DENVER — Statistics never really captured Larry Walker, especially during the 10 years of his career he spent with the Rockies in a hitter-friendly but difficult-to-measure atmosphere.
Ultimately, the numbers simply could not hold him back.
In his final year on the ballot, Walker was elected to the Hall of Fame on Tuesday — joining Yankees legend Derek Jeter in the Class of 2020 — by appearing on 76.6 percent of the ballots from Baseball Writers’ Association of America voters. His 22-percent climb from 2019 represents the biggest increase by any player in his last year of BBWAA eligibility in 65 years, and in the end he cleared the threshold by six votes.
• Complete 2020 Hall of Fame election results
Walker’s time with the Rockies (1995-2004) was bookended by six seasons with the Montreal Expos (1989-94) and one-plus with the Cardinals (end of 2004 and ‘05). In addition to Jeter and Walker, catcher Ted Simmons and former MLB Players Association director Marvin Miller were both elected by the Modern Baseball Era Committee in December.