Farewell to our first baseman
- Rating: 8.02
- 2024 Stats: 130 G, .251/.335/.468, 26 HR, 121 OPS+, 2.6 bWAR
- Date of Birth: 3/28/1991
- 2024 Earnings: $10.9 Million
- 2025 Status: The only redeeming quality of the Houston Astros
I think one can be understood for knowing, or maybe guessing, what happened on March 28, 2017, but not actually remembering it. I can’t find an article from here discussing it directly, and really, given we had a future Hall of Famer at first base, I don’t think most people paid much attention to it, beyond a depth move.
I hope I can be forgiven for the hyperbole, but I am of course talking about perhaps the most significant waiver wire claim in Diamondbacks history: The acquisition of Christian Walker.
Walker had a very meandering path to the big leagues. First drafted by the Dodgers, who he appropriately spurned and went back to school instead. Then the Orioles, who had a first baseman that they thought was pretty good already, so they sent him to the waivers. From February 25 to March 28th of 2017, he was part of the Braves, Reds, and Diamondbacks. None of which were good options for an aspiring first baseman.
Walker kept putting in the work, though, getting Major League ABs here and there, and eventually, his chance came. Goldschmidt was traded and the Diamondbacks were in need of a first baseman. He won the job out of Spring Training and the rest… is history…
Fast forward to 2024, Walker was coming off another phenomenal season, with his second straight Gold Glove, a some down-ballot love from the MVP voters, and, of course, a trip to the World Series. There was absolutely no reason to expect anything else this season.
He wasted no time in living up to those expectations. Unlike the rest of the team, his April was incredible, putting up a triple slash of .283/.394/.496 for the month. That translated to an OPS+ of 154, which was the best he’d put up in April since his first full season in 2019. A huge part of this was the twenty walks he drew, but also an unsustainable .329 BABIP.
That BABIP coming down hurt him in May, but especially in June. Over the course of the two months, he would see his batting average go from .283 at the end of April all the way down to .253. Closer to his career norms, but a stark drop from that early season spike. Not to say that he wasn’t being a productive member of the team, however. He added another ten home runs and 31 RBI to his totals, though June did see his walks dry up to just two over the course of the month. Just wasn’t quite up to his personal standards.
July marked a return to regularly scheduled programing. The batting average wasn’t quite the lofty number he put up in April, but a triple slash of .247/.369/.494 was much more like we have come to expect from the ever consistent Walker. Most heartening was the return of his walks, fifteen in the month, more than both May and June combined. But at the end of the month, that’s where things went off the rails.
For the first time in three years, Christian Walker went on the injured list on July 29th with a strained left oblique. He described it as mild and himself as fortunate in interviews the day after the placement, and he estimated that he would only be out for three weeks. It actually ended up being a little more than four as he missed the entire month of August.
When he came back, he just wasn’t quite right. The average dropped by about ten points, the RBI’s went with it, and the power was just nonexistent. Like the rest of the team, he limped to the end of the season, and, of course, an earlier than expected offseason.
That offseason was the most significant of his career. For the first time, at age 33, he was a free agent, and arguably (to me at least) the best available first baseman. Frankly, it was probably always unlikely that the Diamondbacks were going to resign him, given the albatross of a contract that is currently Jordan Montgomery, but we hoped nevertheless. Sadly, it was not meant to be as he ultimately signed a three year, $60 million contract with the Houston Astros, ending his Diamondback career.
He leaves having assured himself of a significant spot in Diamondback history. Given the shoes he had to fill, and the uncertainty surrounding his ability at the time, it is truly impressive. Replacing a Hall of Famer, and doing so to the point where most seasons there wasn’t a significant difference between the two, is no easy task. He ends his time here with top ten ranks in several statistics, including bWAR, Slugging%, Games Played, AB/PA, Runs Scored, Total Bases, Doubles, Home Runs, RBI, Walks, (strikeouts), Career OPS+, and others.
Thank you Christian Walker. You took a fan base who was reeling from the lost of a team legend and dispelled any fears they had. Good luck in Houston.