Fergie Jenkins, HOF Plaque
It has been 18 years since Canada has been able to celebrate the induction of a Canadian to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ferguson Jenkins, the great Chicago Cubs pitcher entered the great hall in 1991, and only a few weeks ago had his number 31 honoured by the Cubs, alongside Greg Maddox. The question many have been asking is ‘who’s next’?
This weekend, Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals great Larry Walker is inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame. This is a nice honour for him, and definitely not an unexpected one. He leads Canadians in almost all offensive categories, including 383 homeruns and a .313 lifetime batting average. The 5-time all star, 7-time gold glove winner and 1997 MVP has had a remarkable career.
Larry Walker, Colorado Rockies
The next step is hopefully the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Or is it? This is not like the Hockey Hall of Fame/mediocrity that lets in anyone with above average statistics. It has been very tough for many players to enter this hall, and debates remain about why some players have not been accepted. It will be tough for Canada’s greatest position player to make the cut. Here’s why:
1) Visibility. Most of his career was played in Montreal and Colorado. These aren’t the most highly watched baseball mediums, and many of the voting writers did not see him play very much, and don’t have an appreciation for his accomplishments.
2) Steroids. Let’s assume (because we have no definitive proof) that Walker achieved his numbers without any ‘medical help’. These are excellent numbers, but they came in an era that we now know was filled with steroid users / cheaters. As a power hitter, he may incorrectly be lumped into a category filled with suspicion and doubt. We don’t know what a player’s stats should look like during this period as they are all skewed with steroid using power hitters, and this may hurt his chances from a steroids point of view.
3) 383. It appears that the magic number for a power hitter to make the hall is 500 homeruns. Walker is 117 short of this benchmark. Now, he was a great hitter with excellent averages, but the writers need to consider his total game, not just his HR output.
4) He’s Canadian. We’ve seen in the past the tendency of writers to give the ‘homer’ vote, or consider players because they played in their city / state or a from their city / state. Being from British Columbia and playing a great many games in Montreal, this factor will not help Walker. Unfortunate, but true.
So when he is finally eligible for consideration, we can only hope that the voters recognize his accomplishments, talents and do not make any false or unsubstantiated assumptions. I highly doubt he will make it on the first ballot, but Larry Walker is a deserving HOFer and we should someday soon be able to celebrate Canada’s second inductee.
Baseball North 