Taylor Green (Comox, B.C.), on the right, celebrating with 2020 Hall of Famer Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, B.C.) after a Team Canada win. Photo: B.C. Local News.

In this, the 24th article in our Hall of Fame series, former Milwaukee Brewers infielder and current assistant director of scouting and international player development Taylor Green (Comox, B.C.) pays tribute to 2020 Hall of Famer Larry Walker. Walker will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on September 8, alongside Derek Jeter, Ted Simmons and Marvin Miller.

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Steve Rogers on Marvin Miller ||||| Mario Ziino on Ted Simmons ||||| Buck Showalter on Derek Jeter ||||| “The Legend” Dick Groch signed Jeter, plus scouting report ||||| Captain Jeter was Mr. November ||||| Jeter held in high regard by baseball brethren

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September 8, 2021

By Taylor Green

Milwaukee Brewers

I’ve been lucky enough to meet Larry a few different times with Team Canada on trips to Puerto Rico and Asia, as well as when he was a coach at the World Baseball Classic in 2013. I was a huge fan of him -- as well as the Blue Jays -- who I still root for as long as they aren’t playing Milwaukee.

Growing up in Comox, BC, my most memorable moment watching Larry on TV was during the 1997 All-Star game in Cleveland when hard-throwing lefty Randy Johnson threw a rocket over Larry’s head. Larry flipped his helmet around and hit right-handed.

I can’t tell you how many times I imitated that exact situation playing backyard ball with my friends.

I have a few moments that stick in my mind of Larry when I met him on our Team Canada trips. One of the highlights of my life is after we won a big game with Team Canada and we were singing the anthem on the bus and seeing how fired up everybody including Larry was.

At the end of the anthem, he stood up and gave a quick speech that I still get goose bumps thinking about.

There was also a time in Puerto Rico when he hit BP on the field. He probably hadn’t picked up bat in almost 10 years and he stared lacing balls all over the field.

We were off to a bit of a slow start offensively in the tournament and I remember thinking that even without playing for almost 10 years, he’d still be an upgrade over our left-handed bench bat or DH ... which was me at the time.

As a kid I always knew he was a really good player, but it wasn’t until the last few years that I realized how good he actually was. He was an incredible defender and base runner and he ended his career with a .300/.400/.500 slash line which only the best of the best have ever achieved.

It’s an honour to have met him and I’m so happy to see him in the Hall of Fame.

Taylor Green (Comox, B.C.) played 78 games with the Milwaukee Brewers.

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Born in Comox, BC, Taylor Green attended high school in Courtenay, B.C. and played for the Parksville Royals and coach Dave Wallace in the BC Premier League.

That was Taylor Green’s journey to pro ball with the Milwaukee Brewers and he’s still working for the team that drafted him in 2005. His playing career over, Green is now an assistant director of scouting and international player development.

Both Green and his assistant Peter Orr (Newmarket, Ont.) drafted Toronto Mets grad INF Tyler Black from Wright State, 33rd overall in North America this July. The Brewers gave him a $2.2 million US bonus.

The Brewers selected Green in the 25th round from the Cypress College Chargers. He started on the road to Milwaukee in 2006 at rookie-class Helena (where he hit .231, with a home run and 23 RBIs in 61 games, sporting a .636 OPS). The next season he was off to class-A West Virginia (where he batted .327 with 14 homers, 86 RBIs in 111 games as well as a .922 OPS).

In 2008, he was sent to class-A Brevard County (.289 average, 15 homers, 73 RBIs, .825 OPS in 114 games). The next year he split the season between class-A Wisconsin and double-A Huntsville (combining to hit .267 with six homers, 48 RBIs and a .716 OPS in 93 games).

He was back at Huntsville for 2010 (.260, 13 homers, 81 RBIs, .773 OPS in 113 games). Then in 2011 it was off to Huntsville and triple-A Nashville (a .336 average, with 22 homers, 91 RBIs and a .993 OPS in 123 games) which earned him a promotion to Milwaukee.

His major league debut came Aug. 31 when he pinch hit for Randy Wolf and lined a single to right off St. Louis Cardinals’ Jake Westbrook at Miller Park. In 20 games, he hit .270 with one RBI and a .622 OPS.

Then, in 2012 he split time between Nashville (hitting .273, with seven homers and 29 RBIs with a .753 OPS in 77 games). He also spent 58 games with the Brewers in 2012 batting .184 with three homers, 14 RBIs and a .605 OPS.

In 2014, he spent time at Huntsville and Nashville, combining to bat .235 with three homers, 19 RBIs and a .624 OPS in 59 games. His final season was at double-A Biloxi when he batted .225, with five homers, 42 RBIs and a .609 OPS.

Green shared the Canadian Baseball Network Randy Echlin Memorial Award with Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC). They shared the top offensive honours by a Canadian in the minors in 2011.

Green put up some excellent numbers with the Nashville Sounds that season. In 94 games and 420 at-bats, he had 141 hits, scored 74 runs, while hitting 36 doubles, 22 homers, 88 RBIs and a .336 average. Green earned Pacific Coast League all-star honours and played in the Triple-A All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, Utah.

CBN HOF Series: Taylor Green on Larry Walker