Neil Walker Has Retired From MLB
Today Neil Walker announced his retirement from MLB to Sweeney Murti on the “30 for Murti” podcast. Walker bounced around the corners on the infield but primarily served as a second baseman for the Pirates, Mets, Brewers, Yankees, Marlins, and Phillies throughout his career.
Neil Walker was a Pittsburgh native and was coincidentally drafted by his hometown team in the Pirates back in 2004 as the number 11 overall pick. He played his first MLB games in 2009, only appearing in 17 that season. From 2010 to 2015, Walker became a staple of those Pirates teams and batted .272 through seven seasons with the team. During that stretch, he also won a silver slugger award in 2014 after batting .271 with 23 home runs and 76 runs batted in. After being traded to the Mets in late 2015, Walker battled injuries nearly every season until he signed with the Yankees where he appeared in 113 games as a swiss army knife type of player. From there, he fought for playing time with Miami until he ultimately signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in 2020, during which season he played the last game of his career.
Walker Had It Better Than Most
Neil Walker may not go down in history as one of the all-time greats, but he sure as hell had a much better career than most players around MLB. Most players in the game don’t even make it out of the minor leagues. Even when ballplayers make it to the big leagues, the vast majority can’t manage to stay on an MLB roster. Neil Walker did it in a classic fashion and even got to be drafted and play for his hometown team and live out his dream. Walker finished his career a .267 batter with 149 home runs, 609 RBI’s, and a .988 fielding percentage.
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