Cooperstown 2013: Larry Walker

LARRY WALKER
Third Year on Ballot (2012 - 22.9%)

PLAYING CAREER:
Montreal Expos (1989–1994), Colorado Rockies (1995–2004) and St. Louis Cardinals (2004–2005)

ACHIEVEMENTS:
Career batting average of .313 with 2160 hits, 383 home runs, 1355 runs scored and 1311 RBI. 1997 National League MVP. Led the National League in batting three times (1998, 1999 and 2001). Hit better than .300 nine times and drove in 110 runs or more five times. Twice stole more than 30 bases and hit more than 30 home runsin a season. Walker's 409 total bases in 1997 were the most by a National Leaguer since Stan Musial's 1948 season...the mark was bettered by Barry Bonds in 2001 (411). The same year, Walker became and remains the only player to have at least 25 stolen bases and a slugging percentage of more than .700 in a season. Seven-time Gold Glove Award winner (1992-1993, 1997-1999 and 2001-2002). Five-time All-Star selection (1992, 1997-1999 and 2001).

CASE FOR/AGAINST:
According to JAWS, Larry Walker is a Hall of Famer…and I happen to agree with that. Due to my young age I’ve never seen Walker play, but from what I can tell from talking to people who did, and looking at his stats, he must have been something to watch. The five-time All-Star had a career OBP of .400 and seven times, had an OPS over 1.000! In the prime of his career, he combined great power with average speed and an awesome eye to win the MVP award in 1997 while playing for the Colorado Rockies.

Walker was worth more than four wins (bWAR) nine times in his career, and finished with a career bWAR of 69.7! Not only was he good offensively, but he also had a laser of an arm, leading the league in OF assists in 2002 with 14. Walker is arguably the best Canadian player of all-time, and he deserves to be voted into the Hall of Fame. Playing in a period where steroids ruled the league, Walker was consistently one of the best players of his time, doing so without juicing, and playing the game with honesty and integrity.

Were his numbers affected because he played in Colorado? Yes. But he still finished his career with an OPS+ of 141, which does take into effect park factors. So, in this Hall of Fame ballot, where uncertainty lies with every name due to steroids and, well, credentials, Walker deserves to be enshrined. He might not be a Babe Ruth, or Hank Aaron, but to Canadians, he is the greatest position player to ever call Canada his home and is 100% in the conversation with Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins as the greatest player, no matter what position, ever.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Gideon Turk is a 16-year-old 11th grade student currently living in Toronto and is a die hard Blue Jays fan. When he isn't obsessing over Alex Anthopoulos' ninja-like moves, he writes for his website bluejaysplus.com, which he has ran since its creation in May of 2010. He has also written for other sites in the past, such as calltothepen.com and jaysprospects.com. His articles have been featured on MLB Trade Rumors many times, and he hopes to continue to develop his writing skills as he continues to blog. Hopefully the Jays can win some games for him, and everybody else in Canada this season! He can be followed on twitter @gideonturk. His site can be followed on twitter @BlueJaysplus, and you could like their page on Facebook by searching "Blue Jays Plus".

Cooperstown 2011: Larry Walker

LARRY WALKER
First Year on Ballot

PLAYING CAREER: Montreal Expos (1989–1994), Colorado Rockies (1995–2004) and St. Louis Cardinals (2004–2005)

ACHIEVEMENTS:  Career batting average of .313 with 2160 hits, 383 home runs, 1355 runs scored and 1311 RBI.  1997 National League MVP.  Led the National League in batting three times (1998, 1999 and 2001).  Hit better than .300 nine times and drove in 110 runs or more five times.  Twice stole more than 30 bases and hit more than 30 home runsin a season.  Walker's 409 total bases in 1997 were the most by a National Leaguer since Stan Musial's 1948 season...the mark was bettered by Barry Bonds in 2001 (411).  The same year, Walker became and remains the only player to have at least 25 stolen bases and a slugging percentage of more than .700 in a season.  Seven-time Gold Glove Award winner (1992-1993, 1997-1999 and 2001-2002).  Five-time All-Star selection (1992, 1997-1999 and 2001).


WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ON TWITTER:

@FigureFilbert:  Glad to see another Walker supporter out there. Anyone who voted for Jim Rice has no excuse not to vote for Larry Walker.


@boxcar_fritz:  Larry Walker should make the HOF solely for being part of the most awesome and unpredicted trade of all time in 2004


@jonahkeri:  Larry Walker is my 2nd-favorite player ever. Many smart colleagues think he's HoF guy. I lean just slightly against. Am I crazy?

HOVG THOUGHTS:  Any other year, a guy like Walker (and Jeff Bagwell for that matter) gets some serious, serious Hall of Fame consideration.  Unfortunately, Bert Blyleven is the current darling and the cloud of steroids (in the form of Rafael Palmeiro) looms large over Walker's candidacy.  To me, I like uniqueness...and with only one other Canuck in the Hall of Fame, I've gotta put in a guy who nine times took home the Tip O'Neill Award courtesy of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Breaking Down the 2011 Hall of Fame Ballot

On Monday, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced the 2011 Hall of Fame ballot.

All in all, there are 33 candidates (up from 26 last year)...19 newcomers and 14 holdovers. And while there are no shoe-ins...there are definitely some great storylines.

Last year, pitcher Bert Blyleven came five votes shy of induction. In this, his second-to-last time on the ballot, the Dutchman is looking to grow his 74.2% to the 75% necessary.

Also coming just short last year was Roberto Alomar. Along with Blyleven, he was one of two candidates that came within ten votes shy. With 397 votes (405 were needed), the second baseman received the most votes of any first-year candidate without being elected.

Two other players were named on more than half the ballots...pitcher Jack Morris (52.3%) and shortstop Barry Larkin (51.6%)

Other notable holdovers...Lee Smith (47.3%), Edgar Martinez (36.2%), Tim Raines (30.4%), Mark McGwire (23.7%), Alan Trammell (22.4%), Fred McGriff (21.5%), Don Mattingly (16.1%), Dale Murphy (11.7%) and Harold Baines (6.1%).

Dave Parker, who received 15.2% a year ago, will be appearing on his 15th and final ballot.

The most notable newcomer to this year's ballot is also, arguably, the most accomplished...Rafael Palmeiro.

Of course, the fact that Palmeiro is only one of four players with more than 3000 hits and 500 home runs (Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray are the others) is overshadowed by that pesky steroid suspension that was handed down in August 2005.

While his 1835 RBI is spectacular and his 5,388 total bases rank him tenth all-time, there isn’t a snowball’s chance that a guy who pointed his finger to Congress and proclaimed “I have never used steroids, period” gets in a mere six years after being found guilty of doing the opposite.

Another player under the "did he" or "didn't he" cloud of suspicion is two-time American League MVP Juan Gonzalez. With a lifetime .295 batting average, 434 home runs and 1404 RBI...he would fit in well in Cooperstown. The fact that it is unknown if he was clean or not will make him lucky to see his name pop up on a quarter of the ballots.

A guy that stands to get a bunch of love is Astros legend Jeff Bagwell. "Bagpipes" played the game right compiling 449 home runs, 1517 runs scored, 1529 RBI and a .297 batting average before calling it quits in 2005.

Seven-time Gold Glove winner Larry Walker is also on the ballot for the first time. With a career .313 batting average, 383 home runs and 1311 RBI, the 1997 National League MVP is looking to become only the second Canadian-born player in the Hall of Fame.

Reliever John Franco compiled a huge number of saves over his 21 year career. His 424 saves rank him fourth all-time behind Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera and Lee Smith. But until Smith gets the call...Franco won't get anywhere near Cooperstown.

Also on the ballot for the first time...Carlos Baerga, Bret Boone, Kevin Brown, Marquis Grissom, Lenny Harris, Bobby Higginson, Charles Johnson, Al Leiter, Tino Martinez, 1994 National League Rookie of the Year Raul Mondesi, John Olerud, Kirk Reuter, 1987 National League Rookie of the Year Benito Santiago, and B.J. Surhoff.

Players receiving votes on 75 percent of the ballots will garner an invite to the enshrinement ceremony July 24th in Cooperstown. Results of the vote will be announced January 5th and each day until then, The Hall of Very Good will be breaking now one of the 33 candidates.

Alright, so let's jump back to the beginning...there are no shoe-ins this year, but Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar look to be the two guys with the best chance of enshrinement. Rafael Palmeiro would have been looking at being named on nine out of ten ballots if not for the failed steroid test. But unfortuantely, he won't be seeing the inside walls of the Hall of Fame without first buying a ticket.

So who do you think will make it this year? Let your voice be heard in the comments section!

Andre Dawson...the Last Expo Hall of Famer?

When Andre Dawson enters the Hall of Fame this weekend, he'll be entering as a Montreal Expo. The following take on Dawson the Expo comes from our friend Charley over at Hawk for the Hall.

It is quite possible that Andre could be the last Montreal Expo to be inducted and that in itself would be pretty cool.

The Expos always had the reputation of developing great, young talent only to trade it away or lose them to free agency. Here's a list of former Expos who has or had Hall potential.

Tim Raines. To me he is a Hall of Famer. However, several Hall voters and baseball writers don't see it that way. Raines has been on the ballot three times, netting 24% in votes in 2008, 22.6% in 2009 and 30.4% in 2010. Andre's voting percentage in his first three years is as follows...45.3% in 2002, 50% in 2003 and 2004. There is a fairly significant difference in their first three years.

Vladimir Guerrero. It looks as though Vlad has bounced back from injury and it he gets hot in the sweltering heat of Texas, he has a real shot of being a Hall of Famer. But will he go in as an Expo or an Angel? My guess would be an Angel. Eight years in Montreal, six as an Angel. His numbers are relatively close in those two spans...however he won the American League MVP award in 2004 with the Angels.

Larry Walker. Walker played his first six years as an Expo, but the move to Colorado did wonders for his career, not to mention winning National League MVP in 1997. Whether he accumulated high enough career numbers for voters is up for debate. We'll find out more in January.

Pedro Martinez. Pedro pitched four years in Montreal and won the National League Cy Young award in 1997. But, only 55 of his 219 career wins came north of the border, plus, he won two more Cy Young awards with the Red Sox (1999 and 2000). Is 219 where his win total stops, we'll have to wait and see. But one thing is for sure...he won't wear an Expo hat on his plaque.

Randy Johnson. Hall of Famer...yes. Being inducted as an Expo...no. "The Big Unit" had a very brief stint in Canada...11 games, to be exact, between 1988 and 1989.

Andres Galarraga: He spent eight years wearing an Expos cap, but failed to reach the necessary 5% in 2010 to stay on the ballot next year.

I'm guessing "The Hawk" will be remembered as the last Expo to be honored by the Hall of Fame. How do you see it?

On a similar note, famed Cubs author and "Diamond Gems" host George Castle shared some memories of "The Hawk". You can read them HERE.

The Hall of Fame Class of 2011

This weekend, the Hall of Fame opens its doors to some new members...Andre Dawson, Whitey Herzog and Doug Harvey.

Of course, its the inclusion of Dawson (and omission of Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar) that has everyone buzzing.

After nine years on the ballot, "The Hawk" got his mandatory 75% (77.9% to be exact) last January...and Sunday, he'll be up on the podium addressing his supporters.

One has to wonder what next year will bring. Now, I’ve been saying this for a few years and I’ll say it again…the BBWAA are poised to have their hands full.

Not only will two very popular holdovers (Blyleven received 74.2% and Alomar came in at 73.7%) be on the ballot, but also in the mix will be one guy who was found guilty of taking performance enhancing drugs and another that just about everyone and their mother thinks did.

Add to that combo a few of “good guys”, a prick or two and you’ve got the recipe for a great vote.

Buckle up.

IN.

John Franco.
Why not start with one of the “good guys”? Here’s the rub with Franco, while I believe he is most certainly Hall-worthy…I can’t put him in until Lee Smith gets his number punched. Franco compiled a huge number of saves over his 21 year career. His 424 saves rank him fourth all-time behind Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera and, you guessed it…Smith. He is third in games finished behind, again, Hoffman and Smith. Franco was a four time All-Star and twice brought home the Rolaids Relief Man Award. A quiet closer, he compiled a 90-87 record (decent considering his role…Hoffman’s career mark is 61-72) and a 2.89 ERA.

Jeff Bagwell.
Here’s the deal with me and Bagwell…I always ADMIRED Bagwell, but was never a huge Bagwell guy until AFTER he hung up his spikes. I respect the Hell out of the man for leaving the game after only 15 seasons. He could have very well hung around to pad some numbers to his already bloated 449 home run and 1529 RBI totals. But he chose not to. He could have left Houston a number of times. But he chose not to. His .948 OPS is 23rd all-time and the only Hall eligible player that is higher on that list and NOT enshrined is Mark McGwire. Bagwell was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1991 and followed it up three seasons later with the National League MVP award. A career .297 hitter, Bagwell also appeared in four All-Star Games and was twice (yes, TWICE) a 30-30 man. And...he had a bitchin' goatee.

OUT (in random order).

Kevin Brown.
Brown’s 211-144 record isn’t as impressive as the .594 winning percentage it carries with it. Of course, that is only the tip of the iceberg for the hot and cold hurler. A 3.28 career ERA, 2397 Ks and 13 seasons with ten or more victories makes Brown a hard choice to NOT put on the bubble. One ring, six All-Star Games and seven Gold Gloves…sorry Brown. If David Cone can’t sniff the halls of Cooperstown…you can’t either.

John Olerud.
The College Baseball Hall of Famer and two-time World Champion isn’t going to get much love from Cooperstown. While his .295 career average and 2239 hits is impressive…he was WAY overshadowed by other great first basemen throughout his career. Here’s a fun fact…Olerud is one of only TWO players to hit for the cycle in both leagues. Can you name the other?

Tino Martinez.
Another overshadowed first baseman (and probably rightfully so), Martinez is only mentioned here because there are some out there (I’m looking your way Yankees fans) that think guys like Tino, Bernie Williams and Paul O’Neill deserve a spot up on the wall. But here’s the thing…none of them hold a candle to Don Mattingly, and last year, “Donnie Baseball” couldn’t muster more than 11.9%.

BJ Surhoff, Marquis Grissom, Bret Boone, Al Leiter, 1987 National League Rookie of the Year Benito Santiago, Carlos Baerga, 1994 National League Rookie of the Year Raul Mondesi, Bobby Higginson, Wilson Alvarez, Rey Sanchez, Charles Johnson, Jose Offerman, Ugueth “currently serving a 14-year prison sentence” Urbina, Ismael Valdez, Dan Wilson, Paul Quantrill, Cal Eldred, Kirk Rueter and Steve Reed.

ON THE BUBBLE.

Larry Walker.
Good friend of The HOVG, David Allan is going to KILL me for putting Walker “on the bubble” and Bagwell in the Hall of Fame, so here’s the deal…read what he had to say about Walker back in January and make up your own mind.

Juan Gonzalez.
Possibly the hardest player to characterize on this list is Gonzalez. I’m a fan, through and through. I always bought into the “Juan Gone” hype, the two MVP awards and the monster long balls. His 1996-1999 stretch is, arguably, one of the best of the 90s and in any other era…he’s in. But was the dude clean? Are his numbers going to go the way of McGwire and be pushed to the side in favor of steroid allegations considering some of his teammates?

Which brings me to…

Rafael Palmeiro.
Beautiful mustache or no...it’s hard to look at Palmeiro’s numbers and not get pissed off. 3020 hits, 569 home runs, 1835 RBI…all spectacular, albeit wasted, numbers. His 5388 total bases ranks him tenth all-time and the afore mentioned hits and home runs total makes him one of only FOUR players to have 3000 hits and 500 dongs. That being said, there isn’t a snowball’s chance that a guy who pointed his finger to Congress and proclaimed “I have never used steroids, period” gets in a mere six years after being found guilty of doing the opposite.

All this week, come back for a re-hash of 2012, 2013 and 2014. Also on the horizon...an all new breakdown of the 2015 ballot.

The Hall of Fame Class of 2011

I’ve been saying this for a few years and I’ll say it again…the BBWAA will have their hands full when it comes to the 2011 election.

In the mix will be one guy who was found guilty of taking performance enhancing drugs and another that just about everyone and their mother thinks did. Add to that combo a few of “good guys”, a prick or two and you’ve got the recipe for a great vote.

Buckle up.

IN.

John Franco.
Why not start with one of the “good guys”? Here’s the rub with Franco, while I believe he is most certainly Hall-worthy…I can’t put him in until Lee Smith gets his number punched. Franco compiled a huge number of saves over his 21 year career. His 424 saves rank him fourth all-time behind Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera and, you guessed it…Smith. He is third in games finished behind, again, Hoffman and Smith. Franco was a four time All-Star and twice brought home the Rolaids Relief Man Award. A quiet closer, he compiled a 90-87 record (decent considering his role…Hoffman’s career mark is 57-67) and a 2.89 ERA.

Jeff Bagwell.
Here’s the deal with me and Bagwell…I always ADMIRED Bagwell, but was never a huge Bagwell guy until AFTER he hung up his spikes. I respect the Hell out of the man for leaving the game after only 15 seasons. He could have very well hung around to pad some numbers to his already bloated 449 home run and 1529 RBI totals. But he chose not to. He could have left Houston a number of times. But he chose not to. His .948 OPS is 23rd all-time and the only Hall eligible player that is higher on that list and NOT enshrined is Mark McGwire. Bagwell was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1991 and followed it up three seasons later with the National League MVP award. A career .297 hitter, Bagwell also appeared in four All-Star Games and was twice (yes, TWICE) a 30-30 man. And...he had a bitchin' goatee.

OUT (in random order).

Kevin Brown.
Brown’s 211-144 record isn’t as impressive as the .594 winning percentage it carries with it. Of course, that is only the tip of the iceberg for the hot and cold hurler. A 3.28 career ERA, 2397 Ks and 13 seasons with ten or more victories makes Brown a hard choice to NOT put on the bubble. One ring, six All-Star Games and seven Gold Gloves…sorry Brown. If David Cone can’t sniff the halls of Cooperstown…you can’t either.

John Olerud.
The College Baseball Hall of Famer and two-time World Champion isn’t going to get much love from Cooperstown. While his .295 career average and 2239 hits is impressive…he was WAY overshadowed by other great first basemen throughout his career. Here’s a fun fact…Olerud is one of only TWO players to hit for the cycle in both leagues. Can you name the other?

Tino Martinez.
Another overshadowed first baseman (and probably rightfully so), Martinez is only mentioned here because there are some out there (I’m looking your way Yankees fans) that think guys like Tino, Bernie Williams and Paul O’Neill deserve a spot up on the wall. But here’s the thing…none of them hold a candle to Don Mattingly, and last year, “Donnie Baseball” couldn’t muster more than 11.9%.

BJ Surhoff, Marquis Grissom, Bret Boone, Al Leiter, 1987 National League Rookie of the Year Benito Santiago, Carlos Baerga, 1994 National League Rookie of the Year Raul Mondesi, Bobby Higginson, Wilson Alvarez, Rey Sanchez, Charles Johnson, Jose Offerman, Ugueth “currently serving a 14-year prison sentence” Urbina, Ismael Valdez, Dan Wilson, Paul Quantrill, Cal Eldred, Kirk Rueter and Steve Reed.

ON THE BUBBLE.

Larry Walker.
Good friend of The HOVG, David Allan is going to KILL me for putting Walker “on the bubble” and Bagwell in the Hall of Fame, so here’s the deal…read what he had to say about Walker back in January and make up your own mind.

Juan Gonzalez.
Possibly the hardest player to characterize on this list is Gonzalez. I’m a fan, through and through. I always bought into the “Juan Gone” hype, the two MVP awards and the monster long balls. His 1996-1999 stretch is, arguably, one of the best of the 90s and in any other era…he’s in. But was the dude clean? Are his numbers going to go the way of McGwire and be pushed to the side in favor of steroid allegations considering some of his teammates?

Which brings me to…

Rafael Palmeiro.
Beautiful mustache or no...it’s hard to look at Palmeiro’s numbers and not get pissed off. 3020 hits, 569 home runs, 1835 RBI…all spectacular, albeit wasted, numbers. His 5388 total bases ranks him tenth all-time and the afore mentioned hits and home runs total makes him one of only FOUR players to have 3000 hits and 500 dongs. That being said, there isn’t a snowball’s chance that a guy who pointed his finger to Congress and proclaimed “I have never used steroids, period” gets in a mere six years after being found guilty of doing the opposite.

Yesterday, I looked at the 2010 ballot and in the next couple of days…2012, 2013 and 2014 will be chronicled.

Oh Canada...no, seriously!

***Ever wonder what happens when I am behind in giving my opinion on last week’s Hall of Fame announcement? In short…David Allan steps in.***

Well I guess I should start this off with congratulations to Rickey Henderson, a first ballot Hall of Famer to be sure. My first quick question is who are the 28 guys that honestly believed that Rickey wasn’t Hall worthy?

The conversations with colleagues, friends, family or anyone else interested for that matter had to go like this.

DA: So, who was on your ballot this year besides Henderson?
I mean, did you vote for Jim Rice, Andre Dawson, Bert Blyleven, Lee Smith and Jack Morris? How about it, were you one of the few that threw a vote to Dave Parker or David Cone, maybe Big Mac or Alan Trammell?

Bonehead Writer: Actually no, to be honest, I didn’t vote for Rickey.

DA: Oh really, you submitted a blank ballot? Figured none of these guys where Hall of Fame worthy then? It’s hard to believe, but I’d love to hear the argument.

Bonehead Writer: No, I wasn’t one of those two. I picked Rice, Dawson, Jay Bell, and Mo Vaughn.

DA: Jay Bell? Really?You voted for JAY BELL?!?

Bonehead Writer: Well, I feel that nobody should be a unanimous first ballot Hall of Famer.

DA: But somewhere out there guys like you support the notion that Jay Bell, Mo Vaughn and Jesse Orosco could be Hall of Famers. They got votes for crying out loud. Somebody must have checked their boxes? You guys must be half way to the moon if you think any of this makes a lick of sense! Those guys don’t even qualify for The Hall of Very Good!

Or at least that’s how I’d imagine the conversation to go in my head. Those 26 writers that voted should be ashamed of themselves for not choosing an obvious Hall of Fame choice in Rickey.

As for the two writers that submitted blank ballots, get over yourselves.

Honestly, you’ve been given the privilege of choosing who is inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and you waste it on some childish notion that there shouldn’t be a unanimous first ball Hall of Famer?

I would also like to say thank you to Jim Rice. Jim, Canada wants to buy you a drink.

Why Canada you ask?

No don’t go running for your atlas; Boston hasn’t somehow been magically transported to Manitoba. Although I am sure there are a few in New York that wish it had been.

I’d like to thank the Red Sox media machine for making Rice the darling pick over the last couple years, to the point where he edged his way over that 75% threshold.

Why you ask?

Great question, because I couldn’t understand how Rice got there. I mean it wasn’t like at some point in the last 15 years he collected a couple hundred more hits, or swatted another 120 home runs.

The argument I keep hearing is that his numbers have become more impressive because of the era he played in and the six or seven seasons of dominance that he had. His steep decline later in his career has some how become less of a problem with writers became over the past couple of rounds of voting.

So I submit to you Jim Ed Rice. A .298 batting average, 382 bombs, 2452 hits, 1451 RBI and 58 stolen bases. He was eight times an All-Star, once an MVP and one Hell of an American.

In his best major league season he batted .325 with 46 home runs and 139 RBI. He collected 213 hits, swiped 10 bases and was caught 5 times.

If all of that is Hall worthy, let’s talk about Larry Robert Kenneth Walker, born December 1, 1966 in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. That’s right, Larry Walker, or as I like to call him Canada’s next Hall of Fame inductee.

Nope, Canada isn’t struggling to add anyone else to the National Hockey League Hall of Fame, so let me focus my efforts on Cooperstown.

Okay, now that you have screamed out the word “WHAT?”, in utter disgust and then proceeded to slowly mouth the words “Larry Walker?” over and over again in an extremely slow and confused manner, let me get started.

First things first, Walker only averaged 125 games for his career, because of injuries, so we can conclude that although he did play 17 years in The Show for the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals, some of his raw numbers are a little light.

That being said, let’s start with the two stats that Hall of Fame writers go straight to when measuring greatness, homeruns and hits.

Walker managed 383 home runs. One more than Rice’s all time total. Plus, he did it in 1300 less at bats. Larry managed to knock a big fly over the wall at a clip of 1 every 18.03 at bats. Rice on the other hand whacked long balls at a pace of 1 per every 21.53 trips to the dish.

Everyone, at this point, is going to point to the ballpark on this stat. But can we not agree that Fenway has inflated a few numbers in its day? For the record, Walker’s home vs. road splits for home runs during his entire career is 56/44 (home vs. away), while Rice is 54/46.

Now in the hits category Walker is 292 hits shy of Rice’s total at 2160, but taking into account the number of at bats missed over his career, especially those in his prime, we can safely say that Walker’s career .313 batting average would more than likely put his career total some where in the 2400-2500 hit range.

If you take his career average and multiply it by the number of additional at bats Rice had, we get an additional 412 career hits for Walker or 2572. Moreover, if you look at his 162 game avg, and multiply that by his 17 year career we are looking at 2992, or a mere eight hits shy of 3000, but I am sure he would’ve come back to get, and probably 100 or so more.

Walker does get hurt by the limited at bats in the RBI total as well, although he falls short of Rice, his 1311 has him in similar company to Paul Molitor, Roberto Clemente, Pete Rose, Mike Piazza and Duke Snider.

I would again go back to a yearly average of 107.

1700 runners driven in is exclusive company as it puts you in the top 25 for an all-time career. That’s ahead of Ernie Banks, Tony Perez, Cal Ripken Jr. It puts you in the club with Manny Ramirez, Frank Thomas, Reggie Jackson, Honus Wagner and Ken Griffey Junior.

Those names all sound like Hall of Famers to me.

His 471 career doubles outpace Rice by 98 for his career. We are talking about Jim Rice, a right-handed batter that played in a park that manufactures doubles out of long fly ball outs. So again I am not impressed by the home vs. road knock on Walker.

I know you’re thinking it.

We can talk offense all day, but it is apparent to people that watched that both were great, but that Walker was a more complete player. He stole 230 career bases, compared to Rice’s 58.

Walker took home, count them with me now 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 Gold Gloves over a ten year period. Rice managed NONE.

Rice was a two-time Silver Slugger winner, an award Walker took home three times. Walker’s resume also includes three league batting titles. He hit a whopping .379 in 1999! He finished in the top ten six times. Rice also had six top ten finishes, but was never higher than third.

There are 92 members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. For his career, Larry Walker ranks in the Top 100 all-time in batting average, home runs, doubles, at bat to RBI ratio, extra base hits and on base percentage. In 1997, he became a member of the 30/30 club.

I submit to you Larry Walker. One MVP, three batting titles, five All-Star games and seven Gold Gloves. His 162 games average is a batting average of .313, an on base percentage of .400, a slugging percentage of .565, 31 home runs, 107 RBI, 38 doubles, and 19 stolen bases.

I present to you Canada’s next Hall of Famer.

***Note: Based on the "Is Larry Walker a Hall of Famer" poll that was on the page...only 40% of you think he is.***