Remembering the day Larry Walker, Colorado Rockies entered Hall of Fame

It was two years ago today that the Colorado Rockies and Larry Walker finally took their rightful place among baseball’s immortals within the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.

On January 21, 2020, Colorado Rockies fans celebrated and Larry Walker was surprised as the Baseball Hall of Fame welcomed him as an inductee

Thinking back to that January day, it’s strange to think about a time before COVID-19 was a part of our vocabulary. However, Colorado Rockies fans were anxious that morning to know if members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) would finally recognize Larry Walker for his truly Hall of Fame-worthy play on the field.

Walker, in his 10th and final turn on the Hall of Fame ballot, tried to set the stage early in the morning in case he and Rockies fans were met with disappointment later in the day.

However, Walker did not end up “a little short,” finishing the voting cycle by being named on 76.6 percent of the ballots (a 22 percent jump from the previous year). Joining former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and others as part of the 2020 class for the Baseball Hall of Fame, Walker became the first Rockies player to earn enshrinement. He would also become the first player to wear a Rockies hat on his plaque hanging in Cooperstown.

The iconic SpongeBob Squarepants shirt Walker was wearing when he received the official call also became a part of Cooperstown.

Walker’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame will hopefully be the first of many Rockies players to be honored in Cooperstown, with Todd Helton (now on the Hall of Fame ballot) hopefully the next in line.