in 1989, moving to Indianapolis, Indiana, in the AAA American Association. He hit .270 with 12 home runs and had 36 stolen bases, and was promoted briefly to the majors at the end of that season. He did not return to the minor leagues except for several short rehabilitation stints.

In 1990, with the Montreal Expos, Walker established himself as a promising Major League Baseball (MLB) player. He demonstrated a rare combination of power and speed with 19 home runs and 21 stolen bases. However, he hit just .241 and struck out 112 times in 419 official at-bats. Defensively, he was already an accomplished outfielder: He showed good range and threw out 12 base runners. Walker had also reined in his temper, often deflecting disappointment with humor. He progressed in 1991, raising his batting average to .290 and continuing to hit for power. He blossomed into an everyday player in 1992. Playing against both right-handed and left-handed pitchers, the left-hand-hitting Walker batted .301 with 23 home runs and 18 stolen bases. He also reduced his strikeout rate to fewer than one in every five at-bats and won his first Gold Glove Award for defensive excellence. He had become one of the rare five-tool players to deliver on his potential.

The Emerging Champion

In 1993, Walker regressed slightly, batting only .265. However, he drew so many walks that his on-base percentage climbed 18 points to a robust .371. He also won his second Gold Glove Award. In 1994, Walker reached a new plateau of performance. Deep into the season, he batted .322 with 19 home runs, 86 RBIs, and 44 doubles. Furthermore, the Expos led the division by a comfortable margin, anticipating a postseason appearance. However, a labor dispute between the players and owners forced the cancellation of the remainder of the 1994 season. That winter, Walker signed as a free agent with the Colorado Rockies.

In 1995, Walker continued his exceptional play. He batted .306, hit 36 home runs, drove in 101 runs, and stole 16 bases. Although eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, the Rockies made the postseason. Walker never returned to the postseason with the Rockies again. However, his accomplishments continued to impress. In 1997, he batted .366, hit a league-leading 49 home runs, and drove in 130 runs. He also stole 33 bases and won his third Gold Glove Award. Not surprisingly, he was voted the National League’s (NL) most valuable player for the season.

In 1998, 1999, and 2001, Walker was the NL batting champ, averaging .363, .379, and .350, respectively. He also won Gold Glove Awards in each of those seasons. From 1995 to 2002, Walker batted .341, compiled an on-base percentage of .429, and had a slugging percentage of .636. Despite several injuries and stints on the disabled list, he averaged nearly 30 home runs and 100 RBIs. Playing in Colorado, he had become one of his era’s most dominating and popular players.

Continuing the Story

In 2003, Walker did not produce his usual statistics, as age and injuries affected his play. In 2004, he had a stronger season but suffered numerous injuries. With the Rockies trying to rebuild, Walker was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. He helped the Cardinals to a division championship and then hit six home runs in a postseason in which the Cardinals advanced to the World Series against the Boston Red Sox. However, the team was ultimately swept in the World Series.

Walker played one more year with the Cardinals but had trouble staying healthy. In 2005, at thirty-eight, he retired from professional baseball with a lifetime batting average of .313 with 383 home runs over more than sixteen seasons.

Walker remained active in both baseball and Canadian sports following his retirement as a player. He served as a hitting and fielding coach for multiple Canadian teams (2009, 2023, 2017) that participated in the World Baseball Classic. He also coached Team Canada in the 2011 Pan Am Games.

Influence

Larry Walker is remembered as one of his era's most memorable and talented players. He is also noted as one of the greatest Canadian players in the history of Major League Baseball and one of the most iconic Canadian athletes, regardless of sport. He was enshrined in Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009. In the years following his retirement, sports pundits debated whether Walker would be recognized with a spot in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Despite his considerable accomplishments, detractors cited his limited durability, his failure to play for a World Series winner, and the inflationary effect on his offensive production of Coors Field in Colorado. Nevertheless, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020, becoming the first player whose memorial plaque featured a Colorado Rockies uniform.

Bibliography

Anderson, R.J. "Larry Walker Voted into Baseball Hall of Fame in Final Year on Ballot by Razor-Thin Margin." CBS Sports, 22 Jan. 2020, www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/larry-walker-voted-into-baseball-hall-of-fame-in-final-year-on-ballot-by-razor-thin-margin. Accessed 19 June 2024.

Demarco, Tony A. Larry Walker: Canadian Rocky. Sports, 1999.

Francis, Bill. "Larry Walker Has Been a Hall of Famer for Years, Thanks to Larry Doby." National Baseball Hall of Fame, baseballhall.org/discover/larry-walker-has-been-a-hall-of-famer-for-years-thanks-to-larry-doby. Accessed 19 June 2024.

"Larry Walker." Baseball Reference, 2023, www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/walkela01.shtml. Accessed 21 Apr. 2023.

"Larry Walker." National Baseball Hall of Fame, 2020, baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/walker-larry. Accessed 10 July 2020.

Saunders, Patrick. "Rockies’ Larry Walker Inducted into Hall of Fame with Grace, Flair and SpongeBob." The Denver Post, 8 Sept. 2021, www.denverpost.com/2021/09/08/larry-walker-hall-of-fame-baseball-rockies. Accessed 19 June 2024.

Stewart, Wayne. The History of the Colorado Rockies. Creative Education, 2003.