Colorado Rockies to retire Canadian Larry Walker’s No. 33

Colorado-Rockies'-Larry-Walker

Colorado Rockies' Larry Walker swings for a home run off San Francisco Giants' Kevin Correia in the fifth inning Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2003, in San Francisco. (Dino Vournas/AP)

Just days away from finding out if he will enter Cooperstown, Larry Walker is set to make history on another stage.

The Colorado Rockies announced Friday that on Sunday, April 19 the team will retire Walker’s No. 33, a jersey the Maple Ridge, B.C., native wore for 10 of his 17 years in Major League Baseball.

Walker will become just the second player in Rockies history to have his jersey retired, joining Todd Helton on the Coors Field outfield wall.

The Canadian joined the Rockies in 1995, after six years with the Montreal Expos. In Colorado, he earned NL MVP honours in 1997, as well as four of his five career all-star selections and two of his three silver slugger awards.

Walker was the first Canadian to win the MVP award and is still the club’s only player to achieve the honour. The lefty finished his career with 383 homers and a .313 batting average, as well as seven gold gloves and three batting titles.

On Tuesday, Walker will find out if he has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his final year of eligibility. He has been named on 85 per cent of ballots so far, giving him a legitimate chance of reaching the minimum 75 per cent threshold required for induction.

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