His home province of British Columbia is sure proud of him, and so are baseball fans all across Canada. To celebrate Maple Ridge, B.C., native Larry Walker becoming the first Canadian position player to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, we will be running a series of tribute articles from many who have known and been inspired by him - including former teammates, managers, coaches and even his dad - leading up to the September 8 ceremony. We will also be publishing tributes to Walker's fellow 2020 inductees Derek Jeter, Ted Simmons and Marvin Miller.

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Larry Walker’s on Larry Walker, Jr. ||||| Steve Rogers on Marvin Miller

Clint Hurdle on Larry Walker IIIII Mario Ziino on Ted Simmons

Stubby Clapp on Larry Walker IIIII Buck Showalter on Derek Jeter

Gene Glynn on Larry Walker IIIII “The Legend” Dick Groch signed Jeter

Allan Simpson on Larry Walker IIIII

Coquitlam coach Don Archer on Walker |||||

HOFer La Russa on HOFer Walker IIIII

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September 3, 2021

By Neil Munro

Canadian Baseball Network

On Wednesday afternoon on the 8th of September, Larry Walker, along with Derek Jeter, Ted Simmons and the late Marvin Miller, will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Actually, Walker should have had his induction last year, but the COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings forced a delay of the ceremony. Walker will become just one of 333 people to be so honoured, among the great players of the game, along with the builders, managers and umpires. The Maple Ridge, B.C., native will be just the second Canadian baseball player to be recognized in this prestigious manner. Walker joins the legendary Ferguson Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.) as our only inductees. So, this seems to be an appropriate time to reflect on, and to recount, Walker’s achievements that inspired his selection.

Larry Kenneth Robert Walker was born on December 1, 1966 in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. Maple Ridge is situated in the northeastern section of Vancouver between the Fraser River and the Golden Ears, a group of mountain summits which are the southernmost of the Garibaldi Ranges of the Coast Mountains. Larry descended from a long line of outstanding athletes in his family tree so it comes as no surprise that he became such a gifted athlete himself. Both Larry Walker Senior (Larry’s dad) and his mom Mary, were heavily involved in all aspects of amateur sports in their community.

Together, Larry and Mary had four sons, all with names that rhyme with their names: Barry, Carey, Gary, and of course, Larry Junior. By the mid-1970s, Larry Jr. became the bat boy for his dad’s amateur baseball team, the Alouettes. His brother, Carey, once played goal for the major-junior New Westminster Bruins and he was subsequently drafted by the Montreal Canadiens.

Actually, Larry Walker really dreamed of a career in the NHL as a goaltender, only playing baseball for fun during the summer. At the age of 16, he was offered tryouts with Junior A hockey teams in Regina and in Kelowna, but after getting cut from both clubs, Walker decided to focus his attention on baseball instead.

When Larry was struggling academically in Grade 12, he envisioned himself as a pro athlete instead.

"He wasn't doing that badly in school," Larry Sr. says. "But everything seems hard at that age."

Larry Junior wanted to quit school, and his dad warned him that if he did, he'd have to get a job.

"We laugh about it now," the father says.

They can laugh because, exactly two days after quitting, Larry Sr. got a call from Bob Rogers, who was then the Montreal Expos' West Coast scout. Larry’s baseball skills had been noticed enough that he had been selected to join the Canadian team at the 1984 World Youth Championships in Saskatchewan. Rogers had seen the young Walker play in the junior tournament in Kindersley, Sask., the previous summer, and wanted to know if he might be interested in a baseball career. The next day, Rogers flew to Vancouver, met with father and son, and left with Walker signed for a $1,500 bonus, and assigned to a Class A team in Utica, N.Y.

He was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Expos on November 14, 1984, by Jim Fanning. Both the Expos and Toronto Blue Jays were constantly on the lookout for Canadian baseball talent to help their respective teams compete in what were, and are still, fanatical hockey markets. Walker was farmed out to the Utica Blue Sox where he debuted in a rather modest fashion in 1985, seeing some action at first and third base while batting just .223 with two home runs. Like almost every other young phenom, he could handle fastballs very well, but breaking balls posed more of a challenge.

According to his coach, Gene Glynn, Walker barely knew the rules and had never faced a pitcher who could throw a real curveball. Although his 1985 Utica stats were not very promising, Glynn was impressed by his combination of speed and size, the way he would crash into the outfield wall to make a catch and tear the cover off the ball on the odd occasions when he made contact.

"He had a real fire in him," Glynn says. Larry feared he would be released, but the Expos hitting coach at the time, Ralph Rowe, argued successfully that Walker should be sent to the Florida Instructional League. The experience paid off and, after further tutelage, he would soon develop into one of the Expos' best young prospects.

The athletic ability was always there – it just took time to develop the prerequisite baseball skills.

Walker really blossomed the following year at Burlington of the Midwest League, slamming 29 homers in just 332 at bats through July, while leading the league with 74 RBI at that point in the season. That outburst earned him a promotion to West Palm Beach where he batted .283 in 38 games. Baseball America named Walker the second-best prospect in the Midwest League for his efforts that year.

In 1987 at Jacksonville of the Southern League (double-A), Larry batted .287 with 26 home runs and 24 stolen bases and was named to the league All-Star team. This time he was picked as the third best prospect in the Southern League behind infielder Ken Caminiti and fireballer Randy Johnson. At the time, Johnson was a teammate of Walker’s at Jacksonville.

In 1987, he won the Tip O’Neill Award, presented annually by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame to the player judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to baseball’s highest ideals. The award is almost always bestowed on the Canadian with the most impressive major league performance that year, but he so impressed the arbiters with his minor league accomplishments, that he was named the winner.

The Montreal Expos expected to have Walker up with the parent club before the end of 1988, but his season, and very nearly his whole career, came to a crashing halt when he tore up his right knee while playing winter ball at Hermosillo of the Mexican League. His right knee was in a cast for eight weeks and then he had to undergo rehabilitation for another seven months. The entire 1988 season was wiped out for Walker. He did play in the Florida Instruction League as a designated hitter in the fall of 1988, to get ready for his 1989 attempted comeback attempt with triple-A Indianapolis of the American Association. Walker and the Expos waited nervously to see how well he would respond physically in 1989.

One might have expected him to take it easy on his injured leg, but Walker ran the base paths for a career high 36 stolen bases in triple A in 1989. After a slow start, he gradually raised his batting average to the .270 mark and recorded a league high 18 outfield assists, displaying the powerful throwing arm that would soon be his trademark in the big leagues. He was once again named the league’s third best major league prospect, this time ranking behind Greg Vaughn and Todd Zeile. Eventually, Larry got the call he was hoping for and joined the Montreal Expos on August 16, 1989. At the time, he was the fifth Canadian-born player to play with the Expos.

Walker made his debut with the Expos the same day he was officially recalled. His first game in the majors was an impressive one for the youngster. He collected his first big league hit (off Mike LaCoss) and drew three walks in four trips to the plate. The next day, he collected his first major league RBI with an infield single. After his first four games, Walker was sporting a gaudy .600 batting average, but major league pitchers finally caught up with him during the month of September and he tailed off to finish with a .170 batting average. He had no home runs but did steal his first base on August 21. Fortunately, the Expos brass had seen enough promise in the young outfielder to invite him to spring training in 1990, where he earned a spot as a regular in the Expos’ outfield.

Larry began his 1990 big league campaign touted as a rookie-of-the year prospect by the Expos, but in late April he was suddenly a reluctant sophomore because of a technicality. He had been listed on the Expos’ roster, albeit on the disabled list, during his rehab year of 1988. Then in a vote by the baseball writers during the 1990 All-Star Game, the rookie qualification was clarified, and Walker once again became eligible for rookie honours. This eventually became known as “The Walker Rule.” As it turned out, Larry collected just one vote for National League Rookie of the Year as he had batted just .241 for the 1990 season. However, he did flash signs of power and speed, blasting out 19 home runs to go with 21 steals. Interestingly enough, these were the identical figures that had been posted by another Expo rookie standout more than a decade earlier, Andre Dawson. Ironically, Dawson actually was named the league Rookie of the Year in 1977. Walker’s 19th homer on the last day of the season enabled him to tie Dawson’s rookie home run club record. Walker will now join Dawson as a Hall of Fame member.

In 1991, Walker slipped to 16 home runs and 14 stolen bases, but every other aspect of his game showed marked improvement. He batted .291, with 64 RBI and 30 doubles. After the All-Star break, he really flourished with a league best .338 batting average, along with 10 homers and 41 RBI. He also made his first major league start at first base on May 28 1991, when Andres Galarraga went on the DL.

At the time, Galarraga was the Expos’ premier slugging star (as he would be with the Colorado Rockies when he joined that ball club in 1994). Larry even used the Big Cat’s glove during the 39 games he played at that position. By 1992, he became the very first Canadian to win a Rawlings Gold Glove and a Sporting News selection to the “Silver Sluggers” team. Larry finished fifth in the balloting for NL Most Valuable Player, posting a .301 batting average, 23 home runs and 93 RBI. Those were exceptional batting marks for the time – the real slugging onslaught that was witnessed in the steroid era was still a few years away. He had already solidified his reputation as a complete five-tool ball player, excelling at bat, on the basepaths and in the outfield. His .993 fielding percentage set an Expos’ mark for right fielders, and his 16 assists in the outfield were second only to the 18 recorded by Darrin Jackson of the Padres. Walker played in the 1992 All-Star Game and finished the season strongly, batting .333 with 11 doubles, five homers and 28 RBI in his last 34 games.

He would probably have been even better in 1993, but he was barely able to walk while playing his final 10 games due to an infection in his right foot. He had been hitting .278 on September 18. Hampered by injuries in 1993, Larry slipped back to a .265 batting average in 138 games. Still, he drew far more walks than in any previous season (80) and stole 29 bases, to go along with his 22 home runs, becoming the first Canadian ever in the 20-20 HR-SB club. He also won his second Gold Glove award for his fielding excellence in right field.

The 1994 season was especially pivotal in the history of the Major League Baseball. Some of the finest players ever to lace on spikes were having their best years ever when their records were substantially diminished as a result of the players’ strike that wiped out the last third of the season, along with the World Series. Larry Walker was one of those players. He had collected 44 doubles in his first 103 games that year and he threatened the major league two bag record of 67 and the National League record of 64 doubles, set by Joe Medwick with the St. Louis Cardinals back in 1936. Walker was also batting .322 with 86 RBI and 19 home runs when the 1994 campaign came to an abrupt halt. Montreal fans had been treated to what would almost certainly have been their finest season ever witnessed by the Expos franchise.

Besides Walker, their outfield featured Moises Alou (22 HR, 78 RBI, .339 BA) and Marquis Grissom (96 runs scored and 36 stolen bases). Remember that all of these stats were accomplished in only about two-thirds of a full-length season. Not only did that ball club feature a dependable infield and a solid bench, but the pitching was superb. Ken Hill (16 wins against 5 losses) and a young flame-throwing Pedro Martinez (with an 11 and 5 record) anchored the starting corps, while John Wetteland (25 saves) was the mainstay of an outstanding relief staff. In any case, Walker and the Expos were forced to miss post-season play in the playoffs and their possible participation in the World Series.

As the labour dispute dragged on into the fall, it certainly appeared as though the entire 1995 season might also be lost. On December 15, 1994 the owners unilaterally approved a salary cap and voted 27–3 to support the use of replacement players. On March 28, 1995, the players voted to return to work if a U.S. District Court judge upheld the National Labor Relations Board's unfair labuor practices complaint against the owners (which was filed on March 27). The strike ended when Sonia Sotomayor, Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, issued a preliminary injunction against the owners on March 31. As part of the terms of this injunction, the players and owners were to be bound to the terms of the expired collective bargaining agreement until a new one could be reached. As well, the start of the season was postponed three weeks, with the teams playing an abbreviated 144-game season instead of the usual 162-game season.

Under the terms of that previous agreement, many players with the right combination of playing time and contract status were declared free agents. Walker was one of those players, so he was determined to test his market value. Ten days after the lockout ended in 1995, the Rockies jumped at the chance to pick up the Expos free agent slugging outfielder and Walker signed a four-year, $22.5 million dollar deal with the Denver ball club. The move allowed Walker to depart from playing at Olympic Stadium that tended to favour pitchers over batters to one that enabled the batters to ring up impressive (some said inflated) batting credentials.

When Walker signed with the Rockies, he helped the club inaugurate the new Coors Field which had replaced Mile High Stadium (Denver is located at over 5,000 feet above sea level in the Rocky Mountains). Walker’s slugging stats immediately saw significant gains as he benefitted immensely from the thin air at elevation. Even though the 1995 season had been reduced by 18 games following the players’ strike, he slugged 36 home runs to go with 101 RBI. His home run outburst was good enough for second place among NL sluggers (behind teammate Dante Bichette’s 40). His 101 RBI was seventh best in the league

Bichette (now perhaps better known as Bo Bichette’s dad) led the way with 120 RBI and Andres Galarraga, his former Montreal teammate now also with the Rockies, placed third with 106 runs knocked in). Walker was also seventh in runs scored (with 96), second in slugging percentage (.607), second in total bases (300) and third in OPS (.988). His 36 home runs easily established a new season record for Canadian born ball players. Jeff Heath previously held that distinction when he had slammed 27 back in 1947 with the St. Louis Browns of the American League. Walker’s batting and sensational play in the outfield had helped the 1995 Rockies earn a berth as a wild card entry in post-season play – something denied by the 1994 Expos who certainly were a superior ball club.

The Rockies’ fans must have hoped that their team would make frequent future playoff appearances but their fearsome offence (embellished by Coors Field) would not be back in post-season play in Walker’s 10-year stint with that club. Walker was off to a slow start in 1996 (although his power figures were still impressive) when he broke his collarbone in mid-campaign while crashing into an outfield fence chasing down a fly ball. He could only muster 18 home runs and 58 RBI, along with a disappointing .276 batting average in just 83 games that year. Larry was determined to come back with a vengeance in 1997, but he was also now fully aware of the fact that his slugging credentials would only hold up if he could stay healthy for a full season.

As the 1997 season unfolded, both the Rockies and Walker realized that Larry was now approaching his true potential as a ballplayer. Team manager Don Baylor worked out a plan for resting Walker periodically during the year, especially against certain left-handed pitchers. You may recall the controversy this decision stirred up when Walker sat out the game against Seattle’s Randy Johnson (in inter-league play) and the humorous episode surrounding his All-Star Game encounter with that flame-thrower. Baylor also convinced Larry to exercise some caution on the base-paths and while patrolling the outfield in an attempt to remain off the DL for a full season. It goes without saying that this plan worked to perfection as Walker turned in an MVP effort while playing 153 games. His batting stats included a .366 average, 208 hits, 143 runs scored, 130 RBI as well as a league-leading .720 slugging average, 409 total bases and 49 home runs. Just for good measure, he pilfered 33 bases and won his third Gold Glove Award for his outstanding defensive play in right field.

Right off the bat, the plan for Walker’s cautious return worked out better than he or Baylor could possibly have hoped for. After going hitless in his first game, Walker homered in each of his next four games, culminated by his blasting three round trippers on April 5 against his old team right in Montreal. At April’s end, he was batting .456 with 11 homers and 29 RBI in just 23 games. His slugging percentage was an unbelievable .911. Larry was named as the N.L. Player of the Month for April as well as Player of the Week ending on April 6. He didn’t slow down very much in May of 1997, batting .365 for that month. He led the National League in almost every batting category and had even pilfered 13 stolen bases in his first 51 games. Walker continued his slugging onslaught as the weather heated up in June. In 27 games that month, he batted .408 to go with 10 home runs and 21 RBI.

By the end of June, his batting line read as follows: 79 games played, 79 runs scored, 119 base hits, 225 total bases, 25 doubles, 25 home runs, 68 RBI, a .408 batting average, a slugging percentage of .771, and an on-base average of .507. He was actually on track to break some longstanding National League single season records!

By the All-star game he “slipped” down to a .398 batting mark, but was still an easy pick as one of the three NL starting outfielders (along with Barry Bonds and Kenny Lofton). The All-Star Game sellout crowd was treated to a highlight for the ages when Walker, stepped in to face intimidating lefty, Randy Johnson. Walker, who led the majors with a .398 average, backed out of an Interleague Game against Johnson earlier in the season, but there was no way to avoid it this time.

In a manner frequently used by Randy to intimidate batters digging in at the plate, he threw the first pitch over Walker's head. In response, Walker laughed, turned his helmet backward moved to the right side of the plate, and took ball two. Walker eventually drew a walk from the Seattle fireballer. Walker grounded out to second base in his only other at bat (this time facing David Cone) as the NL squad lost the game 3-1.

Larry resumed his heavy hitting in the summer months, batting .305 in July and .362 in August. He drove in more than 20 runs in each of those months. While his batting average tailed off to .289 in September, he still maintained his slugging barrage with nine home runs, 21 RBI and a slugging mark of .711. Only an injury in the last week of the season prevented him from getting 50 home runs for the year. In the end, his 49 homers paced the NL, his .366 average was second (Tony Gwynn passed him near the end of the year with a .372 mark) and his 130 RBI was good for third place behind teammate Andres Galarraga (140) and Jeff Bagwell (135). His 409 total bases surpassed runner-up Mike Pizza by more than 50. Walker’s .452 on-base average and his .720 slugging percentage easily topped all National Leaguers as well. His slugging percentage was the sixth best in National League history at the time. More importantly, Walker handily paced the league in all of the important statistical analysis categories. These included OPS (1.172), runs created (187), wins above replacement (9.8) and power-speed number (39.4, based on his combination of 33 steals and 49 homers). Along the way, Walker set several Colorado franchise and Canadian-born batting records. The following table outlines some of his impressive accomplishments:

New Batting Records for Canadian Born Players

Except for the hit by pitch mark, those Canadian best performances have not been surpassed despite the best efforts of recent Canadian sluggers like Justin Morneau (New Westminster, B.C.), Jason Bay (Trail, B.C.) and Joey Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.). Walker also established single season Rockies’ batting records in almost a dozen different categories. Most of these such as slugging percentage, OPS, runs scored, home runs and total bases still have not been surpassed.

While Walker was a shoo-in for several post-season honours (he won a Gold Glove for his spectacular outfield play – his third of the seven he would eventually capture, and was named to the Sporting News Silver Slugger team), there was some question as to whether he would win the N.L. Most Valuable Player Award. Mike Piazza had also posted an exceptional batting record in 1997 – 40 HR, 124 RBI and a .362 batting average – all truly outstanding marks for a catcher. As would always be the case, Walker’s impressive batting figures were thought to be somewhat inflated by the advantage he received from playing at altitude in Denver. On the other hand, Walker was certainly seen as the superior base runner and fielder (Piazza was not especially known for his skills behind the plate) and, these qualities did not depend on any advantage derived from his home turf.

For the record, Walker posted the following home and road splits in his 1997 season:

Any player that hits 29 HR and slugs .733 on the road has truly paid his dues in receiving legitimate consideration for the award. Another way of putting Walker’s sensational year in perspective is to note that if Ken Griffey Jr. (the A.L. MVP who led his league with 56 home runs) had hit an additional 11 home runs in 1997, his slugging average would still be less than that produced by Walker.

In the end, the MVP vote easily went Walker’s way as he took 22 of the 28 first-place votes to win the award running away (359 votes to 263 for Piazza). Piazza and Bagwell had three first-place votes apiece. This also marked the first occasion in which a Canadian captured a Most Valuable Player Award. Ferguson Jenkins (Chatham, Ont.) finished seventh in 1971 (the year he won his Cy Young Award) and fifth in 1974 (when he won 25 games). Canadians had previously finished in the top 10 in the MVP vote several times before 1997 (including Walker himself on two occasions) but the best previous finish by a Canadian had been the fourth-place vote taken by John Hiller in 1973.

In addition to his winning the 1997 National League MVP award, Walker also captured the 1997 ESPY Award as the “Best Major League Baseball Player”. Ironically, Walker lost the 1997 Lou Marsh Award for Canadian Athlete of the Year to race-car driver Jacques Villeneuve, though Walker did cop that accolade in 1998, when he won the first of his three batting titles by hitting .363. However, he appeared in only 130 games in 1998, with 454 at bats, as he was plagued by injuries, as he would be throughout the rest of his career. In addition, Larry was again the winner of the 1997 James "Tip" O'Neill Award, handed out by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. This was the sixth time that Walker had won the Tip O’Neill Award – he would go on to take three more before he hung up his spikes for good.

Walker continued to exhibit his exceptional batting and fielding skills during the remainder of his career. In 1998 he “slipped” down to a batting mark of .363, but that was still good enough to take his first of three batting titles. In 1999, he posted figures that would have compared most favorably with his outstanding 1997 campaign, but because of injuries (again!) he was limited to playing just 127 games and only 438 at bats. Even so, he had a remarkable 37 home runs, 115 RBI and won the batting crown hitting .379, his best mark ever for that category. He also led the NL in slugging (.710) and on-base average (.458, a little better than his 1997 figure of .452).

To the casual fan, it might have seemed that Walker arrived out of nowhere in 1997 to post one of the very best seasons in the history of the National League. In fact, his greatest achievement in 1997 may have been the fact that he was able to play almost the entire season without injury, appearing in 153 games in all. Walker had a total of 664 plate appearances in 1997, easily the best figure for his career in that department. Between 1994 and 1999, Walker missed 245 games due to injuries, or the player strike/lockout, and these were the years when he was at the peak of his production. The table below shows Walker’s actual statistics and his projected figures had he been able to accrue the same 664 plate appearances that he had in 1997.

Clearly, had Walker remained healthy and his team played all 162 games without interruption during those years, then his 1997 campaign certainly would not be out of place with the statistics he could have compiled in the other seasons. It is also of worth noting that as a result of injuries and the player strike, Larry only had as many as 500 at bats in two seasons of his entire career. The table above gives us a hint at the kind of devastating offensive statistics that he might have compiled.

Walker’s excellent play in the outfield has never been disputed, and does not benefit from playing in Denver. Walker would win the Gold Glove Award for fielding again in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2002. After an off season in 2000 when he batted just .309 along with only nine home runs in 87 games, he rebounded strongly in 2001 to capture another batting crown (with a .350 mark) while slamming 38 home runs and 123 RBI. This all-star was extremely effective again in 2002 (a .338 batting average, 26 HR, 104 RBI and a slugging percentage of .602) but then tailed off somewhat in 2003 (a batting mark of .284 with just 16 homers, but he did get a career-best 98 walks to maintain his OBP above the .420 level that year).

In 2004, Walker was hobbled by injuries once again, and did not make his first batting appearance that year until June 22. However, when he did get back in the line-up, he was still a dangerous slugger. On June 25, he blasted three home runs for the third time in his career. He was batting better than .320 with excellent power stats by the trade deadline and so he had become a prize catch for teams scrambling to make the playoffs.

In July 2004, the Texas Rangers agreed to send the Rockies then-minor-leaguer Ian Kinsler and right-hander Erik Thompson in exchange for Walker, but Walker vetoed the move. Larry indicated his desire to be traded to a contender instead.

In August 2004, he was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals for three minor league players. Now playing for the powerhouse Cardinals, Walker contributed to their pennant-winning 2004 squad and the 2005 division winners. In his lone World Series appearance (with the Cardinals in 2004), Walker had one of the most impressive debuts in history. Larry went 4-for-5 at the plate with two doubles and a home run, albeit in a losing cause.

Unfortunately, the Cardinals fell to the Boston Red Sox in four straight games that year, however, Walker batted .357 with two home runs and a .929 slugging percentage. His tenure with St. Louis allowed him to see quite a bit of action in the playoffs. Overall, he came to bat exactly 100 times in post-season play, with seven home runs and a slugging percentage of .520. The Houston Astros defeated the Cardinals in the 2005 NLCS in the last game ever played at Busch Stadium. Walker announced his retirement shortly afterwards.

The 2004 season serves as a microcosm of Walker’s career accomplishments and just what might have been. Larry missed the first 68 games of that season as a result of a severe groin strain. The Rockies record in that span was 25 victories against 43 losses. After Walker joined the club, the team played in 40 games before he was traded to the Cardinals. The Rockies posted a record of 22 wins and 18 losses in that 40-game span. After Larry was dealt to St. Louis, Colorado limped through the remaining part of the schedule at a 21-33 pace. In Walker’s brief stretch with the Rockies that season, he batted .324, and posted an OBP of .464 and a slugging percentage of .630. That amounts to an OPS of 1.094, a figure typically posted by the league MVP. And remember, this was when his career was actually winding down.

His career record for three teams included 1,988 games played and 2,160 base hits in 6,907 at bats, good for a .313 batting mark. His career slugging average was .565 while his lifetime OBP was .400 on the nose. Walker slugged 471 doubles, 383 home runs while collecting 1,311 RBI and 230 career stolen bases. He finished his marvelous career by posting the best marks for Canadian ball players in almost every batting category – some of which are sure to stand for decades to come. Walker truly was a natural – an instinctive five-tool player who starred in the major leagues for 17 seasons. He was a five-time all-star, a seven-time Gold Glove winner in right field and won three batting titles. Many believe he was the most gifted player to ever wear a Rockies uniform and would be rivaled only by Ferguson Jenkins for consideration as the greatest baseball player that Canada has ever produced.

To illustrate the marked improvement of the ball players from Canada before and after Walker’s run of Gold Glove awards and batting crowns just compare the candidates for the Tip O’Neill Award when Walker won his first of nine such honours in 1987 and his last 15 years later in 2002. In 1987, only four Canadians spent time on a major league roster (Terry Puhl (Melville, Sask.) batted .230, Doug Frobel (Ottawa, Ont.) hit .100, Rob Ducey (Cambridge, Ont.) averaged .188 while Kirk McCaskill (Kapuskasing, Ont.) won just four games with an ERA of 5.67. In no way is this ever intended to devalue the accomplishments of any baseball player to make it to the big leagues.

However, in 2002, Walker could only manage to tie for the Tip O’Neill Award even though he posted a .338 batting mark with 26 HR and 104 RBI (while winning yet another Gold Glove Award). The other recipient who tied with him was Eric Gagne (Mascouche, Que.) of the Dodgers who had amassed 52 saves in 77 games pitched in relief while posting an impressive ERA of 1.97. As well, many other outstanding Canadian baseball players were sporting impressive records in 2002, including Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, B.C.), Corey Koskie (Anola, Man.), Paul Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) and Matt Stairs (Fredericton, N.B.).

Walker was always superstitious about the number three. He wore number 33 as a player and was married on November 3rd at 3:33 PM in the day. He would take three, or any multiple of three, swings in the batter's box before he stepped in to bat. At one time, his baseball contract with the Rockies included a joint $3,333,333 donation to children's organizations in British Columbia and Colorado. Later, Justin Morneau would wear Number 33 for the Colorado Rockies, just like his boyhood baseball hero, Larry Walker. He would also use the locker once occupied by Walker located in the corner of the clubhouse at Coors Field. When Morneau hit the free-agent market and the Rockies made him an offer, he called Walker to get feedback on life in Colorado, which played a role in his agreeing to terms with the Rockies. Morneau throws right-handed and bats left-handed, just like Walker did. Interestingly enough, Morneau said the right-left approach has more to do with growing up playing hockey than trying to copy Walker. "It's a Canadian thing," he said. "Most of us have played hockey. Your dominant hand is on top when you hold the stick. My brother is left-handed, and he shoots (a hockey puck) right-handed. I'm right-handed, so I swing the stick left-handed." The end result seems to be that right-handed Canadians who play baseball tend to hit left-handed.

As for his career rank, Walker is 12th all-time in slugging percentage (.565), 15th in OPS (.965), 55th in on-base percentage (.400) and 68th in home runs (383) as of this writing in August of 2021. There is a pretty strong case to be made that he is one of the 100 best position players in the history of baseball. Still, there was some speculation that Larry would fall short of the votes needed to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. This assumption was based on the fact that his batting record with Colorado was inflated by his benefitting from the thin air at elevation. One should bear in mind that his tenure with the Rockies coincided with a period of excessive offensive outputs by all major leaguers and Walker himself was as the very peak of his profession. His days playing in Montreal generally occurred when offensive statistics were the lowest seen in recent decades and that ball park favoured pitchers over batters probably more than any other stadium in the majors.

In the 2002 season, Colorado played three games in Toronto, as part of the inter-league schedule. The author purchased tickets to see him perform in those games as soon as the schedule was announced. It was disappointing for me to watch him go hitless in those three games, but his play in right field certainly demonstrated my impression of what would-be base runners were most cognizant of. Even from the stands, you could see the fire in his eyes as he charged after ground balls to the outfield and unleashed a bullet back into the infield. Enemy base runners know better than to ever contemplate taking liberties on the base paths while Larry was patrolling right field for the Rockies.

Walker has maintained some contact with major league and international baseball since his retirement. In 2008, he was an instructor on the St. Louis Cardinals' spring training staff under manager Tony La Russa. In 2009, he was Team Canada's hitting instructor at the World Baseball Classic. In 2011, he served as a coach for Canada's Gold Medal winning team at the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Team Canada has competed in three World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournaments, and twice at the Pan American Games, winning consecutive gold medals in 2011 and 2015 during Walker’s tenure as a coach. In a survey of 33 baseball players and employees taken 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, Justin Morneau and Stubby Clapp (Windsor, Ont.) each received two

He has donated a substantial sum to the Rockies Youth Fields of Dreams Program and has opened five Colorado facilities (in Northglenn, Aurora, Thornton, Ft. Collins and Denver) which is more than any other player has done in its program history. He is also a founding member of the Youth Sports Association, a non-profit organization for kids and he helps to fund the YSA by asking for a $25 contribution per autograph.

Larry Walker and his current wife Angela have two daughters – Canaan Rose-Lynn (born 1999) and Shayna Kaitlin (born 2001); he has another daughter, Brittany Marie (born July 1993), from a previous relationship. In addition to being a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, Walker was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.

Walker was an obvious inductee in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame (gaining the nod in 2009), but the burning question was always whether he would gain admittance to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Walker retired as an active player following the 2005 baseball season, so his name first appeared on the 2011 ballot. To be inducted via the vote of the members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, a candidate must be named on at least 75% of the ballots cast that year. It turned out that Walker just made the cut by a narrow margin in his tenth and last year of eligibility. His vote totals during his 10 years of eligibility are shown in the next table.

In making the announcement of his selection, the Hall of Fame spokesman described him (quite accurately) as a deserving five-tool star performer. Perhaps the most inciteful comment about his selection came from former teammate Dante Bichette, “The game has never really had a perfect player, but if they ever do have a perfect player, it’s going to be in the mode of Larry Walker.” Walker himself showed his appreciation, commenting, “As a Canadian, it was a proud moment for me to represent my country and be able to join Ferguson Jenkins in the Hall of Fame,” In January of 2020, the Colorado Rockies announced that they would officially retire jersey number 33 in his honour.

His complete major league playing record follows at the end of this article. All Canadians should be proud of Larry Walker’s accomplishments on the baseball diamond and bask in the glory when he is inducted into Cooperstown. I would like to believe that Canada will soon produce another gifted ball player the likes of Larry Walker in the near future, but the truth is that we may not be privileged to see his level of grace and excellence for some time to come.

Larry Walker’s Career Batting and Fielding Record

Boldface type denotes that Walker led the National League in that statistical category.

Explanation of Statistics in Previous Four Tables

TABLE ONE

LG - League, GP - Games Played, AB – Times At Bat, R – Runs Scored, H – Base Hits, TB – Total Bases, 2B - Doubles, 3B - Triples, HR – Home Runs, RBI – Runs Batted In, B.A. – Batting Average, OBP – On-Base Percentage, S.P. – Slugging Percentage.

TABLE TWO

TOB - Times Reaching Base (H + BB + HP), TBP – Total Bases Produced (TB + BB + HP + SB + SH + SF), TRP - Total Runs Produced (R + RBI ‒ HR), LH - Long Hits (2B + 3B + HR), XLH - Extra Bases (TB ‒ 1BH), 1BH - Singles, BB - Bases on Balls, IBB - Intentional BB, SO - Strikeouts, HP - Hit By Pitch, GIDP - Double Plays Grounded Into, OPS - On- Base plus Slugging percentages (OBP + S.P.).

TABLE THREE

SB - Stolen Bases, CS - Caught Stealing, SB% - Percentage of Successful Stolen Bases, PSN - Bill James’ Power Speed Number (2 × HR × SB ÷ (HR + SB)), RC - Runs Created, WAR - Wins Above Replacement OWR - Offensive Wins Above Replacement, RFT – Total Zone Fielding Runs Above Average, SH - Sacrifice Hits, SF - Sacrifice Flies, HR% - Home Runs as a Percentage of At Bats.

TABLE FOUR

PA - Total Plate Appearances, DI – Awarded First Base as a Result of Defensive Interference, POS - Position Played in the Field, GIF - Games Played in the Outfield, PO - Putouts as Outfielder, AST - Assists, E. - Errors, TC - Total Chances Accepted (PO + A), DP - Double Plays, RF - Range Factor (TC per GIF) F.A. - Fielding Average, AV - Approximate Value - A statistic that combines batting, base-running, fielding and pitching for comparative values. As a rule, regulars will have an AV of between 9 and 12 in a season, all-stars between 13 and 18, and an AV above 18 is a good predictor for eventual Hall of Fame membership.

***

Neil is a retired secondary school mathematics teacher with a life-long passion for the collection and analysis of baseball statistics. A North Bay Ontario resident for almost 50 years, Neil has fuelled his interest by serving as a research consultant with STATS Inc. He was the former chair of the Records Committee of SABR – the Society for American Baseball Research. Neil assisted in the development of the complete statistical database of baseball records that is used by a number of pro and media organizations and formed the basis for the STATS Inc. All-time Major League Handbook. He has contributed innumerable essays and columns to a variety of publications including; the Bill James Baseball Abstract, Grandstand Baseball Annual and Innings, and Canada’s Baseball Newspaper. Neil’s special interest continues to be the maintenance of the records compiled by Canadians in the major league. In 1996, he authored the Canadian Players Encyclopedia, a full statistical record of all current and former major leaguers from Canada.