Gregory Lee Walker (born October 6, 1959) is an American former professional baseball

first baseman 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 ...

. He played in

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) from 1982 to 1990. He is the former hitting coach of the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

, the team for which he played all but the last 14 games of his career, until leaving the White Sox to become the hitting coach for 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) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

, a position he held from 2012 until 2014.

Career

Playing career

Walker was drafted by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in the 20th round (511th overall) of the

1977 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1977 Major League Baseball draft. Other notable Selections ''*'' Did not sign Background The White Sox surprised some when they passed on right-handed pitcher Bill ...

. He was selected by the White Sox in the Rule 5 draft in 1979. He was called up to the major leagues in 1982 and spent almost his entire MLB playing career with the White Sox. In 1988, Walker had a seizure on the field at Comiskey Park during fielding practice. He was released by Chicago early in the 1990 season and subsequently signed with the

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

. Baltimore released him shortly thereafter. Over his career, Walker hit 113

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 ...

s and drove in 444 runs while

scoring Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian m ...

368 times in 855 career games.

Coaching career

When he began his coaching career, he did so with the White Sox Triple-A club in

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

. In 2003, he joined the parent club as hitting coach. After nine seasons serving as the hitting coach of the

, including their victory in the

2005 World Series The 2005 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2005 season. The 101st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Chicago White Sox and the National ...

, it was announced on October 21, 2011, that Walker was hired by the

to serve as their hitting coach for the 2012 season. Walker filled the role vacated by the firing of

Larry Parrish Larry Alton Parrish (born November 10, 1953) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and manager. Parrish played with the Montreal Expos (1974–81), Texas Rangers (1982–88), and Boston Red Sox (1988). He also played two seasons in Ja ...

. Walker resigned in September 2014, as the team compiled a .241 batting average, 573 runs, 123 home runs, and 1,369 strikeouts, struggling mightily in the final month of the season. He returned to the Braves as a special assistant of baseball operations in February 2015.

Personal

Walker is a cousin of

Harry Spilman William Harry Spilman (born July 18, 1954) is a retired Major League Baseball first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds (1978–81), Houston Astros (1981–85, 1988–89), Detroit Tigers (1986), and San Francisco Giants (1986–88). He was also known ...

, a former MLB player.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Greg 1959 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Appleton Foxes players Atlanta Braves coaches Atlanta Braves scouts Auburn Phillies players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball coaches from Georgia (U.S. state) Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Chicago White Sox coaches Chicago White Sox players Edmonton Trappers players Glens Falls White Sox players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball hitting coaches People from Douglas, Georgia Peninsula Pilots players Rochester Red Wings players Spartanburg Phillies players