James Ross Walker (born July 1, 1971) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. He previously pitched for the Kansas City Royals,

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Biography

Walker graduated from Warren County Senior High in McMinnville, Tennessee in 1989. He attended Austin Peay State University between 1990 and 1992 and ranks fifth all-time in school history with 17 wins and first with three career shutouts. Walker was drafted in the 10th round (265th overall) of the 1992 MLB draft by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. Walker crossed the picket lines and participated in

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

during the 1994 Major League Baseball strike as a

replacement player In professional sports, a replacement player is an athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a strike or lockout, serving as a strikebreaker. Instances of replacement players Nati ...

. As a result, he was barred membership to the

Major League Baseball Players Association The Major League Baseball Players Association (or MLBPA) is the union representing all current Major League Baseball players. All players, managers, coaches, and athletic trainers who hold or have held a signed contract with a Major League club ...

. This prevented Walker from being listed among Tigers players on their 2006 ALCS championship merchandise. Walker has been clear and candid about his role as a replacement player with his major league teammates. In , Walker nearly broke the major league record for most appearances in a season without a decision (no wins or losses). The record was held by

Scott Aldred Scott Phillip Aldred (born June 12, 1968) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and current minor league pitching coach. Early life Aldred was born in Flint, Michigan. He graduated in 1986 from Hill McCloy High School in Montros ...

(a former Tiger, coincidentally), who made 48 appearances for the 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays while accomplishing this feat. By September 29 (with three games left in the season), he had pitched in 54 games without being credited with a win or a loss. However, he would surrender four runs on three home runs against his former team (the Kansas City Royals) in the top of the 11th inning and was charged with a loss. However, Aldred's record would only hold for one more season, as

Trever Miller Trever Douglas Miller (born May 29, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. High school Miller graduated from Trinity High School, where he was a pitcher and outfielder, in 1991 and was named Kentucky's Mr. Baseball and the G ...

of the

set the new mark by making 76 appearances without a decision in 2007.

Honors and awards

Walker was named

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It participates in NCAA Divisi ...

Pitcher of the Year in 1992. He was inducted into the Austin Peay State University Athletics Hall of Fame on February 8, 2003, and into the

Warren County, Tennessee Warren County is a county located on the Cumberland Plateau in Middle Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 39,839. Its county seat is McMinnville. Warren County ...

Sports Hall of Fame on December 19, 2006.

Personal life

Walker is married (wife Natalie) and has three sons (Ross, born 1995, James Leyland, born 2007, and Isaac, born 2009). Although the name is the same, he is not named after Walker's former manager in Detroit. He also has two daughters (Harlee, born 1999; Hannah, born 2004). The family resides on their Kansas ranch in Smith Center. They have a second home in

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As o ...

Notes and references

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Jamie 1971 births Major League Baseball pitchers Austin Peay Governors baseball players Baseball players from Tennessee Bowie Baysox players Baltimore Orioles players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Detroit Tigers players Frederick Keys players Kansas City Royals players Living people Omaha Royals players People from McMinnville, Tennessee Toledo Mud Hens players Wichita Wranglers players People from Smith Center, Kansas Auburn Astros players Gulf Coast Royals players Jackson Generals (Texas League) players Omaha Golden Spikes players Quad Cities River Bandits players

Biography

Honors and awards

Personal life

See also

Notes and references

External links