It’s no secret that first baseman Christian Walker loves hitting at Dodger Stadium. In 41 career games, the Diamondbacks’ first baseman is hitting .333 with 17 home runs and a 1.129 OPS in the Dodgers’ home ballpark. His 17 homers in LA since 2018 is the most by a visitor by at least six.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Following a four-hit performance with two home runs, Walker became the sixth visiting player since 1979 to hit five or more home runs in his first five games played at Dodger Stadium in a single season. That list includes Mike Schmidt (1979), Fernando Tatis (1999), Luis Gonzalez (2001), Barry Bonds (2002), and Fernando Tatis Jr. (2021).
“That’s humbling, that’s an honor to be on that list for sure,” Walker told Todd Walsh on the postgame coverage on Dbacks TV.
In a survey of players and team personnel of favorite road ballparks conducted by Inside the Diamondbacks, Walker listed Dodger Stadium. Here’s what he said a couple of weeks ago.
“I love the energy, the music, going in there and knowing the Dodgers are good. You show up and just a different level of play. The whole thing, it’s a small ballpark so I feel like you get rewarded when you hit well.”
Those same comments were reiterated in his postgame interview with Walsh when asked why he likes hitting in Dodger Stadium.
Not too long after Walker’s first home run left the ballpark, Diamondbacks fans made some creative edits on Wikipedia, with the Arizona’s first baseman listed as the owner of Dodger Stadium, which was renamed as “Christian Walker Stadium” for a few hours. Inside the Diamondbacks’ Jake Oliver posted the screenshot on X.
Shoutout to @shoewizard59 for sharing who the owner of the Dodgers are with me pic.twitter.com/HNomBsHWNX
— Jake Oliver (@DarthDbacks) July 4, 2024
Walker credits his teammates for protecting him in the lineup, both in front of and behind him. He has batted with a runner on base in 186 of his 369 plate appearances, the fourth-highest total in MLB. His 50.4% rate of PA with runners on base is the fifth highest in baseball. With the most opportunity to drive in runs, Walker has become the engine of the Diamondbacks offense and the barometer for the team’s success in the win-loss department.
“Shoutout to guys getting on base, making the pitchers work,” said Walker. “Guys before me, guys behind me putting together good at-bats. Gives me the freedom to let it loose and try to change the score.”
The Diamondbacks will play one more game at Dodger Stadium this season. It will be interesting to see what Walker has in store for an encore performance.
Christian Walker, Diamondbacks pummel Dodgers 12-4 in Cristian Mena’s debut
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
