Larry Walker

Larry Kenneth Robert Walker (born December 1, 1966) is a Canadian former professional baseball right fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). During his 17-year career, he played for the Montreal Expos (1989–1994), Colorado Rockies (1995–2004), and St. Louis Cardinals (2004–2005). Since 2009, he has coached for the Canadian national baseball team. Widely considered a five-tool talent of prodigious athleticism and instincts, Walker hit for both average and power, combined with well above-average speed, defense and throwing strength and accuracy. During his playing career, he stood 6 ft tall and weighed 185 lb, threw right-handed and batted left-handed. Inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 and other sporting halls of fame, Walker was included as one of Canada's Athletes of the 20th Century in 1999. Over his playing career, Walker produced a .313 batting average, .400 on-base percentage (OBP), and .565 slugging percentage (SLG) for a 141 adjusted OPS+, 383 home runs, 1,311 runs batted in (RBI), 2,160 hits, 471 doubles and 230 stolen bases. Among right fielders, his 150 assists rank 17th all-time and 40 double plays turned rank ninth. Walker is one of three players in history to rank within the top 100 of each of batting runs, baserunning runs, and defensive runs saved; the other two are Barry Bonds and Willie Mays. Overall, Walker contributed 72.6 Wins Above Replacement (WAR); his SLG ranks 12th all-time and OPS 14th. He is one of only 19 hitters in history to accomplish a .300/.400/.500 batting line with at least 5,000 career plate appearances, and one of six whose careers began after 1960. Walker won three National League (NL) batting championships, was a five-time All-Star, won seven Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers, a Lou Marsh Trophy, and the 1997 NL Most Valuable Player Award (MVP). Frequent injuries tamped down his performance, as he appeared in 150 or more games in a season just once. From the Greater Vancouver area of British Columbia, Walker spent his youth playing ice hockey with consuming NHL goaltender aspirations, preparing little for baseball. However, a professional hockey career never materialized; instead, the Expos signed him in 1984. Walker spent the next five years climbing the Expos' minor league system − overcoming a serious knee injury along the way − and he made his MLB debut in 1989. One of a long line of talented Expos outfielders, by 1992, Walker had become a team leader, and was an All-Star selection, Silver Slugger and Gold Glove winner each for the first time. In 1994, he batted .322 and an NL-leading 44 doubles as the Expos raced to the majors' best record when that year's strike stopped their first serious World Series run. He signed with the Rockies as a free agent following the season, where his greatest productivity and achievements followed. During a five-year period from 1997 to 2001, Walker won an NL MVP and three batting titles, that, in each instance led the major leagues. His 1997 season was one of the all-round dominant performances in history after leading the league each with 49 home runs, .452 OBP and .720 SLG, while winding up second for the batting title, third with both 46 doubles and 130 RBI, and also stealing 33 bases, registering 12 outfield assists and 9.8 WAR. He became the only player in history to post both a .700 SLG and 30 stolen bases in the same season. The next year, he won his first batting title with a .363 average. In 1999, Walker became the first player since George Brett in 1980 to lead the major leagues in batting (.379), OBP (.458), and SLG (.710). In each season from 1997−1999, Walker became the first player to bat .360 or higher in three consecutive seasons since Al Simmons in 1929−1931. Walker won the batting title for the third time in 2001, and was runner-up again the following year. Desiring a trade to a contending team, the Rockies sent Walker to St. Louis in the middle of their 105-win season of 2004 and he made his first World Series appearance while tying or setting three Cardinals postseason records. He announced his retirement from playing baseball after Game 6 of the 2005 National League Championship Series. Currently active on the American Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, he has appeared seven times but has not gained election. Following his playing career, Walker has served as a guest instructor for the Cardinals and coach for the Canadian national team. He has coached Canada in three World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournaments, and twice at the Pan Am Games, winning consecutive Pan Am gold medals in 2011 and 2015.