PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Trying to make a transition to a new position, a 24-year-old Neil Walker took advantage of time to learn from the best. What the Pirates All-Star told 93.7 The Fan’s Jim Colony about the impact Bill Mazeroski made on his career.
Walker was going to be the next great catcher. A multi-star athlete at Pine-Richland High School, there was optimism he would be a decade-long starter behind the plate. His first three seasons after being drafted by the Pirates he would only catch.
The club decided in 2007 to transition him defensively, initially to third base and then after drafting Pedro Alvarez, the move to first and eventually to second base. He would play only 21 games in his life at second before starting there as a rookie with the Pirates.
But he had a mentor that made all of that possible.
“At a time where I really needed some guidance on the field as a guy who never played second base in my career, I was very fortunate to have Bill (Mazeroski) and his knowledge and his skill of the position and his willingness to pass along all of his defensive abilities and thoughts and positioning, especially the double play turn, to me,” Walker told Jim Colony on 93.7 The Fan on Saturday.
He said Mazeroski really drilled into him the importance of defensive positioning and how to transfer the ball to the glove on double plays. What was as important was the footwork, to keep those feet light and keep moving, Maz taught Walker to move before the ball ever got to his glove. It took him an entire Spring Training to learn all of the lessons the Hall of Famer taught him.
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“He was so good at it,” Walker said on 93.7 The Fan. “His hands were so good. He was in his late 60s or early 70s when he was literally out there working with me on this stuff when I couldn’t do it. I said ‘Bill, I can’t do this’. He said ‘no you can do it, keep working on it’. He said don’t use the pocket of the glove. Use the middle part of the glove so that ball is not in there for a very long time.”
“I will never, ever forget working with him and what he did for me.”
Walker told Colony he has baseballs autographed by Mazeroski on display at his house and remembers fondly when Maz would hang out and tell stories with some of the other former players.
“Bill was integral in my development especially as a second baseman and on top of that just being an incredible human being and a great ambassador for the game and for the Pittsburgh Pirates organization,” Walker said.