Michael Charles Walker (born October 4, 1966) 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 ...

player. Walker 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) ...

with 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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

(1988, 1990, 1991),

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

(1995), and

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

(1996). Walker last played professional baseball in 1999 with the

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 N ...

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

Career

Early life and amateur career

Walker was born to Joan Robinett in Chicago and raised there. He was a fan of the Chicago Cubs and

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on Januar ...

as a child. Walker graduated from Hernando High School in

Brooksville, Florida Brooksville is a city in western Florida and the county seat of Hernando County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 7,719, up from 7,264 at the 2000 census. Brooksville is home to historic buildings and residence ...

, in 1984 and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Seminole State College of Florida Seminole State College of Florida is a public college with four campuses in Central Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. Founded in 1965, the Florida State Legislature signed a charter creating "Seminole Junior College." The co ...

. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 1986.

Professional career

He was assigned to the Burlington Indians to begin his professional career. In 1988, the Indians called Walker up to pitch in the exhibition Baseball Hall of Fame Game. At the time, he was described in ''

The Morning Call ''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after '' The Express-Times''. In 2020, the newspaper permanently closed its ...

'' as "the Eastern League's top pitcher." He made his regular season debut on September 9 of that year. He pitched 2.1 scoreless innings in relief of Rich Yett 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 ...

against 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 eig ...

. He made two more appearances in the Major Leagues that year and spent the entirety of the following season in Triple-A

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

despite remaining on the 40-man roster. Walker was assigned to Triple-A to start the 1990 season. After struggling early in the season, Walker was demoted to Double-A Canton-Akron. He made only one appearance for Canton-Akron before being promoted directly to the Major Leagues following the demotion of Charles Nagy. In 1991, the Indians converted Walker to a full-time

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

and assigned him to Double-A to start the season. Walker, who by that point was pessimistic about his career prospects, was added to the big league roster in June. He would appear in five games for the Indians that year and allow only one

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

. The Indians released Walker following the 1991 season. In December, he signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers. After Walker failed to make the team out of

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 ...

, the Tigers assigned him to Triple-A Toledo to start the season but released him in the middle of the 1992 season. He stayed in shape after his release be working out with his former high school team. The Indians re-signed him before the 1993 season but released him before spring training concluded. He then landed with the Chicago Cubs who assigned him to their Double-A affiliate. Following the season, Walker told the Cubs that he was considering retirement. Nonetheless, he returned for 1995 and the Cubs assigned him to Triple-A to begin the following season. Walker had improved his control by studying his pitching mechanics on video during the offseason and cut his walks in half. Walker made his debut with the Cubs on April 27, 1995. Walker described pitching for the Cubs as a dream come true, telling the ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' "I always wanted to be with the Cubs. One of my dreams was to be in the big leagues, and the other was to pitch with the Cubs." After retirement, he described pitching at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago W ...

as the high point of his career. To his surprise, Walker was demoted to the minor leagues in late July despite leading 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 ...

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

and

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning ...

. He was recalled to the bigs when rosters expanded in September and finished the season there. During the 1995–96 offseason, Walker worked out with Mike Marshall, a former

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 ...

winner who also had a doctorate in

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human health ...

. Shortly before the start of spring training, he signed a minor league contract with 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) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

but was released before the start of the season. On April 26, he signed with the Detroit Tigers and began the season at Triple-A Toledo. He was called up to the majors on May 24 along with Bob Scanlan and Raúl Casanova. The Tigers had the worst record in Major League Baseball at the time. He appeared in twenty games in relief for the Tigers that season and was demoted to the minors for the final time on July 13, 1996. Walker pitched a strong enough season in 1997 with the

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 opene ...

, Triple-A affiliate of 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 ...

, that the Reds brought him back for the 1998 season on a minor league contract. In 1998, while still pitching in Indianapolis, Walker broke a 43-year-old record by appearing in 78 games as a pitcher. His success in Indianapolis inspired him not to retire following the 1998 season. Prior to the 1999 season, the Cleveland Indians signed Walker to a free agent contract and invited him to spring training. In July 1999, he was playing in Cleveland's farm system for the

when he was released and opted to retire from professional baseball.

Personal life

In 1988, while playing for the Williamsport Bills, Walker met his future wife, Justine. They were married in or about January 1990. , Justine had a 14-year-old daughter and they had two sons together, Michael Jr., age three, and Jordan, age two. In 1997, he and his wife bought a

sporting goods Sports equipment, sporting equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear used to compete in a sport and varies depending on the sport. The equipment ranges from balls, nets, and protective gear like helmets. ...

store off Florida State Road 50 in Brooksville, Florida. Walker was working as the Director of Parks and Recreation for Brooksville in 2016. He was replaced in that role in 2019.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
o
Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Mike 1966 births Living people Baseball players from Chicago Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Burlington Indians players (1986–2006) Canton-Akron Indians players Chicago Cubs players Cleveland Indians players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Detroit Tigers players Indianapolis Indians players Iowa Cubs players Kinston Indians players Major League Baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Orlando Cubs players Seminole State Raiders baseball players Toledo Mud Hens players Waterloo Indians players Williamsport Bills players