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Larry Kenneth Robert Walker (born December 1, 1966) is a Canadian former professional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In ...
. During his 17-year
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 (A ...
(MLB) career, he played with the
Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...
,
Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...
, and
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
. In 1997, he became the only player in major league history to register both a .700
slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...
(SLG) and 30
stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...
in the same season, on his way to winning the
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
(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 Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada ...
in 2007, and the
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (french: Temple de la renommée du baseball canadien) is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museum commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada. H ...
in the Class of 2009, and was named the 13th-greatest sporting figure from Canada by ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...
'' in 1999. In
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
, he was elected to the
Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
. Widely considered a five-tool talent of prodigious athleticism and instincts, Walker hit for both average and
power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...
, combined with well-above-average
speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quant ...
,
defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indus ...
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 The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...
selections, seven Gold Glove Awards, three
Silver Slugger Awards The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters co ...
, 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 In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...
(OBP), and .500 SLG with at least 5,000
plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runn ...
s, 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 Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Gian ...
and
Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...
. Raised in the
Greater Vancouver Greater Vancouver, also known as Metro Vancouver, is the metropolitan area with its major urban centre being the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The term "Greater Vancouver" is roughly coterminous with the geographic area governed b ...
area of
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...
, Walker spent his youth playing
street hockey Street hockey (also known as shinny, dek hockey, ball hockey, road hockey) is a collection of team sport variants played outdoors either on foot or with wheeled skates, using a either a ball or puck designed for play on flat, dry surfaces. The ...
with consuming NHL
goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near ...
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 The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
run. He signed with the Rockies as a
free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...
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 In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 30–30 club is the group of batters who have collected thirty home runs and thirty stolen bases in a single season. Ken Williams was the first to achieve this, doing so in 1922. He remained the sole member ...
, registering 12 outfield assists and leading his position with four
double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Lea ...
s 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 The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
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 The 2005 National League Championship Series (NLCS), the second round of the 2005 National League playoffs, matched the Central Division champion and defending league champion St. Louis Cardinals against the wild card qualifier Houston Astros, ...
. 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 The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...
(WBC) tournaments, and twice at the
Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is hel ...
, winning consecutive
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...
s in 2011 and 2015.


Early life and amateur career

Larry Kenneth Robert Walker Jr. was born on December 1, 1966, in Maple Ridge, a
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...
of
Greater Vancouver Greater Vancouver, also known as Metro Vancouver, is the metropolitan area with its major urban centre being the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The term "Greater Vancouver" is roughly coterminous with the geographic area governed b ...
in
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...
, to Larry Sr., and Mary Walker, both of
Scottish descent The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded ...
. 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 Street hockey (also known as shinny, dek hockey, ball hockey, road hockey) is a collection of team sport variants played outdoors either on foot or with wheeled skates, using a either a ball or puck designed for play on flat, dry surfaces. The ...
, 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 Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame (french: Temple de la renommée du hockey) is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) rec ...
r
Cam Neely Cameron Michael Neely (born June 6, 1965) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. Neely played right wing for the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 to 1996. Nicknamed " ...
, who became one of Walker's close friends. Walker dreamed of a career in the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
(NHL) as a
goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near ...
, only casually playing an occasional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
game during the summer. He played hockey and
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...
at Maple Ridge Secondary School; baseball was not offered. One of his boyhood idols was NHL goalie Billy Smith, winner of four consecutive
Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
s from
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...
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 The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
in the 12th round of the 1977 NHL Draft.


Junior hockey

At the age of 16, Walker was offered tryouts with Junior A teams in
Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city populatio ...
, and
Kelowna, British Columbia Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word '' ...
, however, he was cut from both teams., however, Herbert made the
Regina Pats Regina (Latin for "queen") may refer to: Places Canada * Regina, Saskatchewan, the capital city of the province ** Regina (electoral district) ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina France * Régina, French Guiana, a commune United States * ...
. Other offers Walker received were from
Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior ...
teams, including
Swift Current Swift Current is the fifth largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is situated along the Trans Canada Highway west of Moose Jaw, and east of Medicine Hat, Alberta. Swift Current grew 6.8% between 2011 and 2016, ending up at ...
, 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.


Amateur 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 The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...
. Previously, Canadian baseball luminaries included
Tip O'Neill Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. (December 9, 1912 – January 5, 1994) was an American politician who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, representing northern Boston, Massachusetts, as ...
, 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 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
. 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 The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. Recalled Walker later in his major league career, "I'd never seen a
forkball The forkball is a type of pitch in baseball. Related to the split-finger fastball, the forkball is held between the first two fingers and thrown hard, snapping the wrist. The forkball differs from the split-fingered fastball, however, in th ...
, never seen a slider. I didn't know they existed. I had never really seen a good
curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curv ...
. 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 The Coquitlam Reds are a youth baseball team located in the city of Coquitlam, British Columbia. The team was founded in 1977, and joined the B.C. Premier Baseball League in 1999. Bill Green has been the manager of the Reds since 1985, and is ...
of the British Columbia Premier Baseball League. He was selected to join the Canadian team at the 1984 World Youth Championships in
Kindersley Kindersley is a town surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Kindersley No. 290 in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located along Highway 7, a primary highway linking Calgary, Alberta and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. At a population of 4,59 ...
,
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
. At that tournament, he caught the eye of Expos
scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth Social movement, movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hik ...
director Jim Fanning after hitting a
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
with a wooden bat, in contrast to all the other players who were using metal bats. Fanning signed Walker for $1,500 ( USD, $ today) as an amateur
free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...
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 The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...
. 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.


Professional career


Minor leagues

Walker attended Expos
minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...
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 roster and position spots, and gives estab ...
camp in
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
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 A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a clubhouse or dwelling ...
, but this brought little relief. The Expos assigned Walker to the
Utica Blue Sox The Utica Blue Sox was the name of two minor league baseball teams based in Utica, New York. In the 2010s, the ''Utica Blue Sox'' is the name of a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) based in ...
of the
New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...
, a Class A Short Season league, for his first season of
professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...
. He played
third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
and
first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
. Although he could hit
fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...
s well, he continued to have difficulties with
strike zone In baseball, the strike zone is the volume of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's k ...
judgment and the more sophisticated pitches, finishing with a .223 batting average and two home runs.
Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...
Ken Brett Kenneth Alven Brett (September 18, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher and the second of four Brett brothers who played professional baseball, the most notable being the youngest, George Brett. Ken played for ...
, 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 base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe o ...
s. Expos hitting coach
Ralph Rowe Ralph Emanuel Rowe (July 14, 1924 – February 29, 1996) was an American outfielder and manager in minor league baseball, and a coach at the Major League level. A native of Newberry, South Carolina, Rowe threw right-handed, batted left-handed, ...
successfully lobbied for him to be sent to the
Florida Instructional League The Florida Instructional League (FIL), sometimes known informally as "instructs", is an American professional baseball league. The league was founded in 1958. Young major league prospects hone their skills in the FIL, while experienced players may ...
(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 West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...
to calibrate and refine his approach, and eventually made his home there. In his second professional season in
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...
, 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 In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...
(OBP), .602
slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...
(SLG), 87
runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...
, 19
doubles Men's doubles, Women's doubles or Mixed doubles are sports having two players per side, including; * Beach volleyball * Doubles badminton * Doubles curling * Footvolley * Doubles pickleball * Doubles squash * Doubles table tennis * Doubles te ...
, 11 triples, 33 home runs, 90
runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the b ...
(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 Felipe Rojas Alou (born May 12, 1935) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, first baseman, and manager. He managed the Montreal Expos (1992–2001) and the San Francisco Giants (2003–2006). The first Dominican to play regularly in th ...
, "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 The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A followi ...
South division, winning by two games over the Fort Lauderdale Yankees. After promotion to
Jacksonville Expos Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the c ...
of the Southern League in
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
, Walker totaled a .287 average, .383 OBP, .534 SLG, 91 runs, 26 home runs, 24 stolen bases and three times
caught stealing In baseball, a runner is charged, and the fielders involved are credited, with a time caught stealing when the runner attempts to advance or lead off from one base to another without the ball being batted and then is tagged out by a fielder whil ...
. He won his first Tip O'Neill Award that year as the top Canadian baseball player. He missed the
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
season after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery for an injury while playing in the
Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (), known as Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons or simply LMP for its acronym in Spanish, is a professional baseball winter league based in Northern Mexico. The ten-team regular season schedule ru ...
. The Expos moved him up to
Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which opened ...
of the Triple-A
International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...
in
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
. There, he played in 114 games and batted .270 with 68 runs scored, 12 home runs, 36 stolen bases and six times caught stealing.


Montreal Expos


Major league debut (1989)

Walker made his debut with the
Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...
on August 16, 1989. He walked twice in the game while recording a single in his first official at bat, off
Mike LaCoss Michael James LaCoss (born May 30, 1956), is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Baseball career Minor Leagues LaCoss was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the third round of the 1974 amateur draft. Cincinnati Reds LaCoss made ...
of the
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...
. Walker's first season totals included a .170 batting average, .264 OBP, and .170 SLG in 56
plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runn ...
s.
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
fans gave him the nickname "Booger."


Early major league career (1990−1992)

Ranked No. 42 on ''
Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...
s list of top prospects in advance of the
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...
season, the Expos never optioned Walker back to the minor leagues, instead, he became their regular right fielder following
Hubie Brooks Hubert "Hubie" Brooks (born September 24, 1956) is an American former professional baseball right fielder, third baseman, and shortstop. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1980 to 1994 for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, L ...
' departure via
free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...
, patrolling an outfield which at times featured
Tim Raines Timothy Raines Sr. (born September 16, 1959), nicknamed "Rock",Raines received this nickname at an Expo rookie camp when he was seventeen, based on his physique. is an American professional baseball coach and former player. He played as a left ...
and
Marquis Grissom Marquis Deon Grissom (born April 17, 1967) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and ...
, 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 Wins Above Replacement or Wins Above Replacement Player, commonly abbreviated to WAR or WARP, is a non-standardized sabermetric baseball statistic developed to sum up "a player's total contributions to his team". A player's WAR value is claimed to ...
(WAR). He placed seventh in the
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
(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 In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...
(DL) in
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
and 1993 while playing on
Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
's notorious
artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commerc ...
, a product perceived to create excessive stress on
knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the ...
s, accelerating injuries to players like former Expo
Andre Dawson Andre Nolan Dawson (born July 10, 1954), nicknamed "The Hawk" and "Awesome Dawson", is an American former professional baseball player and inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 21-year baseball career, he played for four different t ...
. In 1991, Walker appeared in 39 games at first base, including
Dennis Martínez's perfect game On Sunday, July 28, 1991, Dennis Martínez of the Montreal Expos pitched the 13th perfect game in Major League Baseball history, blanking the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 at Dodger Stadium. A native of Granada, Nicaragua, Martínez became the firs ...
on July 28, a 2−0 victory versus the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...
. In that contest, Walker hit the only RBI, driving in
Dave Martinez David Martinez (born September 26, 1964) is an American professional baseball coach and former outfielder who is the manager for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously served as the bench coach for the Tampa Bay ...
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 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...
season, the Expos made Alou
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...
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 The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...
, he fielded a ground ball to right field and threw out speedy
shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...
Tony Fernández at first base. Walker was named to his first
All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...
, debuting as a
pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...
in the fourth inning for
Greg Maddux Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams. Maddux is best known for his accomplishments while playing for the Atlanta Braves ...
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 The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in b ...
and
Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters ...
, 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.


1993−94 seasons

The
1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...
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 Jeffrey Joseph Fassero (born January 5, 1963) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Professional career Montreal Expos Fassero was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 22nd round of the amateur draft, but he bounced around in the min ...
in the starting rotation and John Wetteland and
Mel Rojas Melquíades Rojas Medrano (born December 10, 1966) is a Dominican former Major League Baseball (MLB) relief pitcher. From 1990 to 1999, he played for the Montreal Expos, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League a ...
anchoring the
bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...
. 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 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
. 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 The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
, as the
Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
were defending champions in
1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...
, 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 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
season, the Expos, seeking to replace departed ace Dennis Martínez in the starting rotation, acquired a young reliever in
Pedro Martínez Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , for five teams—most notably the Boston Red Sox from to . At the time o ...
, who the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...
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 The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Broo ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
and Martínez starting. With one out in the third inning, Walker caught a
Mike Piazza Michael Joseph Piazza ( ; born September 4, 1968) is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1992 to 2007. He currently serves as the manager of the Italian national baseball te ...
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 In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...
(.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 A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
Kevin Malone was given orders to drastically reduce payroll. The club dealt away their young stars, including declining to offer
arbitration Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that resolves disputes outside the judiciary courts. The dispute will be decided by one or more persons (the 'arbitrators', 'arbiters' or 'arbitral tribunal'), which renders the ...
to Walker. As such, he was granted free agency.


Colorado Rockies

Walker signed a four-year contract with the
Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...
worth nearly $22.5 million USD ($ million today), the largest agreement since the strike. The average annual value equated to more than $5.6 million ($ million today), up from the $4,025,000 ($ 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. 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.


1995−96 seasons

In his Rockies debut and inaugural game of Coors Field on April 26 versus the
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...
, Walker doubled three times, including one that tied the score with two outs in the ninth resulting in an 11−9
extra innings Extra innings is the extension of a baseball or softball game in order to break a tie. Ordinarily, a baseball game consists of nine regulation innings (in softball and high school baseball games there are typically seven innings; in Little Lea ...
win. On May 7, 1995, he hit his 100th career home run versus
Hideo Nomo is a Japanese former baseball pitcher who played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). He achieved early success in his native country, where he played with the Kintetsu Buffaloes from to . He then exploited a l ...
of
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
. 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 Samuel Peralta Sosa (born November 12, 1968) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and C ...
), 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 Alphonse Dante Bichette Sr. (; born November 18, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player, currently employed by the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder for the California An ...
, 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 The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
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 In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ...
(NLDS) versus the
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...
. He hit his first career postseason home run off
Tom Glavine Thomas Michael Glavine (born March 25, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, for the Atlanta Braves (1987–2002, 2008) and New York Mets (2003–2007). With 164 victories durin ...
in the sixth inning of a 7−4 Game 2 loss. The Braves defeated the Rockies in four games. Walker primarily played
center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ce ...
in
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
—54 of 83 total games—in a season cut short by injury. In the May 21 game against the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
, 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 The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the r ...
that occurred in a collision with an outfield fence. He hit .393 at Coors Field and .142 on the road.


Most Valuable Player Award (1997)

The Rockies commenced the
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
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 Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
, and, on April 5, hit three more versus the Expos in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
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 A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three w ...
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 Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Gian ...
in
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
—and runs scored—until surpassed by Bryce Harper in
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
. 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 The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...
. Former Expos teammate
Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...
, a left-handed pitcher standing 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 San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
. 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 Anthony Keith Gwynn Sr. (May 9, 1960 – June 16, 2014), nicknamed "Mr. Padre", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played 20 seasons (1982–2001) in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres. The left-handed hit ...
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 The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...
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 In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, whil ...
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 In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 30–30 club is the group of batters who have collected thirty home runs and thirty stolen bases in a single season. Ken Williams was the first to achieve this, doing so in 1922. He remained the sole member ...
. 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 Runs created (RC) is a baseball statistic invented by Bill James to estimate the number of runs a hitter contributes to their team. Purpose James explains in his book, ''The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract'', why he believes runs created is ...
(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 Stanley Frank Musial (; born Stanislaw Franciszek Musial; November 21, 1920 – January 19, 2013), nicknamed "Stan the Man", was an American baseball outfielder and first baseman. Widely considered to be one of the greatest and most consis ...
gained 429 in
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
, and is tied with
Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig (born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned f ...
and
Rogers Hornsby Rogers Hornsby Sr. (April 27, 1896 – January 5, 1963), nicknamed "The Rajah", was an American baseball infielder, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1915–1926, 193 ...
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 Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...
's 400 in
1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
. 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 A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical iss ...
on July 1, 2017,
The Sports Network The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language sports specialty channel established by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1984 as part of the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels. Since 2001, it has been majority-owned by comm ...
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.


First batting title (1998)

Although he rested the right elbow in the off-season, Walker aggravated the injury while playing
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
the following January. The elbow soreness kept him at one home run through April of the
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
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 Jerry Carl Spradlin (born June 14, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1993 to 2000. Amateur career Spradlin attended Katella High School in Anaheim, California. He pitched thr ...
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 An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...
for the second consecutive season, playing
center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ce ...
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 Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...
Jacques Villeneuve, of which he remarked at the time that he lost "to a car." Walker also attained the
Lionel Conacher Award The Lionel Conacher Award is an annual award given to Canada's male athlete of the year. The sports writers of the Canadian Press (CP) first conducted a poll to determine the nation's top athlete, of either gender, in 1932. Separate polls for the ...
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.


1999 season

Plagued by injuries for the last several years of his career, Walker nevertheless continued to produce. He missed the first week of the
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
season with a strained rib cage. On April 28, he hit three home runs against the
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
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 The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
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 Chan Ho Park (; ; born June 30, 1973) is a South Korean former professional baseball pitcher. Park was the first South Korea-born player in MLB history. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, ...
of the
Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Broo ...
. 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 Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and Boston Braves (baseball), since 1953, i ...
in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, 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 The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...
, Walker became the second player to homer into the plaza reserve seating of one of the upper decks in the
Oakland Coliseum Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home b ...
, following
Mark McGwire Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001 for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Card ...
, 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 John Loy Rocker (born October 17, 1974) is a former American relief pitcher who played six seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Atlanta Braves. Making his major league debut in 1998 as a member of the Braves, with whom he p ...
of
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
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 Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 193 ...
hit .406 in
1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar E ...
− 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 George Howard Brett (born May 15, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player who played all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are second- ...
in
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...
. The last NL player to lead the majors in each of the three slash stat categories was Musial in
1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...
. 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 Aloysius Harry Simmons (May 22, 1902 – May 26, 1956), born Alois Szymanski, was an American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Bucketfoot Al", he played for two decades in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and had his best year ...
from
1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
31 to hit at least .360 in each of three consecutive seasons. Walker signed a six-year, $75 million (USD, $ 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 Canada's Athletes of the 20th century as voted on in a 1999 survey of newspaper editors and broadcasters conducted by the Canadian Press and Broadcast News: Top 10 Female Athletes # Nancy Greene (born 1943), skier # Silken Laumann (born 1964), ro ...
list compiled in 1999, trailing only Ferguson Jenkins (number seven) among baseball players. ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...
'' listed Walker as the 13th greatest sporting figure in Canadian history in 1999.


2000−01 seasons

While missing a major portion of
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
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 The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...
, he collected his 1,448th career hit to pass
Jeff Heath John Geoffrey Heath (April 1, 1915 – December 9, 1975) was a Canadian-born American left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his career for the Cleveland Indians. He was one of the American League's most promising power ...
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 The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...
, 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 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...
season, Walker committed to a new fitness regimen, including enlisting a
personal trainer A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...
. 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 San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
. Walker was selected to play in the 2001 All-Star Game, starting as the
designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by t ...
and batting fifth. On August 5, he hit his 300th career home run, coming against the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
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 San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
, Walker tied his career-high and the Rockies franchise record. On the season, Walker tied
Ichiro Suzuki , also known mononymously as , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played professionally for 28 seasons. He played nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), where he began hi ...
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.


2002−2004 seasons

The Rockies struggled to play well in
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, 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 Terry Stephen Puhl (born July 8, 1956) is a Canadian former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a outfielder from 1977 to 1991, most prominently as a member of the Houston Astros where he helped the fran ...
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 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...
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 Interleague play in Major League Baseball refers to regular-season baseball games played between an American League (AL) team and a National League (NL) team. Interleague play was first introduced during the 1997 Major League Baseball season. Pri ...
led the major leagues. Throughout his age-36 season of
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...
, Walker battled knee, shoulder, hamstring, groin and hip ailments. The knee injury occurred in a collision with
Preston Wilson Preston James Richard Wilson (born July 19, 1974) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played all or parts of ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2007 for the New York Mets, Florida Marlins, Colorad ...
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 Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...
Don Baylor Don Edward Baylor (June 28, 1949 – August 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and manager. During his 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), Baylor was a power hitter known for standing very close to home plate (" crowdin ...
, "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 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
season. His first three home runs of the season
video
came on June 25, 2004, versus the
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...
, 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 Ben Michael Sheets (born July 18, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. Sheets is a four-time MLB All-Star (2001, 2004, 20 ...
in the fourth inning versus the
Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
. 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 Ian Michael Kinsler ( he, איאן קינסלר; born June 22, 1982) is an American-Israeli former professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for ...
and prospect right-hander Erik Thompson in exchange for Walker in July, but he vetoed the trade.


St. Louis Cardinals


World Series appearance (2004)

On August 6, 2004, Colorado sent Walker, who was batting .324 in 38 games, to the
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
for
minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...
pitcher Jason Burch and two
players to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or " trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the sea ...
. 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 Anthony Darrell Womack (born September 25, 1969) is an American former professional baseball player. He played all or parts of 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), with most of his career spent with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Arizona D ...
and in front of the 3−4−5 hitters of
Jim Edmonds James Patrick Edmonds (born June 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and a broadcaster for Bally Sports Midwest. He played for the California/Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, ...
,
Albert Pujols José Alberto Pujols Alcántara () (); born January 16, 1980) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball first baseman, designated hitter and third baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "The Machine ...
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 The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...
, 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 Yadier Benjamín Molina (; born July 13, 1982), nicknamed "Yadi", is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher who played his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely considered one of the grea ...
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 In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring e ...
versus the
Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Broo ...
, 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 The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Nation ...
(NLCS) versus 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 s ...
, he was a home run short of
hitting for the cycle In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League ...
. St. Louis advanced to the
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
to face the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
− 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 Louis Clark Brock (June 18, 1939September 6, 2020) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He began his 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the 1961 Chicago Cubs but spent most of it as a left fielder for the St. Louis ...
in
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
. 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.


Final season (2005)

Walker also contributed to the
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...
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 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 afte ...
defeated the Cardinals in the
NLCS The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two National ...
in the last game ever played at
Busch Memorial Stadium Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium II, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri, that operated for 40 years, from 1966 through 2005. The stadium served as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals National League ...
, the second iteration of
Busch Stadium Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. The stadium serves as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the city's Major League Baseball (M ...
. Walker doubled in the sixth inning in elimination Game 6 versus
Roy Oswalt Roy Edward Oswalt (; born August 29, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Oswalt played for the majority of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Houston Astros. He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texa ...
for his final major league hit, but struck out in the ninth inning versus
Dan Wheeler Daniel Michael Wheeler (born December 10, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, New York Mets, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, and Cleveland Indians from 1999 ...
, 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.


Playing style

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 play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Lea ...
s (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 Charles Richard Lau (April 12, 1933 – March 18, 1984) was an American professional baseball player and a highly influential hitting coach. During his playing career in Major League Baseball, Lau appeared in 527 games as a catcher and pinch hitt ...
. 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. Lau and Flanagan 2000: 174 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 ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 1 ...
'' 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.


Post-playing career


Impact on baseball in Canada

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 Jeffrey William Francis (born January 8, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, and ...
, 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."


Coaching work


St. Louis Cardinals

As of 2008, Walker was an instructor on the St. Louis Cardinals' spring training staff under former manager
Tony La Russa Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland At ...
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.


Canada national baseball team

Since 2009, Walker has served as a hitting
coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...
and first base coach for the Canadian national team. He has coached for Team Canada in three
World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...
(WBC) tournaments,
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...
,
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
, and
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
. In 2011, he served as hitting and first base coach for Canada at the
Pan Am Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...
in
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...
,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
, where Team Canada won their first major international baseball championship. In the semifinal, Canada defeated host
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
, 5–3. Next, Canada won by a score of 2–1 versus the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
in the final, crowning them with that edition's
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...
. Walker reprised his coaching role at the
2015 Pan Am Games Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music * Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...
in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
. 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 The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...
.


Recognition, awards, and halls of fame election and consideration


Post-career awards

During the
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
season, MLB and
DHL Express DHL is an American founded, German logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post. The company group delivers over 1.8 billion parcels per year. DH ...
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 The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in BC Place Stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia's spo ...
, and inducted May 13, 2009, and
CTV CTV may refer to: Television * Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet North America and South America * CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media ** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...
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 Leo Ernest Whitt (born June 13, 1952) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), including twelve for the Toronto Blue Jays, and was the last player from the franchise's inaugural sea ...
were inducted into the
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (french: Temple de la renommée du baseball canadien) is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museum commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada. H ...
. 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 Joseph Daniel Votto (born September 10, 1983) is a Canadian-American professional baseball first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Reds in 2007. He is the first Canadian MLB player ...
, Justin Morneau and
Stubby Clapp Richard Keith "Stubby" Clapp (born February 24, 1973) is a Canadian professional baseball coach and former second baseman, left fielder, and Triple-A manager who is the first base coach for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB ...
each received two. Fellow British Columbia native Justin Morneau signed with the Rockies prior to the
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
season and requested and wore uniform number 33 in honor of Walker. Morneau had previously won an MVP in the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...
. 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 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
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.


National Baseball Hall of Fame

Walker became eligible for induction into the
National Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
in
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
. 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 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
— 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." 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 Baseball Prospectus (BP) is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well as player and team perf ...
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 Richard Anthony Allen (March 8, 1942 – December 7, 2020) was an American professional baseball player. During his fifteen-year-long Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played as a first baseman, third baseman, and outfielder, most notably ...
, 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 auffmanStadium — the big outfield and the turf. You play half your games there."
Mike Piazza Michael Joseph Piazza ( ; born September 4, 1968) is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1992 to 2007. He currently serves as the manager of the Italian national baseball te ...
, 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 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
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 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
. 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 The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
-style ''
SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American Animated series, animated Television comedy, comedy Television show, television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It ...
'' 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 Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
and
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
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.


Accomplishments

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 A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
Joe Posnanski Joe Posnanski (; nicknamed "Poz" and "Joe Po"; born January 8, 1967) is an American sports journalist. A former senior columnist for ''Sports Illustrated'' (where he wrote the blog Curiously Long Posts) and columnist for ''The Kansas City Star'', ...
, 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 Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...
, 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 Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...
, 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 Melvin Thomas Ott (March 2, 1909 – November 21, 1958), nicknamed "Master Melvin", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants, from through . He batted left-handed an ...
(107.8),
Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams, from to . The only player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of both ...
(107.2),
Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After his early death, he was pos ...
(94.5) and
Al Kaline Albert William Kaline ( ; December 19, 1934 – April 6, 2020), nicknamed "Mr. Tiger", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers. For most of his career, Kali ...
(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 Henry Louis Gehrig (born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned f ...
. Among all players with at least 8,000 plate appearances, Walker is tied with
Chipper Jones Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones Jr. (born April 24, 1972) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves from 1993 to 2012. The Braves chose Jones with the List of first ov ...
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 In baseball, wOBA ( /'woʊbə/, or weighted on-base average) is a statistic, based on linear weights, designed to measure a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. It is formed from taking the observed run values of various ...
, .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. George Kenneth Griffey Jr. (born November 21, 1969), nicknamed "Junior" and "the Kid", is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 22 years in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent most of his career with the Seattle M ...
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 Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Ha ...
(the second is Éric Gagné in 2003). Since Walker won the MVP Award in 1997, Justin Morneau (
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
) and
Joey Votto Joseph Daniel Votto (born September 10, 1983) is a Canadian-American professional baseball first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Reds in 2007. He is the first Canadian MLB player ...
(
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
) 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.


Commendations


Statistical achievements

*MLB ** Only player to reach .700 slugging percentage and 30 stolen bases in same season (1997) ** 5th player in history to join 40–30 club (
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
) ** Record 6 consecutive extra base hits (May 21–22, 1996) ** Former record 29 runs scored in month of April (1997−2017)


Personal life

Walker resides in
West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...
. 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 Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gr ...
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 A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...
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 Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...
Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
,
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Fort Collins A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
, Northglenn and Thornton.


See also

*
List of Canadian sports personalities The following is a list of Canadian sports personalities. Olympic athletes * Alex Baumann, Sudbury, swimmer *Josh Binstock (born 1981), volleyball player *Patrick Chan, Ottawa *Victor Davis, Guelph *Andre De Grasse, Scarborough/ Markham * Lo ...
*
List of Colorado Rockies team records These are lists of Colorado Rockies records from their inception all the way through the 2018 season. Single season records Batting *Games: Vinny Castilla, 162 (1998), Neifi Pérez, 162 (1998), Neifi Pérez, 162 (2000) *Batting Average: Larry ...
* List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders * List of Major League Baseball career assists as a right fielder leaders *
List of Major League Baseball career batting average leaders In baseball, the batting average (BA) is defined by the number of hits divided by at bats. It is usually reported to three decimal places and pronounced as if it were multiplied by 1,000: a player with a batting average of .300 is "batting three- ...
* List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders *
List of Major League Baseball career extra base hits leaders In baseball, an extra base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire anot ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders Below is the list of the 286 Major League Baseball players who have reached the 2,000 hit milestone during their career in MLB. Pete Rose holds the Major League record for most career hits, with 4,256. Rose and Ty Cobb, second most, are the onl ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders This is a list of the 300 Major League Baseball players who have hit the most home runs. In the sport of baseball, a home run is a hit in which the batter scores by circling all the bases and reaching home plate in one play, without the benefit ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career on-base percentage leaders In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped or uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference. ...
*
List of Major League Baseball career OPS leaders On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging average.Sewww.baseballprospectus.como. The ability of a player both to get on base and to hit for power, two import ...
* List of Major League Baseball career putouts as a right fielder leaders * List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders * List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders * List of Major League Baseball career slugging percentage leaders *
List of Major League Baseball players from Canada This is a list of active baseball players who hold Canadian citizenship, who have played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Active players Awards and notable accomplishments Baseball Hall of Fame *Ferguson Jenkins, 1991 *Larry Walker, 2020 Most Va ...
*
List of members of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame This list shows all the members of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Cal ...
* List of National League annual slugging percentage leaders


References


Footnotes


Source notes


Bibliography

*


External links


Larry Walker
at th
Baseball Hall of Fame
*
Walker's three home run game on April 5, 1997

Batting right-handed against Johnson in 1997 All-Star Game
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Larry 1966 births Living people Baseball people from British Columbia Burlington Expos players Canada national baseball team people Canadian baseball coaches Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Canadian people of Scottish descent Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Expos players Lou Marsh Trophy winners Major League Baseball players from Canada Major League Baseball right fielders Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars National League batting champions National League home run champions National League Most Valuable Player Award winners People from Maple Ridge, British Columbia Salem Avalanche players Silver Slugger Award winners St. Louis Cardinals players Tulsa Drillers players Utica Blue Sox players West Palm Beach Expos players Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees