Sorry, Canada: Larry Walker will wear a Rockies cap on his Hall of Fame plaque
The first Canadian position player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame won’t wear a Montreal Expos cap on his plaque. Larry Walker — who was finally inducted to the Hall of Fame on Tuesday — announced he will wear a Colorado Rockies cap on his plaque.
Walker, 53, said it was a “hard decision.”
Larry Walker says he will wear the Colorado Rockies cap for his Hall of Fame plaque. "It was a hard decision as a Canadian," Walker said.
— Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) January 22, 2020
While some Canadians might be upset with that decision, it makes sense. Walker began his career in Montreal, but blossomed into a truly great player with the Rockies. As a member of the Expos, Walker hit .281/.357/.483 over six seasons. With Colorado, Walker hit .334/.426/.618 over 10 seasons. Four of Walker’s five All-Star seasons came with the Rockies, as did Walker’s MVP season.
Walker admitted as much, saying “most of my numbers were done there.”
At a press conference in New York today, Larry Walker revealed he would be going into the Hall of Fame wearing a Colorado Rockies cap. He said it was "a difficult decision."
In our sit-down interview afterwards, I asked him why. This was his answer: pic.twitter.com/9mCxjgbNHV— Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) January 22, 2020
Walker does admit that he thought about going in as an Expo, though. The fact that he could have been the first Canadian player in the Hall of Fame wearing a Canadian baseball team’s cap on his plaque was probably tempting for Walker.
Ultimately, Walker made the decision that was most appropriate for his career. Rockies fans can rejoice about that decision. Canadian fans can always claim they had Walker first.
It’s not the worst compromise, is it?
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