[ayaghmour2]

Dick Walker has always been a player I've been fascinated with. Sure, he's 34 now, but this is a guy who from 1929 to 1940 only had one season with a sub 100 OPS+ and has double the walks (1,186) to strikeouts (521). Add in the ten seasons with double digit homers and 12 seasons with double digit steals, and you have a really interesting and unorthodox first basemen. Since debuting in 1928, the lefty has hit an impressive .281/.382/.443 (117 OPS+) with 323 doubles, 209 triples, 135 homers, 298 steals, and 953 RBIs. His player page is filled with black ink, leading the CA in walks in 1931 (115), 1932 (89), 1933 (97), 1935 (112), 1938 (109), and 1939 (126), steals in 1931 (27), 1932 (25), 1934 (30), 1938 (33), and 1939 (27), and while not as impressive, plate appearances in 1931 (711). He's been remarkably durable too, 140 or more games in each season since 1930 excluding his 137 in 1937, and he's been worth 52.2 wins above replacement for the Sailors. And now he's a Chicago Cougar.

Sure, he's starting to see some effects of age this season, but Walker did hit .257/.374/.442 (119 OPS+) last season with 25 doubles, 16 triples, 14 homers, 17 steals, and 72 RBIs with nearly double the walks (101) as strikeouts (62). And yes, he doesn't really have an open lineup spot, with Ray Ford at first, but he's already shown that he gets injured more then he should. And yes, I have Freddie Jones to backup first when Ford is gone, but what are the odds him and Billy Hunter stay healthy by the end of the month, let alone all season? And with a team who almost never has anyone good at stealing bases, who wouldn't want some one who hasn't been caught stealing more then he's stolen since he was just 22! Our only real base stealer is Carlos Montes, and he's been caught (39) more often then he's succeeded (39), and no one else last season stole more then five bases and was caught less then they stole. Plus, with Ford as a righty, Walker can give him a few days off against tough righties, and if I want to get creative, I can also use Walker if I want to give Leo Mitchell a day off against lefties, with Ford moving to left. Walker is basically league average against lefties, hitting .268/.351/.400 (98 OPS+) for his career, while Mitchell, albeit, in a small sample, is just .204/.222/.229 (26 OPS+) this season. His plate discipline is almost unmatched as well, and we haven't had an 100 walk hitter since Dibblee hit the century mark in 1927. In fact, we had just three hitters reach 50 last season, with Montes leading the way with 52.

To make room for him, I will have to cut Ossie Grogan, but since Grogan was formerly a Sailor, I worked him in the deal as well. He will become optionable (although I'm pretty sure he'll take up a 40 spot), as we send minor league infielders Vince Conforti and Jim McCarthy to Philly for the pair. McCarthy does rank as our 20th best prospect, but I have Jocko Pollard ahead of him for third basemen and Billy Hunter is looking more and more likely to become our third basemen of the future, so McCarthy didn't really have the easiest path to the big leagues. Walker really improves our depth and adds a solid influence to the clubhouse while not costing us too much. And of course, I'm always partial to players I like, and Walker is someone I've been a fan of (and he's appeared in a decent amount of our writeups) and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to add him to the roster. I'm hoping the change of scenery can do him well, and when Ray Ford has injury #11, I don't think we'll miss a beat with Walker. His All-Star days are behind him, but he's definitely better then the depth we'd be able to pluck off the waiver wire.