Michael Aaron Walker (born June 23, 1965 in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

) is an American 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 tea ...

player. A pitcher, Walker played

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

(MLB) in with 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) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

Career

Walker, who prefers to go by Mike, was raised in Splendora/Cleveland, Texas by his parents Barbara and L.G. In High School, Mike aka "The Walk" was an All-Star athlete who lettered in basketball and baseball. He went to the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

on a scholarship and, as a pitcher, enjoyed many successes as a

Cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...

. On June 2, 1986 Mike was drafted by 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 the 2nd round of the 1986 MLB draft. Mike began his minor league career with the

Watertown Pirates The Watertown Pirates were a Short-Season Class-A minor league baseball team located in Watertown, New York. The team played in the New York–Penn League from 1983 to 1998. They played their home games at the Duffy Fairgrounds Ball Park. From ...

, then moved up to play for the Single-A

Salem Buccaneers Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

in , where he had a very successful season. He was named Most Valuable Player on numerous occasions and recognized as one of the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

's most prestigious players during 1987, leading Salem to the league championship. Briefly, he spent time in the AA club in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

. Mike's talent brought him to the AAA club in Buffalo by the end of . In , Mike married Dina (Becker) and had headed back to Buffalo, New York to once again play for the Pirates' AAA club. However, on April 21, along with minor leaguer

Mark Merchant Mark Alan Merchant (born January 23, 1969) is an American former professional baseball player whose career spanned ten seasons in minor league baseball, parts of one season in the Northern League, and one season in the Atlantic League of Profes ...

, Walker was traded to the Seattle Mariners for

Rey Quiñones Rey Francisco Quiñones (born November 11, 1963) is a Puerto Rican baseball infielder who had a short career in Major League Baseball, primarily as a shortstop. He played for the Boston Red Sox, the Seattle Mariners, and the Pittsburgh Pirates ...

and Bill Wilkinson. Mike played for Seattle's Triple A farm team, the

Calgary Cannons The Calgary Cannons were a minor league baseball team located in Calgary, Alberta, for 18 seasons, from 1985 until 2002. They were a member of the AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL) and played at Foothills Stadium. The Cannons displaced the Calgary ...

for the next few seasons. The Mariners and Walker joined forces for the next 5 years. In , after a short recovery from shoulder surgery, Mike was called to the major leagues. He made his MLB debut on June 16, 1992. Walker played for Seattle for just shy of one month and never spent another day in the MLB. Over the following years, Mike played for 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 Yor ...

and the Texas Rangers organizations.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Mike 1965 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Houston Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Calgary Cannons players Diablos Rojos del México players Harrisburg Senators players Houston Cougars baseball players Jacksonville Suns players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Oklahoma City 89ers players Phoenix Firebirds players Salem Buccaneers players Seattle Mariners players Watertown Pirates players