In Defense of Walker: He Ranks Among Elite Right Fielders in History
Larry Walker is well-known for his offensive abilities. He established himself as one of the game’s best baserunners. But what cannot be overlooked is that Walker is among the elite defensive outfielders in Major League Baseball history.
Walker had a career .986 fielding percentage as a right fielder, which would rank him third among Hall of Fame outfielders. He trails only Tony Gwynn (.987) and Frank Robinson (.986, a minute improvement on Walker).
Courtesy of Stats, Inc., a look at how Walker compares in fielding percentahge to Hall of Famers who played right field:
- | Player | Season | Fld Pct |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Tony Gwynn | 1982-2001(20) | .987 |
2 | Frank Robinson | 1961-1972(12) | .986 |
x | Larry Walker | 1989-2005(17) | .986 |
3 | Stan Musial | 1941-1962(15) | .986 |
4 | Al Kaline | 1953-1973(20) | .985 |
5 | Dave Winfield | 1974-1994(18) | .984 |
6 | Andre Dawson | 1976-1995(13) | .982 |
7 | Enos Slaughter | 1938-1959(18) | .981 |
8 | Mel Ott | 1928-1946(19) | .980 |
9 | Hank Aaron | 1954-1973(20) | .980 |
10 | Harold Baines | 1980-1997(14) | .978 |
11 | Kiki Cuyler | 1921-1938(16) | .976 |
12 | Paul Waner | 1926-1944(19) | .975 |
13 | Roberto Clemente | 1955-1972(18) | .973 |
14 | Sam Rice | 1916-1934(17) | .971 |
15 | Harry Hooper | 1913-1925(13) | .970 |
16 | Reggie Jackson | 1967-1987(21) | .968 |
17 | Babe Ruth | 1920-1935(15) | .966 |
18 | Harry Heilmann | 1916-1930(14) | .964 |
19 | Vladimir Guerrero | 1996-2010(15) | .963 |
20 | Chuck Klein | 1928-1944(15) | .963 |
21 | Ross Youngs | 1918-1926(9) | .953 |