Larry Walker Jr., after a strong push in recent years, largely due to analytics, is on the doorstep of Cooperstown.
According to the Baseball Hall of Fame Vote Tracker, the right-fielder from Maple Ridge was showing on 86.1 per cent of ballots revealed, second behind only Derek Jeter.
The New York Yankee shortstop sat at 100 per cent with 105 public ballots shown, or 26 per cent.
The tracker was posted Nov. 30 and updated as of Dec. 31.
READ ALSO: Will Larry Walker make it to Cooperstown?
Curt Schilling, the pitcher famed for his bloody sock and a multiple World Series champion, was at 81 per cent, while Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens both sat at 78 per cent.
To be elected to the baseball hall of fame, a player needs to reach 75 per cent.
With 103 ballots revealed/~25.0% of the vote known:
Jeter – 100%
Walker – 87.4%
Schilling – 79.6%
BB/RC – 77.7%
—
Rolen 49.5%
Vizquel – 48.5%
Sheffield – 38.8%
Manny – 37.9%
Helton 36.9%
Wagner – 32.0%
Andruw – 30.1%
Kent – 28.2%
Sosa – 21.4%
Tracker: https://t.co/bp1RXBnrHI— Ryan Thibodaux (@NotMrTibbs) December 30, 2019
In 2019, Walker’s tally was 54.5 per cent.
The deadline for voters to submit their ballots was Dec. 31.
This is Walker’s final year on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot.
For his career, Walker batted .313 with 1,311 RBI and 230 stolen bases in 6,907 at-bats. He led the majors with 47 homers in 1997.
Year over year tracking for Larry Walker, Curt Schilling, Barry Bonds (Clemens is similar), and Omar Vizquel.
All have ballot #101 for you in just a moment… pic.twitter.com/G1L7KBBErW
— Ryan Thibodaux (@NotMrTibbs) December 30, 2019
He is one of just 19 players to ever put up a .300 batting average, .400 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage with 5,000 at-bats.
Only six whose careers started after 1960 have done it.
Walker won three batting titles and boasts career K and BB rates of 15.3 and 11.4 per cent, respectively.
He was the 40th player in history to reach each milestone of 2,000 hits, 400 doubles, 300 home runs, 1,000 runs scored, and 1,000 RBI.
He also won seven Gold Glove awards in his career, which began in 1989 with the Montreal Expos. After six seasons, he signed as a free agent with the Colorado Rockies, then played his final two years with the St. Louis Cardinals and retired in 2005 at age 38.
On Fangraphs, a baseball analytics website, author Craig Edwards previously made the case that Walker Jr. deserves to get into Cooperstown based on his WAR stats.
“A lot of the arguments for Larry Walker’s inclusion in the hall … are based on his very impressive 68.7 WAR,” writes Edwards.
