Celebrating the "Pittsburgh Kid" Neil Walker's Retirement

Yesterday it was announced that former Pirate and Pittsburgh native Neil Walker had retired from Major League Baseball. We look back at the career that Walker had in Pittsburgh and how he helped reconnect a city with their baseball team.

Only a handful of players in Major League history have gotten the opportunity that infielder Neil Walker got. Not only was he drafted by his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round of the 2014 MLB Draft, but he was able to take the field for the Pirates for seven seasons at PNC Park. However, Walker was much more than your average starting second baseman on a Major League team. The Pine Richland Graduate helped reconnect a fan base with its baseball team as he helped the Pirates break a 21-year losing streak and bring playoff baseball back to the Burgh. He spent a total of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball, seven of those coming with his hometown team.

When Walker was promoted to the Pirates at the end of the 2009 season, he came with a lot of hype, and some big shoes to fill. He was a career .270 hitter in the Minor Leagues that showed some pop and was expected to help the Big League club. However, former star second baseman Freddy Sanchez had just been traded to the San Francisco Giants and Walker had to fill the void created at second base. He did that and so much more, hitting .272 over his seven seasons in Pittsburgh with 93 home runs and 418 RBI in 836 games played in the Black and Gold. Today, we look back at some of the best memories of Neil Walker in the Black and Gold as we celebrate the Pittsburgh Kid and the love of baseball that he brought back to Pittsburgh

The HomeTown Kid Starts With A Spark

After getting a glimpse of Neil Walker at the end of the 2009 season, Walker made it to the Major Leagues full-time during the 2010 season. He did not make the Opening Day roster, but was called up on May 25th, 2010, and was never sent down. He debuted that season against the Cincinnati Reds and went 1-4 with a double and an RBI in his first game of the 2010 season. From there, he took off hitting .321 during the month of May and showed off his ability to pick up the extra-base hit. Of his first 13 hits of the year, four of them went for extra bases as he helped set up the middle of the lineup. He became a fixture in the #2 spot in the batting order and finished 2010 hitting .296 with 12 home runs and 66 RBI.

He made his first Opening Day roster in 2011 and started that season hit right from the Opening Game. The Pirates were on the road against the Chicago Cubs, and Walker hit a game-winning grand slam to lift the Pirates to their first win of the year. The power stayed for Walker, as he hit 12 home runs again, but he saw a slight drop in batting average as he hit .275 that season. He rebounded in 2012, this time after a slow start to the season. He hit just .188 through his first 10 games but was able to up his average to .280 by season's end. He was also showing more power with a career-high 14 home runs while driving in 69 RBI. The Pirates were starting to get good again, and Walker and his teammates would reap the benefits of that success.

The Playoff Year's

The 2013-2015 seasons were the best times to be a Pirates fan in recent history. It was my first experience with playoff baseball, and right in the middle of it was the Pittsburgh kid. As the Pittsburgh Pirates got better and better, so did Neil Walker as he matured as a second baseman. He and Clint Barmes made a top-notch defensive duo in the middle infield, and Walker's offense continued to improve. He started to hit for more power, and once again set a career-high with 16 home runs. However, his batting average went down to .251 and he drove in a career-low 53 RBI. However, he wasn't the same in the 2013 playoffs, hitting just .083 in the six games he played in.

His best year as a hitter came in 2014 as he put together both his power and his contact ability and put together the best year of his career. During that 2014 season, he eclipsed the 20 home run mark for the first time in his professional career, while hitting .271 and driving in 76 RBI in 137 games played. He, Pedro Alvarez, and Andrew McCutchen each eclipsed the 20 home run mark, and the Pirates were a team that was feared by its opponents. The Pirates would secure a Wild Card spot for the second year in a row but unfortunately were eliminated by the San Francisco Giants in that Wild Card round. Walker was once again successful in 2015, hitting .269 with 16 home runs and 71 RBI, and helped lead the Pirates to the Wild Card Game. However, it wasn't meant to be as they were once again eliminated, this time by the Chicago Cubs and Jake Arietta.

The Final Goodbye

Following the 2015 season, there were two different fields of talk surrounding Neil Walker. Coming off their third straight playoff run, there was a thought that the Pirates might try to re-sign their hometown kid to an extension. However, rumors were also swirling that the Pirates were planning on trading Walker in the off-season, and allowing Josh Harrison to be the full-time second baseman. There were positives and negatives to both sides, but in the end, the Pirates decided to trade the Pittsburgh kid. He was sent to the New York Mets in the deal and the Pirates received John Niese. Niese ended up being released by the Pirates during the 2016 season, and Walker went on to play for the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Miami Marlins, and Philadelphia Phillies.

It was sad to see Walker go not only because of the hard work he put in as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates but his connection to the community. Because of his success on the field, he helped bring a love of baseball back to Pittsburgh and helped many fans, like myself, experience playoff baseball for the first time in their lives. Walker has said that he wants to stay connected with the organization and would love to work with the team now in his retirement. Walker has expressed interest in being a broadcaster but said he wants to take some time to think about his next steps following retirement. Whatever he decides to do, we wish him the best of luck as he enters retirement, and thank him for everything he did on and off the field for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Game three of this three-game series between the Pittsburgh Pirates (8-10) and the Detroit Tigers (7-11) happens tomorrow at 1:10 pm at Comerica Park. Mitch Keller (1-2, 8.74) tries to figure things out on the mound for the Pirates against Jose Urena (0-3, 5.52) for the Tigers. You can watch the game on AT&T Sportsnet, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter at @Buccos_Cove.

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