Jordan Walker will not turn 21 until May 22, 2023, and played just two seasons in the minor leagues after the St. Louis Cardinals made him the team’s first round selection (21st overall) in the June 2020 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.
He’s 6-5, 220 pounds, can play all the outfield positions, and is touted as MLB’s No. 4 prospect. He hit .306, with 19 home runs and 68 RBI at Double A Springfield (Mo.).
He registered an impressive 2023 Spring Training with the Cardinals, hitting .308 with three home runs, nine RBI, five doubles, and two stolen bases. Three of the home runs were titanic at respective distances of 470, 450 and 430 feet.
Oh, he’s Black.
Walker will be on the Cardinals 26-man Opening Day roster it was announced last Saturday. He is penciled in to start in left field against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday March 30. In 2021, starting pitcher Jack Flaherty and outfielder Justin Williams (remember him?) were Opening Day starters.
Two weeks after Opening Day, MLB will celebrate the 76th anniversary of Jackie Robinson playing his first game with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Walker and Flaherty’s inclusion on the Opening Day roster could help rise MLB’s pathetic level of Black participation which is calculated each year based on Opening Day rosters.
In 2022, just 7.2% of MLB players were Black.
“It was unbelievable joy,” he told mlb.com’s John Denton. I don’t think I’ve ever had a feeling like it. One of the best feelings in my life, for sure. For me, as a kid growing up and wanting to be in MLB, I felt at some point I would get to this moment, and it was everything I thought it would be. The feelings were high, and my happiness was high.”
Walker, who is penciled in to start in left field on Opening Day, will be the first Cardinal to make the roster without extensive Triple-A experience since Albert Pujols made his debut in 2001. He has one-upped the future Hall of Famer Pujols by skipping the Triple-A level.
Wearing No. 18, the Cardinals said on Twitter that Walker will be the youngest Cardinal to make his MLB debut since pitcher Rick Ankiel (age 20.035 on Aug. 23, 1999) and the youngest position player since outfielder David Green (age 20.274 on Sept. 4, 1981).
Welcome to the Big Leagues, Mr. Walker. One of his first realities of making the Cardinals’ roster was how to answer the 750 text messages that he received from family members and well-wishers.
“I’m not a great texter,” Walker said.
giving a glimpse at which task he chose to undertake first.
Personally, that is great news. Leave the excessive texting, Twitter, and other social media outlets to someone else. Walker has earned his shot in the Majors, and he is in the spotlight.
When he rides into Busch Stadium in a convertible Mustang on Thursday and is then introduced, he will be minutes from taking the field and playing in his first game in Busch Stadium.
The fact that he’s Black means little, and it means a lot.
The Reid Roundup
Coach Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks are 36-0 after thumping Maryland to reach the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Final Four. Her team has been ranked No. 1 for 37 consecutive weeks and is a heavy favorite to win its second national title in a row…Miami ended the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four dreams for Black coaches Kelvin Sampson of Houston and Rodney Terry of Texas in successive games of the Midwest Regional. A third Black coach, Jerome Tang of Kansas State, was dispatched by Florida Atlantic in the East Regional…Ja Morant tallied 27 points and six assists in a road win against the hapless Atlanta Hawks on March 26. It was his first start since returning from an eight-game suspension, and he had as many fans cheering for him as the Hawks did…On Monday, former NFL MVP Lamar Jackson announced on Twitter that he requested a trade from the Baltimore Ravens on March 2. He wrote the Ravens “are not interested in meeting my value.” I doubt there is an NFL team that would meet his perceived value and Jackson should be prepared to play for the Ravens in 2023 or sit out the season.
