Outfielder, Colorado
Rockies
Age: 30
3rd season
with Rockies
Bats – Left,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’2” Weight: 185
Prior to 1997:
A native of
Maple Ridge in British Columbia, Canada, Walker played volleyball and ice
hockey in high school and played baseball in an amateur league in Vancouver. He
was signed by the Montreal Expos out of high school in 1984. A raw talent, he
batted .223 in 62 games with Utica of the Short-Season Class A New
York-Pennsylvania League in 1985 while drawing praise for his toughness. He put
in further work in the Florida Instructional League to develop his skills. It
began to pay off in 1986 when Walker hit .289 with 29 home runs with Burlington
of the Class A Midwest League before moving on in July to West Palm Beach of
the Florida State League where in 38 games he accumulated 7 doubles, 5 triples,
and 4 home runs with a .283 average. Walker had another promising season in
1987 with Jacksonville of the Southern League where he batted .287 with 26 home
runs and 83 RBIs and was selected to the league’s all-star team. While playing
winter ball in Mexico, he suffered a knee injury that required surgery and cost
him the entire 1988 season. Walker resumed his budding career with Indianapolis
of the Class AAA American Association in 1989 where he hit .270 with 18
doubles, 12 home runs, and 59 RBIs in 114 games before he was called up to the
Expos in August. In 20 games he batted .170 with 4 RBIs. He stuck with Montreal
in 1990 and became the starting right fielder and had a solid rookie season in
which he batted .241 with 19 home runs and 51 RBIs. A slow start in 1991 was
followed by a stint on the disabled list due to a pulled hamstring. He got hot
at the plate after his return to action and ended up hitting .290 with 30
doubles, 16 home runs, and 64 RBIs. Walker broke out in 1992 as he hit .301
with 31 doubles, 23 home runs, and 93 RBIs. He was an All-Star for the first
time and was awarded a Silver Slugger. Additionally, 16 outfield assists were a
key to his receiving a Gold Glove. In 1993 Walker slugged 22 home runs and
drove in 86 RBIs although his batting average dropped to .265. He received
another Gold Glove for his outfield prowess and the Expos finished second in
the NL East with a 94-68 record. Montreal was atop the division when the 1994
season came to an early end due to a players’ strike. Walker contributed a .322
batting average that included a league-leading 44 doubles as well as 19 home
runs and 86 RBIs. He finished eleventh in NL MVP voting but departed Montreal
as a free agent in 1995, signing with the Rockies. Colorado reached the
postseason as a wild card entry in ’95 and Walker was a key contributor with
his 36 home runs, 101 RBIs, and .306 batting average. He hit just .214 in the
NLDS loss to Atlanta in the postseason. Walker suffered a broken collarbone due
to a collision with an outfield wall in 1996 and a shoulder injury after he
collided with Cincinnati SS Barry Larkin once he returned, that limited him to
just 83 games that produced 18 home runs, 58 RBIs, and a .276 average. By 1997 he was a highly respected hitter who
was also one of major league baseball’s best defensive outfielders, although
prone to injury.
1997 Season Summary
Appeared in 153
games
RF – 150, 1B –
3, CF – 2, DH – 1, PH – 1, PR – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 664 [15]
At Bats – 568 [19,
tied with Jose Vizcaino]
Runs – 143 [2]
Hits – 208 [2]
Doubles – 46 [3]
Triples – 4
Home Runs – 49 [1]
RBI – 130 [3]
Bases on Balls
– 78 [12, tied with Willie Greene]
Int. BB – 14 [4]
Strikeouts – 90
Stolen Bases – 33
[7, tied with Quilvio Veras]
Caught Stealing
– 8
Average - .366
[2]
OBP - .452 [1]
Slugging Pct. -
.720 [1]
Total Bases – 409
[1]
GDP – 15
Hit by Pitches
– 14 [8]
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 4
League-leading
home runs were +6 ahead of runner-up Jeff Bagwell
League-leading OBP
was +.006 ahead of runner-up Barry Bonds
League-leading
slugging pct. was +.082 ahead of runner-up Mike Piazza
League-leading
total bases were +54 ahead of runner-up Mike Piazza
Midseason
snapshot: HR - 25, RBI - 68, AVG - .398, SLG PCT - .741
---
Most hits, game
– 4 on five occasions
Longest hitting
streak – 16 games
HR at home – 20
HR on road – 29
Most home runs,
game – 3 (in 5 AB) at Montreal 4/5
Multi-HR games
– 8
Most RBIs, game
– 5 at Montreal 4/5
Pinch-hitting –
0 of 1 (.000)
Fielding
Chances – 246
Put Outs – 232
Assists – 12
Errors – 2
DP – 4
Pct. - .992
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
Gold Glove
Silver Slugger
All-Star (started
for NL in RF)
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Larry Walker,
Col.: 359 pts. - 22 of 28 first place votes, 92% share
Mike Piazza, LAD:
263 pts. – 3 first place votes, 67% share
Jeff Bagwell,
Hou.: 233 pts. – 3 first place votes, 59% share
Craig Biggio,
Hou.: 157 pts. – 40% share
Barry Bonds, SF.:
123 pts. – 31% share
---
Rockies went 83-79
to finish third in the NL Western Division, 7 games behind the division-winning
San Francisco Giants while leading the league in runs scored (923), hits
(1611), home runs (239), batting (.288), OBP (.357), and slugging percentage
(.478).
Aftermath of '97:
Walker was
hampered by a sore elbow in 1998 and was limited to 130 games, although he
still was voted to the NL All-Star team. Despite the injury he won the NL
batting title with a .363 average while his home run total dropped to 23 and
RBIs to 67. He received another Gold Glove and ranked 17th in NL MVP
voting. Walker had surgery in the offseason and was sidelined at the beginning
of 1999 due to a rib cage injury. He started slowly when he returned to the
lineup but went on to win another batting championship with a .379 average and hit
37 home runs and knocked in 115 runs. He was both an All-Star and Gold Glove
winner for the third straight season and topped the NL in on-base percentage
(.458) and slugging percentage (.710) as well. An elbow injury that ultimately
required surgery marred Walker’s 2000 season, in which he appeared in only 87
games although he batted .309. He bounced back in 2001 by winning his third NL
batting title (.350) while belting 38 home runs with 123 RBIs. He hit .338 in
2002 with 26 home runs and 104 RBIs. But dealing with injuries again in 2003
his numbers dropped off to 16 home runs, 79 RBIs, and a .284 batting average. When
injuries hindered his performance again in 2004, he was traded to the St. Louis
Cardinals in August where he rebounded with 11 home runs, 27 RBIs, and a .280
batting average in 44 games. The Cards won the NL pennant but were swept by the
Boston Red Sox in the World Series, although Walker batted .357 with two home
runs. He played one last season with St. Louis in 2005 and hit .289 with 15
home runs and 52 RBIs as the Redbirds topped the NL Central only to lose to
Houston in the NLCS. Over the course of his major league career, Walker batted
.313 with 2160 hits that included 471 doubles, 62 triples, and 383 home runs.
He compiled 1311 RBIs and stole 230 bases as well and won 7 Gold Gloves, three
Silver Sluggers, and was a 5-time All-Star. With Colorado he won three batting
titles while hitting .334 overall, and compiled 297 doubles, 44 triples, 258
home runs, and 848 RBIs. He won five of
his Gold Gloves while with Colorado as well. He was inducted into the Canadian
Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
No comments:
Post a Comment