Maple Ridge’s Larry Walker Jr. will have to wait at least one more year before he’s officially inducted into the U.S. National Baseball Hall of Fame.
In a statement published April 19, the Hall said its board of directors voted unanimously to cancel the 2020 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend events due to safety and health concerns associated with COVID-19.
Walker, 53, who had a 17 year career (1989-05) in the MLB playing with the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals is to be inducted with Derek Jeter, Marvin Miller, and Ted Simmons.
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Throughout his career, Walker earned five all-star appearances, and won seven Golden Gloves, three batting titles, as well as a National League MVP award in 1997.
“I fully understand and agree with the Board’s decision,” Walker said the announcement issued by the Hall of Fame. “It is most important to do the right thing for everybody involved, and that means not putting any participants in jeopardy, whether Hall of Famers or visitors. I realize how serious this situation has become and how many lives have been lost.”
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The Class of 2020 is to be inducted and the 2020 award winners are to be honoured as part of next summer’s Hall of Fame Weekend, taking place July 23-26, 2021.
The Hall of Fame has held an induction ceremony in Cooperstown, N.Y., every year since 1961. Ceremonies were not held in 1950, 1958, and, 1960 after voting resulted in no new electees.
Next summer’s ceremony will be the first since 1949 to combine multiple classes of electees.
