Minnesota Twins

O.K., so it isn't mythology on par with the story of Helen of Troy, but Todd Walker's baseball career got a big boost because of a cute girl. Eight years ago Walker, then a 5'10", 150-pound sophomore second baseman at Airline High in Bossier City, La., led off a game in the 4A state championship tournament at Louisiana State's Alex Box Stadium with a shocking home run, a blast that got the Vikings rolling. "It turned out to be the pivotal moment of my baseball career because I was dying to go to LSU, and that hit opened some eyes," Walker says. "But to be honest, at the time it meant more to me because I was trying to impress this beautiful girl in the stands who was, well...."

The rest of the story is off the record because the object of Walker's affection was the girlfriend of one of his Airline teammates. Walker never got the girl, but he did get the baseball scholarship to Louisiana State. While in Baton Rouge, Walker became the first Tiger to hit .400, had a Southeastern Conference-record 33-game hitting streak and needed just two seasons to break Albert Belle's school mark for career RBIs.

On nights after those rare games in which Walker had struggled at the plate, he would take swings under the lights in the school's stadium—sometimes until it was early enough for breakfast. "Baseball is a terrible job for a perfectionist like me," Walker says. "I've had to work hard to stop punishing myself for not getting a hit every time up."

A year after Louisiana State won the 1993 College World Series and Walker, then a sophomore, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, he was selected with the eighth pick in the major league draft and signed by the Twins for $815,000, a franchise record for a draft choice. He has since excelled as a hitter at every stop, displaying surprising power for a man who is still just six feet, 177 pounds. Last season at Triple A Salt Lake City, he hit .339 with 28 homers and led all minor leaguers in hits (187) and total bases (330).

However, Walker was a good-stick-no-glove player, and his weaknesses in the field were amplified when he shifted to third base in 1995 because Minnesota had a two-time All-Star, Chuck Knoblauch, entrenched at second. This winter Walker spent many hours bouncing a tennis ball off his garage door in Bossier City to improve his hand-eye coordination, and in spring training he says he fielded at least 3,000 grounders. He still suffers lapses on defense, as he did in a spring training game when he got caught playing in for a possible bunt with two strikes on a hitter.

"Not to throw stones, but growing up, this kid has obviously been geared to swinging the bat, and his defense has been neglected," says Twins manager Tom Kelly. "He is a talented young hitter, but sometimes he really makes me scratch my head when he's in the field."

Walker understands that for the first time in his career his glove will determine how much playing time he gets. But it's his bat that makes him one of the favorites for Rookie of the Year. Someday we might even have a name for that girl from Airline High: The Face That Launched a Thousand Hits. Perhaps more.

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