Christian Walker Explained

Christian Walker
Team:Arizona Diamondbacks
Number:53
Position:First baseman
Birth Date:28 March 1991
Birth Place:Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Bats:Right
Throws:Right
Debutleague:MLB
Debutdate:September 17
Debutyear:2014
Debutteam:Baltimore Orioles
Statyear:July 29, 2024
Statleague:MLB
Stat1label:Batting average
Stat1value:.251
Stat2label:Home runs
Stat2value:144
Stat3label:Runs batted in
Stat3value:430
Teams:
Awards:

Christian Dickson Walker (born March 28, 1991) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the South Carolina Gamecocks and won the College World Series in 2010 and 2011. Walker was selected in the fourth round of the 2012 MLB draft by the Baltimore Orioles and made his MLB debut with the team in 2014. He was later claimed off waivers in 2017 by the Diamondbacks and became their regular first baseman after Paul Goldschmidt was traded following the 2018 season. Walker is a two-time Gold Glove Award winner and helped the Diamondbacks win the National League pennant in 2023.

Amateur career

Walker attended Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic High School in Norristown, Pennsylvania.[1] He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 49th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign. Walker attended the University of South Carolina and played college baseball for the South Carolina Gamecocks from 2010 to 2012. While there, he helped the Gamecocks win the College World Series in 2010 and 2011. He also helped the team reach the 2012 College World Series, where they lost to the Arizona Wildcats. He finished tied with Dustin Ackley for most career hits in the College World Series.[2] Overall in his career at South Carolina, he played in 206 games and hit 336/.427/.533 with 30 home runs and 137 runs batted in. In 2011, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[3]

Professional career

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles selected Walker in the fourth round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.[4] [5] He made his debut for the Aberdeen IronBirds. He played in 22 games and hit .284/.376/.420 with two home runs. Walker started 2013 with the Delmarva Shorebirds.[6] In May he was promoted to the Frederick Keys.[7] In July he played in the All-Star Futures Game.[8] After the game he was promoted to the Double-A Bowie Baysox. He finished the year playing in 103 games and hit .300/.362/.453 with 11 home runs. Walker started 2014 back with Bowie.[9] [10]

On September 17, 2014, Walker was called up to the Orioles from AAA-Norfolk.[11] He made his major league debut later that day. Facing Toronto Blue Jays pitcher J. A. Happ, Walker hit a double for his first major league hit.[12] On September 20, he had his first multi-hit game, including his first career major league home run, off of Boston Red Sox starter, Rubby De La Rosa.[13]

On February 21, 2017, the Orioles designated Walker for assignment.[14]

Arizona Diamondbacks

On March 6, 2017, the Cincinnati Reds claimed Walker off of waivers. The Atlanta Braves also put a waiver claim on Walker, but lost due to the order.[15]

On March 28, 2017, Walker was waived by the Reds and claimed by the Arizona Diamondbacks who assigned him to the Reno Aces of the Pacific Coast League (PCL). He was selected as the 2017 PCL Most Valuable Player.[16]

Walker was called up again and played in 11 games in 2017 for the Diamondbacks, batting .250 with 2 homers. He played in 37 games in 2018, for a .163 average with 3 home runs.

In 2019, Walker hit .259/.348/.476 with 29 home runs and 73 RBIs. He had a 9 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) rating, the best in the National League among first basemen, and led all major league first basemen with 139 assists.[17] [18] In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he hit .271/.333/.459 with 7 home runs and 34 RBIs.

In 2021, Walker batted .244/.315/.382 with 10 home runs and 46 RBIs in 115 games. The following year, he hit a career-high 36 home runs and drove in 94 runs while winning his first career Gold Glove Award.

On January 13, 2023, Walker agreed to a one-year, $6.5 million contract with the Diamondbacks, avoiding salary arbitration.[19] That season, he set career highs in RBIs (103), total bases (289), and slugging percentage (.497) and won his second consecutive Gold Glove Award. He helped lead the Diamondbacks to the 2023 World Series, where they lost to the Texas Rangers.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Slugger is drawing lots of attention Kennedy-Kenrick's Christian Walker makes noise with his bat.. Philly.com. September 18, 2014.
  2. Web site: USC notebook: Walker ties two CWS records in loss to Arizona. GoUpstate.com. September 18, 2014.
  3. Web site: Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League . capecodbaseball.org . September 25, 2019.
  4. Web site: Christian Walker Drafted By Baltimore Orioles. September 18, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304130412/http://www.gamecocksonline.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/060512aaa.html. March 4, 2016. dead.
  5. Web site: Price, Walker excited to be teammates with O's. Major League Baseball. September 18, 2014. July 14, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714153133/http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120606&content_id=32844972&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb. dead.
  6. Web site: Former South Carolina stars Matt Price, Christian Walker remain teammates as they adjust to minor league baseball. Post and Courier. September 18, 2014.
  7. Web site: From Delmarva to Frederick, Christian Walker's bat keeps rolling. MASNsports. September 18, 2014.
  8. Web site: Walker added to Futures Game. Frederick Keys. September 18, 2014.
  9. Web site: Christian Walker's good start for Bowie and some O's rotation talk. MASNsports. September 18, 2014.
  10. Web site: Walker realizing his power potential in Bowie. Baltimore Sun. September 18, 2014.
  11. News: Connolly. Dan. Making major league debut, Christian Walker says he's 'happy to be here'. February 27, 2017. Baltimore Sun. September 17, 2014. December 5, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171205070652/http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-making-major-league-debut-christian-walker-says-hes-happy-to-be-here-20140917-story.html. dead.
  12. News: Encina. Eduardo A.. Kennedy-Kenrick grad Christian Walker called up to Majors by Baltimore Orioles; gets first hit. February 27, 2017. Baltimore Sun. The Times Herald. September 17, 2014.
  13. News: Meoli. Jon. Orioles rookie Christian Walker's first home run validates yearlong commitment to approach. February 27, 2017. Baltimore Sun. September 21, 2014. December 2, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171202222536/http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-christian-walkers-first-home-run-validates-yearlong-commitment-to-approach-20140920-story.html. dead.
  14. Web site: Orioles acquire left-hander Richard Bleier in trade with Yankees. February 21, 2017. July 25, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180725184135/http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-orioles-acquire-left-hander-richard-bleier-in-trade-with-yankees-20170221-story.html. dead.
  15. News: Bowman. Mark. Braves lose Walker to Reds' waiver claim. March 7, 2017. MLB.com. March 6, 2017. March 8, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170308222638/http://m.braves.mlb.com/news/article/218181946/reds-claim-christian-walker-from-braves/. dead.
  16. Web site: Aces' Walker honored as PCL's Most Valuable Player. MILB.com. September 1, 2017. September 1, 2017.
  17. Web site: 2019 Major League Baseball Fielding Leaders . Baseball-Reference.com . January 1, 1970 . October 7, 2019.
  18. Web site: Major League Leaderboards » 2019 » First Basemen » Fielding Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball . Fangraphs.com . January 1, 2019 . October 7, 2019.
  19. Web site: 2023 MLB Arbitration Tracker. January 13, 2023. MLBTradeRumors.