Larry Walker Voted Into The Baseball Hall Of Fame, Becomes First Colorado Rockies Player To Be Inducted

By Jordan Long

Major League Baseball announced the Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2020.  Derek Jeter was a lock to make it on the first ballot.  He is one of the top players, to not only wear a New York Yankees’ uniform, but one of the best shortstops to ever step on a baseball diamond.  He received 396 of 397 votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.  The other player joining him is outfielder Larry Walker.

                Walker started his career in 1989 playing for the then Montreal Expos, lasting until 1994.  There he hit .281 with 99 home runs and 384 RBI’s.  He was voted to the MLB All-Star game in 1992.  For his work in the outfield, Walker took home 2 Gold Gloves in an Expos uniform, 1992 and 1993.  He also won the Silver Slugger award in 1992.

                He moved on to Colorado from 1995 to 2004.  This was the best move he could have ever made.  In Colorado, he became one of the top hitters in Rockies’ history.   He was part of the original “Blake Street Bombers” which included Dante Bichette, Ellis Burks, Vinny Castilla, and Andres Galarraga.  With all of them in the lineup, it was difficult for a pitcher to pitch to any of them.  It didn’t matter what part of the lineup they were in, all of them had the ability to smack home runs to add to the Rockies lead.  Even if Colorado was trailing, no lead was safe because this part of the lineup had the ability to score runs quickly.

                During Walker’s time with the Rockies, he hit .334 which still stands as the top average in Rockies’ history.  He managed to hit 258 home runs, 2^nd only to Todd Helton.  Walker had the ability to drive the baseball in the outfield gap for extra-base hits.  He totaled 297 doubles and 44 triples with the Rockies. Those are impressive numbers.  In Colorado, he took home NL MVP in 1997 and 2 Silver Slugger awards for his work at the plate.

                Colorado traded Walker to the St. Louis Cardinals on August 6^th, 2004.  This was a chance for Walker to be on a team that had an opportunity to win the World Series.  Walker appeared in 144 games for St. Louis which was from 2004 to 2005.  Walker was not the same hitter in St. Louis as he was in Colorado with a .286 batting average with 26 home runs and 79 RBI’s.  St. Louis managed to advance to the World Series in 2004, but they were swept by the Boston Red Sox.

                Walker hung up his glove after the 2005 season.  He left baseball with a career batting average of .313 with 1,311 RBI’s and 383 home runs.  Looking at those numbers, that is not Hall of Fame worthy.  What made him a Hall of Famer was his glove.  Walker played right field or center field.  During his career, he rarely made an error tracking a ball in the outfield.  Runners couldn’t advance on him because of his strong arm.  If they tried to move up a base, Walker would throw them out.  Walker ended up with 7 Gold Gloves.

                Walker patiently waited to see if he was going to be inducted this year. Up until this season, he fell short of the 75% of the votes needed.  It was his last year on the ballot.  Walker made it by 6 votes, making him the first player in Colorado Rockies’ history to earn a spot in Cooperstown.

                Walker and Jeter’s induction will take place on July 26.  With Walker now in, the next Colorado Rockies player should be Todd Helton.  Helton is number 1 on the All-Time Rockies’ list for hits, doubles, home runs, and RBI’s.  Hopefully, Walker will pave the way for more Colorado Rockies to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.