twinsfan
Posts: 63630
Joined: 12/21/2009
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*Walker hit .313/.400/.565 in his career. The only players in baseball history who qualified for the Hall of Fame (appeared in at least 10 years in the majors) and slashed .300/.400/.550 were Babe Ruth, Manny Ramirez, Jimmie Foxx, Frank Thomas, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial, Hank Greenberg, Rogers Hornsby and, yes, Walker. Only Walker and Ramirez aren't in the Hall and Ramirez has two PED suspensions. Walker has zero. *Now is about the time people bring up Walker playing home games in Coors Field since he spent a big portion of his career with the Rockies. First off, nearly all players hit worse on the road. In Walker's career, he hit .282/.372/.501 away from Coors Field. Did you know Dave Winfield hit .283/.353/.475 in his entire career? *Further, OPS+ factors in ballpark and era conditions. Adjusting for ballpark and league hitting averages, Walker posted a 141 OPS+ through his career, meaning he was 41 percent better than the average hitter. Vladimir Guerrero was 140 in his career. Reggie Jackson? 139. Al Kaline and Paul Waner were at 134 with Tony Gwynn at 132. Winfield and Roberto Clemente both finished with a 130 OPS+. This isn't to say Walker was a better player than these Hall of Fame right fielders. It is to say dismissing him as a Coors Creation is foolish. *Walker's black ink includes three batting titles. He also led the league in OBP, slugging and OPS twice. He led in doubles, homers and total bases once. *Walker won the 1997 MVP while also winning seven Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers. *He never won a ring, but Walker hit .357/.438/.929 in his only World Series appearance (2004 Cardinals).
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“We are an unserious nation that's in serious $hit.” -Me
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