Walker to be pictured in Rockies cap on Hall plaque

Photo: National Baseball Hall of Fame

January 22, 2020

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Larry Walker put any debate about which cap he would be pictured in on his Cooperstown plaque to rest in his opening comments of Wednesday’s National Baseball Hall of Fame press conference in New York.

The Maple Ridge, B.C., native will be featured in a Colorado Rockies cap. He said he had discussed this extensively with Hall of Fame staff, who make the ultimate call on the cap.

“It was a hard decision being Canadian,” said Walker, who thoroughly enjoyed his parts of six seasons with the Montreal Expos at the beginning of his career.

But he accumulated the majority of his Hall of Fame numbers as a member of the Colorado Rockies from 1995 to 2004.

Walker’s self-deprecating wit was on display once again at the press conference on Wednesday. After he put on his Hall of Fame jersey, he quipped, “This is way better than that Sponge Bob shirt I wore yesterday.”

Seated to the right of fellow inductee and legendary New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter at the front of the room, Walker was still coming to grips with his Hall nod.

“It still doesn’t make sense that there is Hall of Fame all around me here right now,” he said. “It still hasn’t sunk in.”

The 21 hours since he learned he had been elected had been a whirlwind and Walker said he had troubles sleeping on Tuesday night.

“There have been tears of joy,” he said. “I never realized how mentally tired I was.”

Since the Hall announcement on Tuesday evening, Walker has been inundated with congratulatory messages — more than 300 in total. He says his voicemail box is full. One message he received was from Chatham, Ont., native Fergie Jenkins, the only other Canadian to be elected to the Cooperstown shrine.

During the 45-minute press conference on Wednesday, Walker, who hit a Canadian-record 383 home runs in 17 major league seasons with the Expos, Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals, spoke of how he learned the game of baseball in the professional minor league ranks after Expos scouting director Jim Fanning and scout Bob Rogers signed him. They had spotted him as a raw infielder at a tryout camp for the Canadian national youth team in Kindersley, Sask., in 1984. Walker’s signing bonus with the Expos was $1,500.

“I didn’t play high school baseball,” explained Walker. “You’re born in Canada, you come into the world with a hockey stick and skates on and that’s what you do . . . I played more softball than I did baseball growing up.”

Walker says he learned the game in the minors . He spent almost five full seasons in the Expos minor league ranks before getting called up to the majors.

“I guess the turning point for me was August 16, 1989 when I got a call to say, 'You’re coming up to the big leagues,’” said Walker. “So that’s the ultimate turning point where you’re going from just living on meal money and riding buses everywhere to playing in parks that have got backgrounds where you can see the ball and lights that actually light up the field and everything just becomes easier. So just getting that opportunity to put on a major league uniform was my turning point.”

One of the bigger influences on his career was Felipe Alou, who first managed Walker with the class-A West Palm Beach Expos in 1986 and then again in the major leagues from 1992 to 1994. Walker says Alou was one of the best communicators he had the opportunity to play for.

“He was a manager that you felt comfortable around,” said Walker. “The one thing I remember about him was how approachable he was.”

FUN CANADIAN WALKER FACTS:

Walker hit home runs off four different Canadian pitchers during his major league career:

Jason Dickson (Miramichi, N.B.) - September 2, 1997, solo home run

Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, B.C.) - June 20, 1999, three-run home run; May 20, 2001, solo home run.

Eric Gagne (Mascouche, Que.) - May 22, 2001, two-run home run

Chris Reitsma (Calgary, Alta.) - April 29, 2003, solo home run