Mike Walker (pitcher, born 1965)

Michael Aaron Walker (born June 23, 1965 in Houston, Texas) is an American former professional baseball player. A pitcher, Walker played Major League Baseball in 1992 with the Seattle Mariners.

Walker, who prefers to go by Mike, was raised in Splendora/Cleveland, Texas by his parents Barbara and L.G. He has two siblings, Brian and Shannon. In High School, Mike aka "The Walk" was an All-Star athlete who lettered in basketball and baseball. He went to the University of Houston on a scholarship and, as a pitcher, enjoyed many successes as a Cougar.

On June 2, 1986 Mike was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2nd round of the 1986 amateur draft. Mike began his minor league career with the Watertown Pirates, then moved up to play for the Single-A Salem Buccaneers in 1987, where he had a very successful season. He was named Most Valuable Player on numerous occasions and recognized as one of the Carolina League's most prestigious players during 1987, leading Salem to the league championship. Briefly, he spent time in the AA club in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Mike's talent brought him to the AAA club in Buffalo by the end of 1988.

In 1989, Mike married Dina (Becker) and had headed back to Buffalo, New York to once again play for the Pirates' AAA club. However, on April 21, along with minor leaguer Mark Merchant, Walker was traded to the Seattle Mariners for Rey Quiñones and Bill Wilkinson. Mike played for Seattle's Triple A farm team, the Calgary Cannons for the next few seasons. The Mariners and Walker joined forces for the next 5 years. In 1992, after a short recovery from shoulder surgery, Mike was called to the major leagues. He made his debut on June 16, 1992. Walker played for Seattle for just shy of one month and never spent another day in the major leagues.

Over the following years, Mike played for the San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers organizations before ending his career in 1994. His decision to end his ball career came at a time when he wanted to focus on his family. He and his wife have three sons. Mike is now enjoying the coaching side of sports.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)