Larry Kenneth Robert Walker (born December 1, 1966 in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada) is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1989 through 2005, Walker played for the Montreal Expos (1989-94), Colorado Rockies (1995-2004) and St. Louis Cardinals (2004-2005). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Walker announced his retirement after Game 6 of the 2005 National League Championship Series. Contents [hide] 1 Early career 2 Career Season 3 Later years 4 Accomplishments 5 Facts 6 See also 7 References 8 External links [edit] Early career As a child, Walker enjoyed the typical Canadian passions and aspired to be an ice hockey player. In time, he thought handling a bat was easier than using a stick. Signed by the Montreal Expos as an amateur free agent in 1984, Walker made his debut with Montreal on August 16, 1989. During his first several seasons, he was an above average hitter in all respects, hitting for some power, stealing 20-30 bases, and regularly batting near the .300 mark. In 1994, the Expos team — and Walker himself — appeared to be rising to its potential. Led by rising young stars Pedro Martínez, Moisés Alou, Cliff Floyd, Mike Lansing and Jeff Fassero, Montreal was off to a 74-40 start, leading the National League Eastern Division. Walker, with 86 RBI, was well on his way to his first 100-RBI year. The season, however, was stopped due to the 1994 players' strike. The World Series, for which the Expos appeared to be destined, was never played and Montreal lost many of its players during the next season due to free agency and salary constraints. The 1994 Montreal Expos team that could have been remains one of baseball's hot discussion points. Before the 1995 season, Walker signed with the Colorado Rockies, where hitter-friendly Coors Field contributed to an instant boom in his statistics. Walker was a major factor in Colorado's winning 1995 season, hitting .301 with 36 home runs and 101 RBI. He remains in the top ten in many offensive categories for the Rockies.[1] [edit] Career Season Walker's career season came in 1997, when he hit .366 with 49 home runs, 130 RBI, 33 stolen bases, and 409 total bases, en route to becoming the first Canadian player to win the MVP Award. In 1998, Walker won the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canadian athlete of the year after finishing runner-up the previous year to Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve. Combined with 12 outfield assists, the season remains one of the finest all around performances in recent baseball history. Even more impressively, Walker's breakout season came just one year after various injuries limited him to 83 games and 272 at-bats, although the NL Comeback Player of the Year award went to Darren Daulton. [edit] Later years Walker was plagued by injuries for the last several years of his career, but nevertheless continued to produce. Although he would never have 500 at-bats in a season after 1997, he hit .363 in 1998 in limited action, and .379 (a Rockies record) with 37 homers and 115 RBI in just 438 at-bats the year after. After spending most of the 2000 season on the disabled list (albeit hitting .309 in limited action), Walker returned to form, hitting .350 and .338 the next two seasons with more than 100 RBI both years. In August 2004, the injured (but batting .324) Walker desired a trade to a contender and went to the St. Louis Cardinals for three minor league players. Now playing for the Cardinal powerhouse, Walker contributed briefly to the pennant-winning 2004 squad and the 2005 division winners. The Houston Astros defeated the Cardinals in the 2005 NLCS ending Busch Stadium's existence and Walker's career. He ended his career with 383 home runs, at the time 50th (currently 52nd) on the all-time list. As of 2008, Walker is currently an instructor on the St. Louis Cardinals' spring training staff under manager Tony La Russa and does fill-in training with the Cardinals staff. He was considered for and offered a full time position but opted instead to remain out of full-time involvement with the game and spend time with his young children.[1] [edit] Accomplishments Lou Marsh Trophy (1998) 5-time All-Star (1992, 1997-99, 2001) 7-time National League Gold Glove Award winner (1992-93, 1997-99, 2001-02) 9-time Tip O'Neill Award winner (1987, 1990, 1992, 1994-95, 1997-98, 2001 - with Corey Koskie, 2002 - with Éric Gagné) National League MVP award (1997) 4-time Top 10 MVP (1992, 5th; 1995, 7th; 1995, 10th; 1997, Won) 3-time Silver Slugger Award (1992, 1997, 1999)