Hall of Famer Larry Walker talks induction and Canadian roots: 'Baseball, more or less, found me'

Jace Mallory

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Hall of Famer Larry Walker talks induction and Canadian roots: 'Baseball, more or less, found me' image

This story was original published on Jan. 21, 2020.

Larry Walker is a Hall of Famer.

In his 10th and final year on the ballot, the Maple Ridge, B.C., native breached the 75 percent mark by only six votes; but all that matters to him is that it was enough to make it to Cooperstown. Growing up in Canada, he never even dreamed of this day coming.

"Well, this moment right here would never have entered my mind as a child growing up," Walker said in an interview with MLB Network. "Of course, being Canadian, you're born into this world with a stick in your hand and skates on your feet so that's how I was as a kid. You played hockey and that's all that really mattered.

"When hockey didn't quite go the way I wanted, baseball, more or less, found me, is the story I've always told. I didn't work hard at baseball in the beginning until I realized I had a little bit of ability at it so once I figured that out, watching a lot of people play, learning from their mistakes, learning from their successes and listening to my coaches and fellow teammates led me to this moment here and — here we are."

MORE: Twitter reacts to Larry Walker's induction in the Baseball Hall of Fame

There were some setbacks to growing up as a baseball player in Canada. Walker addressed those, claiming he "literally had to learn everything in the minor leagues" because there was no high school baseball.

"It was 15 games of hardball a summer but I played on a fastpitch team with my dad and my brothers, with a softball, and that was what I looked forward to all the time."

He credited most of his baseball growth to learning and practicing in the minors and instructional leagues. 

"I didn't have quite the start as American kids might have so it took a little bit of work but I enjoyed it, [I] had fun and I was a quick learner."

Walker is just the second Canadian inducted into the Hall of Fame behind Ferguson Jenkins, who predominantly pitched for the Chicago Cubs in the 1960s and '70s. He was inducted in 1991 with votes on 75.4 percent of the ballots.

"As a Canadian, it was a proud moment for me to represent my country and be able to join Ferguson Jenkins in the Hall of Fame," Walker said.

But Walker's induction breaks more than just the Canadian barrier. While he is proud of his northern roots, the 10th-ballot Hall of Famer also spoke about breaking the trend that players who performed well at high altitudes — such as Coors Field in Denver — should still be considered for Cooperstown despite their favorable environment.

MORE: Why it took so long for Larry Walker to make it to Cooperstown

"I get the arguments, trust me, I've heard them all. I've heard the good things, I've heard the bad things and I'm okay with both of them," Walker said. "There's negativity to everything and I'm good taking it and I can handle it. I'm a big boy so I can take all that stuff, but 76.6 percent of the writers didn't think that way so I'm as grateful as can be."

Joining Walker in the Class of 2020 is Derek Jeter, who was one vote shy of a unanimous decision (99.7 percent). 

"We're talking about one of the icons of the game in Jeter," Walker noted. "[He has] one of those names that goes along with the greats of any sport; you say a name and you're talking about one of the best ever.

"I was thinking about it that as great as Derek is, I'm kind of going to be like — you remember those old 45s we used to listen to and they had the song on the 'A' side and the song on the 'B' side you really didn't know about?" Walker asked with a Hall-of-Fame grin. "I'm the 'B' side."

'B' side or not, Walker's name will forever be remembered in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, alongside Jeter, Jenkins and the 331 other members of the prestigious Hall.

Jace Mallory