Background: Despite spending most of his youth stopping pucks and dreaming of one day becoming an NHL goaltender, Walker grew up to become one of the most instinctive baseball players to ever play. During his nearly 10 seasons in Colorado – from 1995 until he was traded last August to St. Louis for three minor-league pitchers – he outlasted the chief owner (Jerry McMorris), the GM (Bob Gebhard), three managers (Don Baylor, Jim Leyland, Buddy Bell) and 255 teammates. While in Colorado, Walker won an MVP in 1997, batting titles in 1998, 1999 and 2001 and five of his seven Gold Gloves.
What’s up: Walker returns to his longtime home for a four-game series between his Cardinals and former Rockies beginning Memorial Day at Coors Field.
Stat line: Averaged .334, 27 home runs and 88 RBIs a year in his nine-plus seasons with the Rockies; .281, 19 home runs and 72 RBIs in six seasons with Montreal and St. Louis.
What’s next: The guarantee to the six-year, $76 million contract he signed with the Rockies in the spring of 1999 expires after this season, although there is a $12.5 million option for 2006. “I don’t expect that to get picked up,” Walker said. “If I stay here it would be a situation where the contract gets reworked. We’ll see what happens.”
Klis’ take: Lucky Larry. Although the Rockies are paying 50 percent of his $12.5 million salary this year, he gets to play for the NL champion Cardinals. With a lifetime .313 average, 373 career homers, 2,105 hits and 229 stolen bases, Walker would become a serious Hall of Fame candidate if he remains productive the rest of this year and next year. Not that Walker cares about hanging in for, say, 420 homers or 2,300 hits. “Nope, none of those,” he said. “The World Series, getting back there. That’s the goal.” Walker’s Colorado legacy is bittersweet. When healthy, he was arguably the game’s best all-around player from 1997-2001. But aside from his first season of 1995, when the Rockies made their only playoff appearance, Walker played with teams that were mediocre at best. He wound up missing 378 games for the Rockies – 39 per season.
