Greg Walker (baseball)

Gregory Lee Walker (born October 6, 1959) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1982 to 1990. He is the former hitting coach of the Chicago White Sox, the team for which he played all but the last 14 games of his career, until leaving the White Sox to become the hitting coach for the Atlanta Braves, a position he held from 2012 until 2014.

Greg Walker
Walker (left) with the Braves in 2014
First baseman
Born: (1959-10-06) October 6, 1959
Douglas, Georgia
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 18, 1982, for the Chicago White Sox
Last MLB appearance
July 1, 1990, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
Batting average.260
Home runs113
Runs batted in444
Teams
As player

As coach

Career highlights and awards

Career

Playing career

Walker was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1977. He was selected by the White Sox in the Rule 5 draft in 1979. He was called up to the major leagues in 1982 and spent almost his entire MLB playing career with the White Sox. In 1988 he had a seizure on the field at Comiskey Park during fielding practice.[1] He was released by Chicago early in the 1990 season and subsequently signed with the Baltimore Orioles. Baltimore released him shortly thereafter.[2]

Over his career, Walker hit 113 home runs and drove in 444 runs, while scoring 368 times.

Coaching career

When he began his coaching career, he did so with the White Sox Triple-A club in Charlotte. In 2003, he joined the parent club as hitting coach.

After nine seasons serving as the hitting coach of the Chicago White Sox, including their victory in the 2005 World Series, it was announced on October 21, 2011 that Walker was hired by the Atlanta Braves to serve as their hitting coach for the 2012 season. Walker filled the role vacated by the firing of Larry Parrish.[3] Walker resigned in September 2014, as the team compiled a .241 batting average, 573 runs, 123 home runs, and 1,369 strikeouts, struggling mightily in the final month of the season.[4] He returned to the Braves as a special assistant of baseball operations in February 2015.[5]

Personal

Walker is a cousin of Harry Spilman, a former MLB player.[2]

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References
  1. Newman, Bruce (April 17, 1989). "Just Happy To Be Here". Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  2. "Greg Walker Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  3. "Walker hired as Braves hitting coach". AJC.com. 21 October 2011. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011.
  4. "Braves' Greg Walker resigns". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 30, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  5. Bowman, Mark (February 10, 2015). "Braves tab McGriff, Walker as special assistants". MLB.com. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
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