Name: Greg Walker
Rank: 30
Position: 1B
Years With White Sox: 1982-1990
Acquired as a rule 5 selection from the Phillies in 1979, Greg Walker made his major league debut for the White Sox on September 18, 1982, pinch hitting for Marc Hill and getting a hit against Brian Kingman in the White Sox 5-4 loss to the A’s at Comiskey Park. During his brief cup of coffee with the big league club, Walker took advantage, hitting .412 with 2 home runs in 11 games.
Walker split time with Tom Paciorek in 1983, hitting .270 with 10 home runs and 55 RBIs in 118 games. He led the American League with 15 pinch hit RBIs. He appeared in 2 games during the ALCS against the Orioles, going 1-3 with a walk.
In 1984, Walker started to establish himself as the every day first baseman. In 136 games, he hit 24 home runs while posting a .294 average. He hit another 24 home runs in 1985 while tying a White Sox record with 163 games played.
1986 saw Walker spend time on the disabled list, limiting him to 78 games and only 13 home runs, with a .277 average. He bounced back in 1987, appearing in 157 games and setting career highs with 27 home runs and 94 RBIs while hitting a career low .256.
Walker’s 1988 season came to a premature end on July 30, when he suffered a seizure during batting practice while fielding grounders from coach Ed Brinkman. Four trainers were needed to hold Walker down and pry open his mouth to prevent Walker from swallowing his own tongue. During the ordeal, Walker bit his tongue and chipped a tooth from biting down on a pair of scissors. A subsequent seizure the following day kept Walker in the hospital for 11 days. A third seizure, days after being released from the hospital, left him in a daze for months.
He returned in 1989, unsure if he would be able to continue his career, until a .308 spring average with 7 home runs convinced him, and the White Sox, that he once again could be a productive member of the lineup. He wasted little time in getting back in the swing of things, participating in an Opening Day brawl against the Angels after Bob McClure hit Ivan Calderon with a pitch in the ninth inning. The good feelings did not last, though, as he appeared in only 77 games due to a shoulder injury and hit a career low .210 with only 5 home runs.
Walker found himself the odd man out in 1990, appearing in only 2 games before being released on April 30.
Walker rejoined the White Sox organization on May 19, 2003 as hitting coach, a position he would hold until September 28, 2011 in the waning days of Ozzie Guillen’s tenure.
Walker’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:
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Our Throwback Thursday feature continues, as we point the wayback machine back to the 1980s and put our focus on the offensive leaders of that decade. As a reminder, I’ve identified 14 games that I attended during this time period, when I would have been ages 5 through 14.
