Middlebury's Walker making a name for himself in Israel

Noah Walker's baseball odyssey has taken him from Southern California to Vermont to Israel. Photo courtesy of Middlebury College

By Dave Duberstein

In the last five years, Noah Walker has played baseball in Southern California, New England and the Middle East. He traveled to Central America, worked on a U.S. political campaign, and still found time to earn his degree. In fact, the only constants in Walker's life have been baseball and changes of scenery.

After being named the 2007 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Player of the Year, Walker made history this summer becoming the first batter in the history of the Israel Baseball League.

"Opening night was so much fun," Walker said. "It was like a little kid's dream. I was fortunate enough to be the first hitter in the IBL. Unfortunately I popped out instead of hitting a homerun."

Walker, 22, graduated from Middlebury College this spring after an impressive senior season. He finished second in the league with a .434 batting average, and led his team in runs (37), hits (43), doubles (9), triples (3), walks (28) and stolen bases (10).

A 6-foot, 180-pound middle infielder from Oakland, Ca., Walker began his collegiate career at the University of California -- San Diego. He suffered a shoulder injury his freshman year which left his baseball career in doubt; so he transferred to Middlebury to focus on academics.

"I decided on Middlebury because of a lot of reasons," Walker said. "I thought if my arm comes back I'll play, but if not it's a great school."

He was impressed by the small class sizes that allow students to gain a more personal relationship with their professors. "I was rehabbing real hard, but I started wanting other things academically and I wanted to be at a small school with teachers and professors that I could connect with."

While rehabbing his shoulder, Walker, a political science major, gained academic credits that placed him two semesters ahead of his baseball eligibility. The extra time afforded him the opportunity to pursue his interests outside of baseball, like traveling and politics.

He spent the fall semester before his junior season exploring Central America, volunteering and surfing in different regions.

"I wanted to get an experience abroad and Central America is a really accessible and interesting place to travel, with tons of things to see and places to go, in a very small proximity," Walker said. "It also was a chance to really improve on my spanish."

He began his trip in Antigua, where he spent two weeks taking a language class to brush up on his Spanish. After exploring Guatemala for a few months, he went to Nicaragua where he volunteered teaching math, science and English to 3rd and 4th grade students for a community development organization called La Esperanza Granada. He spent his last three weeks surfing in Costa Rica before heading back to Vermont for his junior season.

The 2006 campaign was his only season at Middlebury in which he was not elected to the NESCAC first team; but he was glad to eschew individual honors for his team's success. During the spring, Walker helped Middlebury earn a school record 26 wins, including its first NESCAC championship, and first two NCAA tournament wins.

Before his senior season, Walker again spent the fall semester away from school. He went down the coast to North Carolina where he worked for EMILY's list, a grassroots political network dedicated toward electing pro-choice Democratic women to office. He was contracted to the State House caucus where he spent most of his time working on Greer Beaty's campaign.

Unlike most seniors who must seek out jobs, Walker spent the spring trying to get potential employers to seek him. He called professional baseball organizations trying to convince them to come watch him play, not always an easy thing to do when you play at a small college in Vermont.

Early in the spring, a friend of Walker's named Travis Zier told him about the Israeli Baseball League. Zier, who is also playing in the league, suggested he contact IBL president Martin Berger. Walker e-mailed Berger his stats (at the time he was batting around .460) hoping to get a try out. The next day Walker got a response with a contract offer.

"(Berger) was like, 'you're what we're looking for,' here's a contract offer, and you need to tell me right away," Walker said.

Although he did not have much time to decide, Walker jumped on the opportunity to play in Israel because of his love of baseball, interest in politics and desire to travel.

"My parents were a lot less surprised than I thought they would be when I told them about the idea of playing ball in Israel." He said. "I think they just chalked this up as just another pretty standard move in the rather crazy life I have led over the last three years."

Walker hopes that his professional baseball career does not end in Israel, but if it does, he can envision working somewhere in the political sector.

"I am considering getting back into campaigning or politics in some other capacity, but I am also considering other possible fields," Walker said.

For now, the only fields Walker will be focusing on are the ones east of the Mediterranean while he helps his team, the Modi'in Miracle (14-8), through the first season in the IBL.