Can LeMahieu’s rise in New York help get Walker elected to the Hall of Fame?

Kiz: The baseball world has finally discovered what Rockies fans have known about DJ LeMahieu for years. He’s a legitimate all-star. After being pushed out of Colorado to make room for the ascension of Brendon Rodgers at second base, then being treated like no big deal on the free-agent market, LeMahieu has ripped it up with the New York Yankees. So here’s my quirky idea: Might this somehow help Larry Walker’s final push for election to the Hall of Fame?

DJ is certainly doing all past and future Rockies a favor with his performance in New York. He leads the American League with a .345 average and 108 hits while also slugging a dozen homers. But even as LeMahieu continues to underscore the fallacy of defining a hitter by his home park, I’m skeptical his current-day example is enough to change the minds of the majority of the 87 voters (the amount Walker missed election by last year while polling at 54.6 percent) who will need to have a change of heart on the outfielder. Kiz: To this day, my inbox is filled with ire about the Rockies deciding to add Daniel Murphy at the expense of LeMahieu. Hey, I’m certain manager Bud Black and his former teammates miss DJ as well. You can cite the stats, but I want to direct readers to “Captain Class,” among the best sports books I’ve read in recent years. The book examines what leadership in sports really means. Beyond his bat and glove, I think what the Rockies might miss most from LeMahieu is his quiet leadership as a glue guy. Newman: LeMahieu was the Rockies’ best leader last season, a softspoken, stabilizing force who set the bar for Colorado’s focus and intensity every day. Murphy — signed for the same two-year, $24 million deal LeMahieu got from the Yankees — is emerging as a critical part of the lineup despite his .282 average not fully showing it yet. But there’s no comparison in terms of clubhouse presence. LeMahieu is a franchise cornerstone (who can also play first base, by the way), and while I get the alluring potential of Rodgers, Ryan McMahon and Garrett Hampson, I still think Colorado made a huge mistake by letting him walk. Kiz: My No. 1 problem with Walker as a Hall candidate comes from the firsthand experience of hearing prominent voices in the clubhouse during his time with the Rockies decry his lack of commitment to winning. Walker was the antiDJ, in many ways. Talented beyond belief, focused only when it suited him. So wouldn’t it be ironic if LeMahieu, the ultimate team guy, gave Walker’s candidacy for the Hall a boost by demonstrating that wielding a hot bat at Coors Field can translate to sea level? Newman: The Yankees have been the best first-half team in the American League, and I’d bet LeMahieu — who endured three 90-plus loss seasons out of the seven he spent in Colorado — only has a deep October run on his mind. I was a kid when Walker played so I can’t speak to his reported selfish mind-set. But that would be a sweet play by the baseball gods, Kiz, if team-first LeMahieu’s rise to national prominence could give Walker even the slightest boost. It’d be the least those gods can do for Colorado fans after they’ve had to watch their LoDo-grown LeMahieu become a national star in Yankee pinstripes.