Later Career
Walker was plagued by injuries for the last several years of his career, nevertheless continuing to produce. Although he would never have 500 at-bats in a season after 1997, he hit .363 in 1998 in limited action, and .379 (a Rockies record) with 37 homers and 115 RBI in just 438 at-bats the following year.
After spending most of the 2000 season on the disabled list (albeit hitting .309 in limited action), Walker returned to form, hitting .350 and .338 the next two seasons, with more than 100 RBI both years.
In July 2004, the Texas Rangers agreed to send the Rockies then-minor-leaguer Ian Kinsler and prospect right-hander Erik Thompson in exchange for Walker, but Walker vetoed the trade.
In August 2004, Walker, who was batting .324 despite being injured, desired a trade to a contender. He went to the St. Louis Cardinals for three minor league players. Now playing for the Cardinal powerhouse, Walker contributed briefly to the pennant-winning 2004 squad and the 2005 division winners. The Houston Astros defeated the Cardinals in the 2005 NLCS in the last game ever played at Busch Stadium. Walker retired shortly afterwards.
He ended his career 50th on the all-time home run list with 383. As of 2008, Walker is an instructor on the St. Louis Cardinals' spring training staff under manager Tony La Russa and does fill-in training with the Cardinals staff. He was offered a full-time position but chose to remain in his part time position.
In 2009, Walker served as Team Canada's hitting instructor at the 2009 World Baseball Classic and was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2011, he also served as Hitting Coach/First Base Coach for Canada's Gold Medal winning team at the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.
He became eligible for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. During his first year of eligibility, he received 118 votes, or 20.3 percent of all ballots cast; the threshold for entry is 75 percent.
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