Canadian baseball star Walker believes he’ll come up shot in Hall of Fame vote

Former Colorado Rockies and Montreal Expos star slugger Larry Walker says he doesn’t expect to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday night.

The native of Maple Ridge, B.C., is in his 10th and final year on the Hall of Fame ballot and needs to appear on 75 per cent of ballots to get in. While it is expected to be a close vote for Walker, he expressed doubt on Twitter that he will be enshrined in Cooperstown.

“Although I believe I’m going to come up a little short today I still wanna thank all you that have been pulling for me and showing your support,” Walker said. “I’m grateful for all of you! It’s been fun leading up to today reading everyone’s thoughts. Cheers.”

Walker, who will have his No. 33 retired by the Rockies this coming season, was a career .313 hitter, though that number includes 10 seasons at hitter-friendly Coors Field. But he still had solid numbers on the road, including an .865 on-base plus slugging percentage that’s higher than the total OPS of some current Hall of Famers — George Brett, Tony Gwynn, Reggie Jackson and Roberto Clemente included.

Walker batted an eye-popping .366 with the Rockies during his 1997 National League MVP-winning season with a league-best 49 homers — 29 of those on the road — 46 doubles and a career-high 130 runs batted in. His .452 on-base percentage that year, as well as his .720 slugging, also topped the NL.

The seven-time Gold Glover and five-time all-star also led the league in batting average three times — .363 in 1998, .379 in 1999 and .350 in 2001.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 19, 2020.

The Canadian Press