Larry Walker Outperformed Derek Jeter and Deserves to Be in the Hall of Fame

The 2020 class of inductees to the National Baseball Hall of Fame may be a party of one. Derek Jeter will get in on account of being Derek Jeter.

But if things go as they should, Larry Walker will make it two.

When the latest Hall of Fame ballot was released Monday, Jeter officially became the most notable newcomer on it. Now it's just a matter of whether he'll join former New York Yankees teammate Mariano Rivera as the only unanimous selections in Cooperstown history.

Like Rivera, Jeter won World Series rings with the Yankees in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009. He was a 14-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glover at shortstop, and he ended his 20-year career with a .310 lifetime average and 3,465 career hits.

With credentials like these, Jeter absolutely belongs in the Hall of Fame. Even if he doesn't get 100 percent of the vote, he'll surely do far better than the mere 75 percent he needs for induction.

But if Jeter belongs in Cooperstown, a certain line of logic dictates that players who had more productive careers should also get the call. 

That brings us to Walker. Despite playing in 759 fewer games and amassing 4,572 fewer plate appearances than Jeter, the longtime right fielder is one of four Cooperstown candidates who racked up more career wins above replacement, according to Baseball Reference:

• 1. Barry Bonds: 162.8
• 2. Roger Clemens: 139.2
• 3. Curt Schilling: 79.5
• 4. Larry Walker: 72.7
• 5. Derek Jeter: 72.4

One could just as easily use this list to stump for Bonds, Clemens and Schilling. Trouble is, their candidacies are complicated by a veritable laundry list of controversies, including alleged PED use by Clemens and Bonds and bigoted comments and social media posts by Schilling. There's also no hurry, as each of the three is eligible to remain on the ballot through 2022.

Walker, on the other hand, is in his 10th and final year on the ballot. Unless he gets a significant voting boost from the 54.6 percent in 2019, the task of putting him in Cooperstown will fall to the eras committee at a later date.

Granted, the Jeter comparison alone won't be enough to sway voters in Walker's favor. It's a good thing, then, that the fully formed argument for him is and always has been plenty strong.

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Above all, Walker was a gifted offensive player with the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals between 1989 and 2005. Over 8,030 plate appearances, he compiled a .313/.400/.565 batting line, 383 home runs and 230 stolen bases.

The obligatory "yeah, but..." is twofold. One part has to do with how the prime of Walker's career took place during a heightened offensive era that was notoriously fueled by performance-enhancing drugs. The other has to do with how he had an advantage of his own from playing at Coors Field for nine-plus years.

The Canada native shared his thoughts about all this with TSN Montreal 690 in 2018 (via ESPN.com):

"I can't fault myself. I played for a major league team that happened to be in Denver. If that's a problem and if that's going to be an issue for them, then get rid of the team and move it elsewhere if it's going to be that big of an issue.

"No needles went in my ass. I played the game clean, but I played in the ballpark and it's almost like Coors Field is my PED."

But while Walker's numbers indeed can't be taken at face value, they're far from value-less.

It's easy enough to put his offensive output through era- and park-adjustment filters and come away with a 141 OPS+ and 140 wRC+. An average hitter is denoted by an even 100, so he was roughly 40 percent better than average for both metrics.

Walker's counting stats can also be normalized with Baseball Reference's neutralized batting stats. To this end, he still would have hit over 300 homers and stolen over 200 bases even in a neutral environment.

He can therefore be safely counted among an exclusive club of hitters who finished their careers with better than a 140 OPS+, 300 homers and 200 steals: Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Barry Bonds, Jeff Bagwell, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson and Willie Mays.

Sans modern metrics like defensive runs saved, ultimate zone rating and outs above average, it's harder to know just how good Walker was as a right fielder. But as evidenced by his seven Gold Gloves, his reputation preceded him while he was active. And some of the video that survives is damned impressive:

That's one of 150 assists Walker compiled throughout his career, which ranks 18th all-time among right fielders. He also ranks eighth all-time among right fielders in total zone runs, which is based on the number of plays made.

The hardest knock against Walker might be his durability, or lack thereof, rather than his offensive or defensive prowess. Though he survived 17 years in the majors, he enjoyed only one season in which he played in more than 150 games.

Yet it's hard to fault him for this. He began his career playing on AstroTurf at Montreal's Olympic Stadium. He then had to cover a huge right field and deal with mile-high altitude as a member of the Rockies. If anything, it's a wonder that he lasted as long as he did.

Moreover, doubts about Walker's longevity ought to be balanced by the sheer strength of his prime. By WAR—which is also era- and park-adjusted, by the way—he was one of the National League's five best players during his peak with the Rockies between 1995 and 2003.

It's also not as if Walker wallowed in relative obscurity during his playing career. In addition to his seven Gold Gloves, he collected five All-Star selections, three Silver Sluggers and a National League MVP in 1997. This should be enough fame for the Hall of Fame.

Since his case for induction isn't changing anytime soon, the question now is if enough voters will buy into it before their ballots are due at the end of the year, with the big announcement to come Jan. 21.

It's perhaps improbable yet not impossible. Walker got a 20.5 percent bump from 2018 to 2019. Because 20 players have been cleared from the ballot since 2014, more voters may find there's suddenly space for Walker in their 10 available slots than in prior years.

Ultimately, Walker has both a case worthy of and a path to Cooperstown. All he needs is his ticket.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.