Harding: In final year on ballot, can Larry Walker make the Hall of Fame?
From Thomas Harding at MLB.com on November 20, 2019, with mention of SABR members Manny Randhawa and Dan Evans:
Outfielder Larry Walker’s candidacy in his final year on the Hall of Fame ballot has morphed into much more.
It’s a test of the legitimacy of numbers posted by Rockies hitters — after 27 seasons and even a World Series trip in 2007, no one who has played for the team has been honored at Cooperstown. Denver’s hitter-friendly, Mile High atmosphere is at best disputed, at worst dismissed. Walker spent the bulk of his career and accomplished his greatest feats with the Rockies (1995-2004).
Voters are challenged to reconcile the 1990s through the mid-2000s, a time when performance-enhancing drug use in the sport was widely discussed, while evaluating Walker — who has never been linked and proudly says there is no reason to do so. Some honored players have dealt with accusations, and some players of all-time accomplishment continue to be denied.
Finally, it’s a challenge to voters — at least that’s the way it is in the eyes of small- to mid-market Denver, as well as to devotees of modern statistics, which are designed to define players’ comparative value and eliminate the distinction of eras.
Read the full article here: https://www.mlb.com/news/larry-walker-on-hall-of-fame-ballot-for-final-year
Originally published: November 21, 2019. Last Updated: November 21, 2019.