Larry Walker Net Worth

What is Larry Walker's Net Worth?

Larry Walker is a Canadian former professional baseball player who has a net worth of $30 million. In his 17-year MLB career, Larry Walker played for the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals, earning NL MVP honors in 1997 and winning seven Gold Glove Awards and three Silver Slugger Awards in total. After retiring, Walker coached the Canada national baseball team in multiple World Baseball Classics and Pan American Games, winning consecutive gold medals in the latter.

Contracts, Salaries & Career Earnings

Over the course of his MLB career, Larry earned around $110 million in salary.

Walker's financial breakthrough came in 1994 when he signed a four-year, $22.5 million contract with Colorado, one of the largest deals in franchise history at the time. The move to hitter-friendly Coors Field elevated his offensive numbers and his earning power.

After winning the National League MVP Award in 1997, Walker signed a massive extension reportedly worth approximately $75 million over six years. At the time, it made him one of the highest-paid players in baseball, with annual salaries reaching roughly $12–13 million.

Walker was traded to St. Louis late in the 2004 season. His final contract paid him in the $10–12 million range annually before he retired following the 2005 season.

Early Life and Education

Larry Walker was born on December 1, 1966 in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada to Larry Sr. and Mary. He had three older brothers. Growing up, Walker played street hockey and aspired to be a goaltender in the NHL. He played both hockey and volleyball at Maple Ridge Secondary. Walker eventually decided to pursue baseball as his passion, and in 1984 he joined the Coquitlam Reds of the British Columbia Premier Baseball League. He subsequently played for the Canadian team at the 1984 World Youth Championships, where he caught the attention of Montreal Expos scouting director Jim Fanning.

Minor League Career

Walker signed with MLB's Montreal Expos as an amateur free agent in 1984. He began his professional career in the minors, playing first base and third base for the New York-Penn League's Utica Blue Sox. Walker improved exponentially after joining the Florida Instructional League. In his second professional season, in which he played for both the Burlington Expos and the West Palm Beach Expos, Walker hit .288 with 33 home runs and 90 RBI across 133 total games. He was promoted to the Jacksonville Expos in 1987, and won his first career Tip O'Neill Award that season. After missing the 1988 season due to knee surgery, Walker moved up to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians in 1989, playing 114 games with the team and batting .270.

Montreal Expos

In August of 1989, Walker made his MLB debut with the Montreal Expos. During his first full season with the team, in 1990, he batted .241 with 19 home runs. Walker rose in the ranks over the subsequent seasons, hitting a combined .293 with an average of 20 home runs from 1991-1994. In 1992, he won his first Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards and earned his first All-Star selection. Walker won a second consecutive Gold Glove Award in 1993, the same year the Expos won a near-club-record 94 games. The team had an even more impressive season in 1994, going 46-18 until the players' strike paused the season and recording a franchise-best .649 winning percentage. However, the Expos lost millions of dollars in revenue in 1994 due to numerous canceled home games and payoffs, resulting in a lack of salary arbitration for Walker. As a result, he was made a free agent.

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Colorado Rockies

After leaving the Expos, Walker signed a four-year contract with the Colorado Rockies. He would go on to have his most successful career seasons with the team, starting with the 1995 season, when he reached new career highs with 36 home runs and 101 RBI. Walker helped the Rockies make their first-ever playoff appearance, reaching the NLDS. Following a 1996 season truncated by injury, Walker ascended to new heights in 1997, batting .366 with 49 home runs and 130 RBI. He led the league in home runs, OBP, and SLG, and became the first player in MLB history to record at least 30 stolen bases and a .700 slugging percentage in the same season. As a result, Walker was named the NL MVP. He earned a surfeit of other honors for his season, including Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards. Walker kept his success going in 1998 with a .363 batting average, earning him his first NL batting championship. This made him the first Canadian-born player to win an MLB batting title in the 20th century. Among his other honors for 1998, Walker won the Lou Marsh Trophy.

Despite injuries in 1999, Walker had another impressive season, setting a Rockies franchise record with a .379 batting average to secure him a second consecutive NL batting championship. He also led the league in OBP and SLG. With an aggregate batting average of .369 from 1997 to 1999, Walker became the first MLB player since Al Simmons from 1929 to 1931 to hit at least .360 three seasons in a row. Although his 2000 season was less productive, largely due to injuries, Walker ended the season as Canada's all-time MLB leader in hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, and runs scored. In 2001, he batted .350 and claimed his third and final NL batting title. Walker had another strong season in 2002, batting .338 and winning his seventh and final Gold Glove Award. He struggled with injuries during his final two seasons with the Rockies in 2003 and 2004, respectively, and underwent surgery on his left shoulder and right knee. In 2004, Walker reached 2,000 career hits.

St. Louis Cardinals

In August of 2004, Walker was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. He appeared in 44 games for the Cardinals that season as the team won an MLB-best 105 games. The Cardinals reached the NLDS, where they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, and then the NLCS, where they beat the Houston Astros. Consequently, Walker made it to the World Series for the first and only time in his career. He played well, but the Cardinals were swept by the Boston Red Sox. Walker played one more season with the Cardinals in 2005, helping the team clinch the NL Central title and reach the NLCS. Following his team's loss to the Astros in the NLCS, Walker announced his retirement.

Coaching Career

In 2008, Walker served as a guest instructor for the Cardinals. The next year, he became a coach for the Canada national baseball team. Walker has coached the national team in multiple World Baseball Classics and Pan Am Games, winning gold medals in the latter in 2011 and 2015.

Personal Life

Walker was married to his first wife, Christa VandenBrink, from 1990 until their divorce in 1994. They had a daughter together. He has two more daughters with his second wife, Angela Brekken, whom he married in 1998.

Real Estate

In 1999, Larry paid $4.65 million for a recently built 13,500 square foot mansion set on 6.5 acres in Evergreen, Colorado. He sold this home in August 2022 for $3.3 million. Today, Larry lives within a private golf community in West Palm Beach, Florida. He bought an undeveloped lot in the community for $155,000 in 1993 and subsequently built a home. Today, this property is likely worth $3-4 million. Here is a video tour of Larry's former Colorado mansion:

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