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| August 19, 2005
Big League Pitcher BY JACOB SHAFER
During this past off-season, the Giants went in search of a closer. (A closer, for those who don’t know, is the pitcher sent in to finish off close games. He enters during the ninth inning of a tight contest and is expected to slam the door shut on the opposition. If he can do this successfully, he is awarded a “save.”) Though Walker had pitched with the team the previous year, enjoying modest success as a long relief pitcher, he wasn’t on the radar when it came to filling the coveted ninth inning role. Ultimately, the Giants inked free agent Armando Benitez, who had led the National League in saves while pitching for Florida. Walker, meanwhile, pitched well in spring training, made the team and began the season in a similar role to the one he’d filled in 2004. Then, in late April Benitez suffered a torn hamstring while covering first base on a ground ball. The injury required surgery, meaning the hard-throwing hurler would miss significant time. The bullpen was suddenly in disarray, as the Giants searched desperately for a replacement to anchor their relief corps. Enter Walker, who expressed a desire to test his ninth inning mettle and was given a chance. He showed promise, successfully finishing a handful of close contests. After that, the young righty began to win the trust of manager Felipe Alou. He was summoned more and more to pitch the tail end of tight games, eventually winning the job outright. At the season’s halfway point, Walker had converted 13 of 14 save opportunities, a more than respectable clip. Walker is tall and stoutly built, with a ruddy complexion and light blond hair. A bit of stubble adorns his chin. His smile is youthful; at 29 years old, while not a baby in baseball terms, he is far from a grizzled veteran. His speech is slow and thoughtful, his demeanor calm and subdued—almost shy. Each night on the mound, however, he must transform himself into a stone-faced warrior, cutting down the opposition with his attitude as well as his arm. “Being a closer is about much more than just having good stuff,” says baseball analyst Tad Willis who has followed Walker’s career closely since the pitcher’s early season promotion. “It requires confidence, a willingness and a desire to be the one called on when the margin for error is smallest. Teams put the weight of an entire game on the shoulders of their closer, and expect him to carry that load night in and night out.” Walker grew up in Ross and attended University High School in San Francisco. A Giants fan since childhood, he describes his first experience taking the mound at SBC Park decked out in the orange and black as “unreal.” His family members, he says, are extremely enthusiastic about his pitching for the hometown team. “Sometimes it’s a bit over the top,” he laments with a grin. Old friends and acquaintances have also appeared out of the woodwork, flooding Walker with requests for tickets, on-field access and a chance to meet some of his famous teammates like slugger Barry Bonds. “I do my best,” Walker says, shrugging his broad shoulders. “But you can’t help everybody.” Walker made his big league debut in 2002 with the New York Mets. The following year, the Mets designated him for assignment out of spring training and then put him on waivers. He was claimed by the woeful Detroit Tigers, a team that would go on to lose a league-high 119 games. Spending a season toiling for the Toledo Mud Hens—the minor league affiliate of the worst team in baseball—marked the low point of Walker’s young career. But it also taught him a valuable lesson about perseverance. In 2004 the kid from Marin was signed by his hometown club. As of this writing, Walker’s days as the Giants’ closer appear to be numbered despite his continued success. Armando Benitez was spotted shagging fly balls before an early August game against the Houston Astros, his injured leg clearly on the mend. Upon the anointed closer’s return, Walker will, in all likelihood, go back to a less high-profile role in the bullpen. If this fazes the young pitcher—who most assuredly will get other shots at slamming the ninth inning door, be it with the Giants or another team—he doesn’t show it. Walker shrugs off any potential demotion in typically unassuming fashion, summing up his attitude toward life in the big leagues with four simple words: “Have arm, will pitch.” Photo: Marin’s Tyler Walker tested and proved his mettle as a closing pitcher this season for the S.F. Giants. Courtesy of S.F. Giants 2005. |
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Tyler Walker entered the 2005 season just looking for a place to play—preferably with the San Francisco Giants. Having already been cut loose by two teams in his brief career, Walker was no sure bet to make the big league roster. A few short months later, he has transformed into one of the most valuable members of the Giants’ pitching staff. Herewith, a quick recap of the events that led to this fortuitous reversal of fortune for our young Action Hero: |
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