Todd Walker

[William Malone]

Todd Arthur Walker was born on May 25, 1973 in Bakersfield, California.

He was named most outstanding player at the 1993 College World Series, helping LSU claim a national title. Walker remained at LSU for one more season, and the Minnesota Twins drafted him eighth overall in the 1994 MLB Draft. He made his Major League debut as a September call-up in 1996. Walker played 57 games for the Twins in 1997, serving as a backup second and third baseman.

Minnesota traded All-Star second baseman Chuck Knoblauch after the 1997 season. Walker didn't initially win the job in camp, with veteran Brent Gates getting the Opening Day start. Utility man Denny Hocking was also in the mix to fill a lot of the lost Knoblauch at-bats. Walker eventually hit his way into more playing time. He had a seven game hitting streak in mid-April, which included four mutli-hit games. Walker also began May with three consecutive three hit games. His breakout campaigned finished with a .316/.372/.472 slash line over 143 games. He was seventh in the American League with 41 doubles, and had the fifth best fielding percentage among second baseman.

Walker hit .279/.343/.397 in 1999, hitting 37 doubles and stealing 18 bases. He struggled out of the gate in 2000, and was traded to the Colorado Rockies after posting a .610 OPS with five errors through 23 games.

Coors Field helped Walker get his offense back on track. He .304/.363/.514 over parts of two seasons with the Rockies. Walker also played for the Cincinnati Reds (2001-02), Boston Red Sox (2003), Chicago Cubs (2004-06), San Diego Padres (2006) and Oakland Athletics (2007). He hit .349 with five home runs in 12 games for Boston during the 2003 postseason. The Red Sox infamously lost in game seven of the ALCS that fall. His only other playoff action came with the Padres in 2007. Walker went 0-for-9 in the NLDS that year.

He has worked for ESPN and the SEC Network as a college baseball color commentator since retiring.

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