'I feel like I had a good run:' Former Pirate Walker retires

Neil Walker, the Pittsburgh kid who went on to win a Silver Slugger and play second base for the Pirates’ most recent playoff run, is hanging it up after 12 seasons in the majors.

Walker made the announcement Tuesday on the 30 with Murti podcast, which is based out of New York, and then tweeted it out shortly after.

“Thank you to everyone that helped me in my journey to live out my childhood dream of being a Major Leaguer,” Walker tweeted. “I loved & cherished every day. From Pittsburgh, NY Mets & Yankees, Milwaukee, Miami, and Philly, nothing but love to those Organizations, Cities & Fans!”

Walker played 18 games with the Phillies in 2020, his fifth team in the last four years of his career. He did not sign a contract this offseason.

The Pirates selected Walker in the first round in the 2004 draft out of Pine-Richland High School in Gibsonia. He made his major-league debut in 2009 and went on to play seven seasons with the Pirates, playing an integral part in snapping the franchise’s streak of 20 consecutive losing seasons. 

His best season came in 2014, when he hit 23 home runs, drove in 76 RBIs, was worth 3.6 WAR and won the Silver Slugger award. 

The Pirates traded him after the 2015 season to the Mets for pitcher Jon Niese. Walker took a qualifying offer from the Mets the following offseason, and was traded to the Brewers later that season. He then bounced around between the Yankees, Marlins and Phillies in the final three years of his career.

Over his 12 year career, Walker played 1,306 games with 1,224 hits, 149 home runs, 609 RBIs, a .267 average and .764 OPS/109 OPS+. Baseball-Reference tracked him at 19.6 career WAR. 

“I feel like I had a good run,” Walker said on the 30 with Murti podcast.