Post by galo on Oct 9, 2023 11:03:11 GMT -5
PHOENIX, AZ - As outfielder Larry Walker readied himself for his 21st and likely last season of his illustrious career, many around the league wondered if he could make history. The 40 year old future hall of famer is just 7 hits shy of breaking the and surpassing Frank 'Judge' Robinson's all time hits record of 3,668. When GM Galo first signed Walker as a free agent 5 seasons ago, his expectations weren't very high for the then dreadful Diamondbacks. "Honestly, signing [Walker] was just a step in the right direction in just trying to build a winner in Arizona," Galo said. "We had to outbid Jah and the Orioles to secure Walker's services and at that time we were just hoping to get maybe 2-3 productive seasons out of him before our young hitters were ready," the GM added. AZ splurged 4-years $68M total for the star outfielder which made his $17M a year salary one of the richest in HOFFBL at the time. Turns out, Walker had a lot left in the tank. Walker is in five of the career leaders categories including homeruns as he just entered the 500 HR club a few weeks ago. In addition to hits and homeruns, Walker ranks No. 2 in doubles behind Tim Raines Sr., No. 8 in RBI, and No. 5 in career runs.
Walker playing for Team Canada
After bursting into his ML debut with the Rangers in 1986, Walker spent 14 dynamic seasons in Texas before briefly moving to Seattle then into free agency. His best season statically was in 1999 when he hit 40 HRs, 116 RBI and an OPS of over .100. He's an 11x AllStar, 1x Gold Glove winner, one time regular season HR and hits champ. What's been the secret to Walker's longevity and sustained production? "Lots of real maple syrup!," joked Walker. The British Columbia born slugger has enjoyed his time mentoring and helping a lot of the DBacks young hitters including Carlos Pena, Vernon Wells, Sean Burroughs and Prince Fielder. "He's had a tremendous influence on me and how I approach the game," said Wells. "Just to see a guy still playing at a high level at his age and leading our team has been inspiring and a revelation to our club."
The DBacks were able to capture their first NL West title in their history last season with a record 115 wins and have steadily improved their win total every year since Walker has joined. Arizona has made it the NLCS twice but hasn't been able to secure a pennant and compete for a WS title just yet. Although, Arizona has already lost superstar slugger Pena for the season due to a torn ACL, Walker still likes their chances. "My last goal after breaking the [hits] record is to go out and win a World Series trophy for the city of Phoenix and the state of Arizona," stated Walker. "Once we're able to get a [World Series] ring, I can ride off into the Canadian sunset." Walker has an upcoming 2 game road series with the Rockies then a 3-game home series against Pittsburgh then another 3 game road series against the Reds. We'll see where he actually gets the elusive 7th hit to be the all-time hits leader - stay tuned.
Walker playing for Team Canada
After bursting into his ML debut with the Rangers in 1986, Walker spent 14 dynamic seasons in Texas before briefly moving to Seattle then into free agency. His best season statically was in 1999 when he hit 40 HRs, 116 RBI and an OPS of over .100. He's an 11x AllStar, 1x Gold Glove winner, one time regular season HR and hits champ. What's been the secret to Walker's longevity and sustained production? "Lots of real maple syrup!," joked Walker. The British Columbia born slugger has enjoyed his time mentoring and helping a lot of the DBacks young hitters including Carlos Pena, Vernon Wells, Sean Burroughs and Prince Fielder. "He's had a tremendous influence on me and how I approach the game," said Wells. "Just to see a guy still playing at a high level at his age and leading our team has been inspiring and a revelation to our club."
The DBacks were able to capture their first NL West title in their history last season with a record 115 wins and have steadily improved their win total every year since Walker has joined. Arizona has made it the NLCS twice but hasn't been able to secure a pennant and compete for a WS title just yet. Although, Arizona has already lost superstar slugger Pena for the season due to a torn ACL, Walker still likes their chances. "My last goal after breaking the [hits] record is to go out and win a World Series trophy for the city of Phoenix and the state of Arizona," stated Walker. "Once we're able to get a [World Series] ring, I can ride off into the Canadian sunset." Walker has an upcoming 2 game road series with the Rockies then a 3-game home series against Pittsburgh then another 3 game road series against the Reds. We'll see where he actually gets the elusive 7th hit to be the all-time hits leader - stay tuned.
