Rockies Unveil Statue, Celebrate Franchise Legend Larry Walker

There’s little reason to debate whether Walker is worthy of a statue. In Rockies history, he is one of the true franchise legends who helped put the expansion franchise on the map in the 1990s.

He joined Colorado in 1995 as a free agent after spending the first six seasons of his career with the Montreal Expos. He remained in Colorado for the next 10 seasons before he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004.

With Colorado, he slashed .334/.426/.618 with 258 home runs and 848 RBI. As a Rockie he was a National League MVP, a four-time All-Star, a two-time NL Silver Slugger and a five-time NL Gold Glove recipient. He also won three NL batting crowns. In 1995, he helped the Rockies make the postseason for the first time in franchise history.

He was one of the most productive hitters of his era. In 17 Major League seasons he batted .313/.400/.565 with 383 home runs and 1,311 RBI. He was a five-time All-Star, a seven-time NL Gold glove winner and was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020 by the Baseball Writers Association of America in his final year of eligibility on the ballot.

He remains the all-time franchise leader in batting average (.334), on-base percentage (.426), slugging percentage (.618), OPS (1.044) and adjusted OPS+ (147). He is second all-time with 258 home runs, ahead of former teammates Vinny Castilla (239) and Andres Galarraga (201), among others.

The statue was designed and created by sculptors George and Mark Lundeen of Lundeen Sculptures in Longmont, Colorado. The first 15,000 fans in attendance on Sunday received a replica of the statue.

Walker is not the only Rockies legend getting a statue this season. Todd Helton, who is also in the Baseball Hall of Fame and played his entire career with the franchise, will get his statue on Saturday, Sept. 19, prior to the game at Coors Field.