Larry Walker, one of Canada’s most celebrated baseball players, will enjoy his Baseball Hall of Fame induction this summer.
Walker will be at Cooperstown in July for the induction ceremony.
There were no players inducted by the 2021 Hall of Fame voting, which was announced this week. However, because the Hall of Famers who were elected in 2020 had their ceremony cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they will be the new inductees this summer. That will take place on July 25, as the highlight of Hall of Fame weekend, which will run from July 23-26.
Walker will be joined by two other players – New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and Cardinals catcher Ted Simmons, and inducted with the late Marvin Miller, who headed the MLB Players Association.
Walker will be just the second Canadian ever inducted into the hall, and the first position player. He will join pitching great Ferguson Jenkins.
Walker was an all-star for the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals and touted as a five-tool player who did everything well on the baseball field. Over a 17-year career from 1989-2005, he won three batting titles, seven gold gloves in the outfield and was named to the all-star team in five seasons.
He won the 1997 National League MVP honours when he hit for a .366 average with a league leading 49 home runs and 130 RBIs.
READ ALSO: Hall Of Fame induction is a feather in the cap, says proud Walker Sr.
A telling stat that aided Walker Jr.’s stock is his WAR, or wins-over-replacement. The stat is used to determine the additional amount of wins a player’s team has accumulated above the expected number of victories if they were substituted with a replacement-level player. For Walker Jr., his career WAR of 68.7 on Fangraphs ranks him as 86th of all time.
Â
@NeilCorbett18ncorbett@mapleridgenews.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
