Larry Walker
A Canadian slugger who defied expectations, combining raw power with speed to become one of baseball's most complete and thrilling players.
Born 1966 (age 60)·Canadian baseball player·Birthday: December 1·Generation X
Biography
Larry Walker won the National League MVP in 1997, a season that blended Ruthian power with the daring of a leadoff man. Born in 1966 in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, a town obsessed with hockey, he became the greatest Canadian position player in Major League Baseball history. Walker was a five-tool athlete. He hit for power, ran the bases with surprising agility, and threw runners out from right field with a cannon arm. Injuries interrupted his flow, but when healthy, his sweet, violent swing produced a career batting average over .300 and three batting titles. His peak years with the Colorado Rockies forced a reevaluation of what a superstar from north of the border could achieve.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Larry was born in 1966, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Larry Was Born
The biggest hits of 1966
#1 Movie
The Bible: In the Beginning
Best Picture
A Man for All Seasons
#1 TV Show
Bonanza
Larry's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1966Born
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1971Started school
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1979Became a teenager
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1982Could drive
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1984Could vote
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1987Turned 21
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1996Turned 30
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 40
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 50
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 60
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1997 with the Colorado Rockies.
- Is the only MLB player ever to record a .700 slugging percentage and 30 stolen bases in the same season (1997).
- Won three National League batting titles (1998, 1999, 2001).
- Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020, becoming only the second Canadian-born player inducted.
Did You Know?
He famously wore jersey number 33 in honor of his childhood idol, hockey goaltender Patrick Roy.
Walker was an exceptional hockey goaltender in his youth and was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 1984, though he never played professionally.
He is one of only two players (with Barry Bonds) to have a season with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases while batting over .360 (1997).
He once hit a home run off future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson that was measured at an estimated 525 feet.
“I wasn't the biggest guy, I wasn't the strongest guy, I just went out and played the game as hard as I could.”
