With the Major League baseball off-season in full swing, and not to mention the holiday season, baseball fans are watching free agency and starting to talk about the 2016 MLB Hall of Fame. Some big names like Trevor Hoffman, Billy Wagner and of course Ken Griffey Jr. are in their first year of eligibility to be voted into the Hall of Fame. These players join Mike Piazza, Mike Mussina, Mark McGwire and Tim Raines who are all waiting to see if they will be voted in. One of the best Canadian baseball players ever is also on the ballot and that player is Larry Walker.
Career Highlights:
Born in Maple Ridge, British Columbia Larry Walker is the best offensive player to come out of Canada. Walker was a great outfielder in his time from 1989-2005, he played for the Montreal Expos, the Colorado Rockies and the St. Louis Cardinals. His career stats were very impressive; Walker hit .313/.500/.565 (141 OPS+) with 471 doubles, 383 home runs, 1,311 RBI, 230 stolen bases and a career WAR 72.6. Larry Walker was also a five-time All-Star, seven-time Golden Glove winner, three-time Silver Slugger award winner, three-time NL batting champion, was the 1997 NL home run leader and also won the National League MVP that year.
He was developed in the Montreal Expos farm system and was one of the top prospects in that organization. He was developing into quite a star for Montreal and helped the Expos compete in the early 90’s, especially in the 1994 season where the Expos had the best record in baseball until the strike ended that season. The next year, due to the lack of commitment from the ownership, the Expos let him go (much to the chagrin of the fans), and the Colorado Rockies would sign him to a contract.
In Colorado, he made an immediate impact on the team, helping the Rockies make the playoffs in 1995. He won the MVP with Colorado in 1997 with 143 runs, 208 hits, 46 doubles, a league leading 49 home runs, 130 RBIs, 33 stolen bases, an amazing .366 average, .452 OBP, .720 SLG and a 1.172 OPS. He is the only player to have at least 25 stolen bases and more than a .700 slugging percentage in a season. That year was also impressive, because of the fact that he only played 83 games in 1996 due to injuries.
In 2004 he would ask to be traded to a contender, and was sent to the St. Louis Cardinals who made the playoffs that year. Although he never won a World Series, he helped the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004 win the National League pennant.
HoF Prognosis:
Many of these accomplishments are Hall of Fame worthy; his all-time numbers could have been higher if it had not been for some unfortunate injuries over the years. However, just because he doesn’t have 500 home runs, or 3,000 hits, does not mean he should be overlooked. Larry Walker was one of the best National league outfielders in the 90’s. He has good offensive numbers and was a great player defensively. Hopefully the voters will understand the impact he had on his teams and the league, not to mention all the Canadians he has influenced to play the game of baseball.
Main Photo
