Colorado Rockies: Larry Walker belongs in the Hall of Fame
By Clint Manry
His MVP season and beyond
Then there was the infamous 1997 season, the year Larry Walker won the NL MVP award and posted a remarkable 9.1 fWAR (easily the most WAR of his career); in 153 games that season, Walker led all of baseball with 49 home runs and knocked in 130 runs. Even better, the right fielder slashed .366/.452/.720 for the Colorado Rockies. His on-base percentage led the majors and his slugging-percentage was tops in the NL, as well as his 1.172 OPS and 409 total bases.
Along with the MVP in ’97, Walker also made the All-Star team and won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award. If it wasn’t for Tony Gwynn‘s .372 batting average that year, Walker would’ve also had a Triple Crown to go with his collection.
From 1998-2005 — his age-31 to 38 seasons — Walker capped of his career with three more down ballot MVP finishes, including one top-10 in 1999. The slugger added 181 more home runs in those 8 seasons (an average of 22.6 per season), still displaying power even into his late 30s.
What’s more impressive, is that during the last six years of his career (2001-05) Walker slashed .316/.423/.571 and never finished a season with a wRC+ below 121.
After returning from a groin injury during the 2004 season, Walker played just 38 games with the Colorado Rockies before being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. With the Cards in ’04, Walker hit 11 home runs (two grand slams) during the final 44 games of the season, then nearly hit .300 with six homers during the playoffs — the Cardinals lost to the Boston Red Sox in that ’04 World Series.
Larry Walker would go on to play just one more season (2005), managing to labor through 100 games while battling a herniated disk in his neck. His final numbers that season were still that of a productive player (.289/.384/.502, 15 HR), as he finished with 2.2 fWAR.