Position Report Card: Second Base

Neil Walker at his alma malter, Pine Richland
photo cred: pinerichland.org

Every Pittsburgh Pirate fan knows who the team's starting 2nd baseman is. It is Neil Walker the Pittsburgh Kid out of Pine Richland high school, and up until this year being the "Pittsburgh Kid" was probably the best part of his game, but not anymore.

Although he battled injuries for a part of the 2014 season, Walker enjoyed his best season of his career both offensively and defensively. If it wasn't for getting hurt, Walker would have been an All-Star selection this season. Walker hit a solid .271 with an impressive 23 home runs and 76 runs batted in. Along with the great offensive output, Walker made only 5 errors in a whopping 630 chances, giving him a .992 fielding percentage. Walker also showed a great improvement with his range this year, surprising us as fans time-after-time with some great game changing plays.

photo cred:  espn.com

Walker definitely surprised me with his great 2014 season, and as a Pittsburgh Pirates fan and Pittsburgh native, I am really looking forward to seeing what he can do as an encore in 2015. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Walker representing the National League at 2nd base next year at the Mid-Summer Classic.

***Overall Grade:  B+