Dane Walker

Dane Michael Walker

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 180 lb.

• School Portland State University

• Born November 16, 1969 in Portland, OR USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Dane Walker reached AA as a player then became a scout.

Walker was taken by the Oakland A's in the 36th round of the 1991 amateur draft. He split that summer between the AZL Athletics (.373/.486/.449, 37 R in 29 G) and Modesto A's (.273/.395/.333 in 22 G). Had he qualified (he was 6 plate appearances shy), he would have led the Arizona League in batting average. He split 1992 between the Madison Muskies (.296/.386/.387) and Reno Silver Sox (.279/.397/.328 in 31 G). He stole 31 bases in 48 tries, scored 80 runs and drew 65 walks that year.

For Modesto in '93, the Oregon native produced at a .296/.418/.411 clip with 94 walks and 94 runs, though he was caught in half of his 32 steal attempts. He was 8th in the California League in OBP, tied Quinton McCracken for 8th in runs, tied for fourth in times caught stealing (with Kerwin Moore, who stole 55 bases, and Ira Smith, who stole 16 more) and was 4th in walks. In the A's chain, Walker was second in walks (two behind Ernie Young) and second in runs (also trailing Young).

Dane split 1994 between Modesto (11 for 27, 4 2B, HR, 10 BB) and the Huntsville Stars (.275/.374/.340 in 47 G). In 1995, he hit .232/.336/.295 for Huntsville, backing up Brian Lesher in left and seeing regular action at DH as well. He moved to second base with the 1996 West Michigan Whitecaps and posted a .277/.415/.386 batting line with 112 walks and 97 runs. He helped lead his club to a title and was among the Midwest League leaders walks (1st by 23 over Mark Gulseth), OBP (5th) and runs (4th behind Mike Kinkade, Terry Joseph and Kerry Robinson). He was second in all of the affiliated minors in walks, actually, 3 behind leader Tom Evans. Walker ended his playing career as a utility man for Huntsville in 1997, hitting .241/.360/.363 with 68 walks. He was 9th in the Southern League in free passes, between Chad Hermansen and Demond Smith.

Overall, Walker had hit .276/.394/.372 in 685 minor league games, with 468 walks, 454 runs, 280 RBI and 97 steals in 160 tries. He pitched 1 2/3 shutout innings, walking three. He fielded .965 in the outfield and .943 at second base.

Walker was a St. Louis Cardinals scout for eight years, signing Allen Craig, Travis Hanson, Blake Hawksworth and Brendan Ryan.

Source

• Walker bio from a business perspective
• Assorted Baseball Almanacs