HUMBLE WALKER GETS HIS HALL REWARD
Canadian slugger failed at hockey before professional baseball came knocking
Larry Walker's road to baseball stardom — and ultimately to revered status in the game's Cooperstown, N.Y. shrine — actually had its roots in sporting failure.
In a self-deprecating story that the pride of Maple Ridge, B.C., loves to tell, he was an irascible hockey goalie who twice was cut from the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League before taking his athletic drive and determination elsewhere.
Turns out that hockey's loss was baseball's gain as Walker became not just a star, but a trailblazer for so many of the young Canadians currently excelling as boys of summer.
“Baseball came knocking on my door,” Walker said in an interview with Postmedia, reflecting on a brilliant career that resulted in Wednesday's induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the 2020 class. “Hockey wasn't going to work out, but baseball found me.”
Discovered by the Montreal Expos and later dominant with the Colorado Rockies, Walker did it all without a foundation that's available to so many younger Canadian players today. As he said in his speech on Wednesday, until he turned 16, he played fewer than 20 games a summer and actually was more adept at fast-pitch softball.
That nationalistic allegiance is why present players from his homeland such as Joey Votto of the Reds and Mike Soroka of the Braves are in steady contact with Walker, who on Wednesday joined pitcher Fergie Jenkins of Chatham, Ont., as the only Canadians in the historic hall.
Gracious and humble as he reflected on a career in which he was renowned as one of the most feared hitters in the game, Walker never saw himself as hall of fame material. His talent took care of that part — and perhaps a little of the tenacity forged in the hockey rinks of Western Canada — as Walker was finally inducted into the 2020 class in what was his final year of eligibility.
“I had never allowed myself to think I'm that good, no matter where I was,” he said.
“Whether it was starting in rookie ball, or all the way to the major leagues. I never saw myself better than anyone else, I never talked like I was better than anyone else, and my attitude was never that way.”
It almost didn't happen, however. Where would Walker have ended up if the hockey career would have veered on a more successful path?
Would baseball ever have been an avenue if Baseball Canada's junior team didn't take a chance on a natural but raw athlete shortly after he got serious about baseball? And what if the Expos hadn't taken a shot on a rare homegrown talent, offering him a meagre $1,500 signing bonus as an undrafted free agent?
In his acceptance speech, Walker was reflective and respectful for all that had to happen for him to get there. In a podium appearance he was dreading, he was eloquent in his gratitude to all those coaches and teammates who helped him reach the grand stage.
“I see myself as an average guy and I'm good with average,” Walker said.
“I lived my life trying to never get too high or too low. But to stand on this stage and tell you I'm feeling average would be a complete lie. My feet haven't touched the ground all day.”
The fact that Walker joins Jenkins in the hall has deep meaning for the 54-year-old, who has a Maple Leaf tattooed on his arm and is fiercely proud of those who have followed him.
In his opening remarks on Wednesday, he paid tribute to the great Canadian pitcher who was behind him on the stage.
“Today I finally get to join Fergie as the second Canadian in the hall of fame and the first Canadian position player. Fergie, it's an honour.”
Typical of Walker's humility, you won't hear him lament that it took so long to be inducted, joining a 2020 class that includes New York Yankees star Derek Jeter, catcher Ted Simmons and revolutionary player agent Marvin Miller.
Instead, he's grateful that he became part of an enshrined fraternity.
“To hear that less than one per cent of major-leaguers make it to that place, and I'm part of that category now, well that's pretty cool,” Walker said.
In his 17 big-league seasons, Walker was the most accomplished hitter this country has ever produced, piling up 383 homers, 2,160 hits and a sneaky fast big man, 230 stolen bases. At his best, he captured three NL batting titles in a four-year span, peaking with a .379 batting average in 1999.
Walker was deft on defence as well, a seven-time Gold Glove winner in the outfield.
“In every way you could imagine, he's about as well rounded as any baseball player I've ever seen,” former Rockies teammate Dante Bichette said in a video tribute to Walker that was played in Cooperstown. “He had bigtime power and was a Gold Glove in the outfield.”