Mike Walker

Michael Charles Walker (born October 4, 1966) is an American former professional baseball player. Walker played in Major League Baseball with the Cleveland Indians (1988, 1990, 1991), Chicago Cubs, and Detroit Tigers (1996). Walker last played professional baseball in 1999 with the minor league Buffalo Bisons.

Career Early life and amateur career Walker was born to Joan Robinett in Chicago and raised there. He was a fan of the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bulls as a child. Walker graduated from Hernando High School in Brooksville, Florida, in 1984 and played college baseball at Seminole State College of Florida. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 1986.

Professional career He was assigned to the Burlington Indians to begin his professional career. In 1988, the Indians called Walker up to pitch in the exhibition Baseball Hall of Fame Game. At the time, he was described in The Morning Call as "the Eastern League's top pitcher." He pitched 2.1 scoreless innings in relief of Rich Yett at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox. He made two more appearances in the Major Leagues that year and spent the entirety of the following season in Triple-A Colorado Springs despite remaining on the 40-man roster. Walker was assigned to Triple-A to start the 1990 season. After struggling early in the season, Walker was demoted to Double-A Canton-Akron. He made only one appearance for Canton-Akron before being promoted directly to the Major Leagues following the demotion of Charles Nagy. He would appear in five games for the Indians that year and allow only one earned run. After Walker failed to make the team out of spring training, the Tigers assigned him to Triple-A Toledo to start the season but released him in the middle of the 1992 season. He stayed in shape after his release be working out with his former high school team. The Indians re-signed him before the 1993 season but released him before spring training concluded. He then landed with the Chicago Cubs who assigned him to their Double-A affiliate. Following the season, Walker told the Cubs that he was considering retirement. Nonetheless, he returned for 1995 and the Cubs assigned him to Triple-A to begin the following season. Walker had improved his control by studying his pitching mechanics on video during the offseason and cut his walks in half. Walker described pitching for the Cubs as a dream come true, telling the Tampa Bay Times "I always wanted to be with the Cubs. One of my dreams was to be in the big leagues, and the other was to pitch with the Cubs." but was released before the start of the season. On April 26, he signed with the Detroit Tigers and began the season at Triple-A Toledo. He was called up to the majors on May 24 along with Bob Scanlan and Raúl Casanova. The Tigers had the worst record in Major League Baseball at the time. He appeared in twenty games in relief for the Tigers that season and was demoted to the minors for the final time on July 13, 1996.

Walker pitched a strong enough season in 1997 with the Indianapolis Indians, Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, In 1998, while still pitching in Indianapolis, Walker broke a 43-year-old record by appearing in 78 games as a pitcher.

Personal life In 1988, while playing for the Williamsport Bills, Walker met his future wife. They were married in or about January 1990.

Walker was working as the Director of Parks and Recreation for Brooksville in 2016. He was replaced in that role in 2019.