Walker bundle of nerves after touring Hall of Fame

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (AP) — Larry Walker's right hand was shaking ever-so-slightly as he reached to sign the space where his plaque will hang in baseball's Hall of Fame. Reality was still sinking in, a month after his selection.

“It doesn’t seem legit. I feel like I just won a lottery ticket," Walker said Tuesday after a tour of baseball's shrine to prepare for his induction in the summer. "I’m kind of trembling inside right now. Nothing seems real about it. I’m still trying to absorb it all. It hasn’t happened yet. I don’t know when it’s going to happen. Maybe it’s going to be in July. Maybe it’s going to be later today. I just don’t know, but it’s crazy to think what I just did.”

Now 53, Walker earned baseball's highest honor in January on his 10th and final appearance on the writers' ballot. He received 304 votes, six above the 75% needed, and will be inducted July 26 along with former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, catcher Ted Simmons and former players’ association head Marvin Miller.

A native of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, just outside Vancouver, Walker joins pitcher Ferguson Jenkins as the only Canadian-born players elected to the Hall of Fame, and it's a source of pride.

“To have this honor and to be from north of the border, to be the first position player, the second Canadian, I can’t find the words," Walker said. "I’m stuttering around here.”

That's easy to understand considering Walker's past. His boyhood dreams were filled with skates and hockey sticks, not bats and gloves. His older brother, Carey, was a goaltender drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 1977, and Larry was going to follow in his footsteps.

“My dream was to play hockey. That’s what I wanted to do,” Walker said. “A Canadian kid growing up playing hockey, Hall of Fame for me was the...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Walker-bundle-of-nerves-after-touring-Hall-of-Fame-15083723.php