Before He Played for Pay, Christian Walker

These stories about Kennedy-Kenrick product Christian "Ya-Ya" Walker, who
made his MLB debut on Sept. 17, 2014, for the Baltimore Orioles, appeared in
the Daily News in the spring of 2009 (top) and 2008 (bottom), respectively.
He starred at South Carolina and was signed by the Orioles in 2012 after being
drafted in the fourth round. We wish "Ya-Ya" and his family the best.

The kid who wants to make The Show put one on. Both during and after the ballgame.

Fresh off an exciting Catholic Blue triumph, and with his heart still pumping, Christian "Ya-Ya" Walker stepped back into the batter's box and pounded baseballs all over Norristown's Latshaw-McCarthy Field. And beyond.

Jaws dropped, "ahhhhhs" were numerous and there was one report, as yet unconfirmed, that one guy's eyes popped out of his head.

All part of Walker's current world, folks.

Walker, a 6-1, 210-pound senior and South Carolina signee, alternates between third base and catcher for Kennedy-Kenrick High. While he has long been known for his power, he became something of a Paul Bunyan Jr. 4 months ago upon winning a national home-run-hitting contest at the stadium used by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Scouts already knew his name. Now they can tell you what the Limerick resident ate for breakfast 4 days ago, and whether he liked it.

First things first: K-K edged visiting Archbishop Wood, 6-5, on the strength of a memorable, yet sloppy, two-run seventh.

Walker powered a double to left-center and a triple to right - each produced one RBI - in the first and third innings, respectively. He lofted a way-up-there popup in the fifth and, with runners on first and third in the seventh, was issued an intentional walk that, yes, moved the potential winning run into scoring position.

Jim DiGuiseppe Sr., who co-coaches Wood with his son, Jim Jr., had no doubts about giving Walker the free pass.

"None. Not a one," he said.

Joe Harvey followed with a groundball that passed through the legs of third baseman Larry Brittingham, who took a three-hitter into the seventh and switched places with Matt McAllister after issuing a leadoff walk to the No. 9 hitter, Dave Custer.

Pat McCormick pinch-ran for Custer. Winning reliever Jimmy Volpe sacrificed him to second. Austin Kelly reached base on a strikeout/wild pitch combo.

"The intentional walk was frustrating, but I can't blame them," Walker said. "I kind of expected it. It was out of respect. "

Standing at first base . . .

"I was thinking about how Harvey always gets his bat on the ball," Walker said. "It was just a matter of whether he'd hit a sac fly or put it in play somewhere else. It happened to find a hole between the kid's legs. "

With the kind of intensity you usually would see after a championship game, the Wolverines swarmed McCormick and Kelly and then pulsated their way down the line toward Harvey. Everyone wound up where the dirt meets the grass beyond first base.

Soon, it was time for Home Run Derby. Check that. Hit It Hard Everywhere Derby. K-K assistant Matt Johnson threw about 25 pitches to Walker. A half-dozen left the yard, which features major league-type dimensions, and the wood-bat session, viewed by maybe 50 spectators, concluded with a blast well over the 383-foot sign in left-center.

It might have landed by now.

"I did try to end on a good note," Walker said, smiling.

Of the whole scenario, he said, "I love doing this. Now, it's just about an every-game thing. After experiencing so many [showcase events] all year, you get used to the atmosphere and just settle in.

"I just try to put good swings on the ball. On a couple, I do try to show them I've got some power. But mostly I'm just trying to hit line drives and show them I can go the other way. "

Walker said scouts seem to be split on whether he projects as a catcher or third baseman; he played the latter yesterday. There has been some talk about money, but no bonus minimums have been set.

"Pro ball has always been my dream," he said. "So I'm not going to pass it up if the right opportunity comes. I also want the best [for the future]. When it happens, I'll take a step back and decide which way is the right way to go.

"The teams keep saying they'll keep in touch or see me soon or get back to me, so that's all good news to hear. Some cross-checkers and regional scouts are involved. "

By now, Walker has learned to live with his big-basher rep and not allow it to consume him. Such perspective took time, he acknowledged.

"I'm not here to prove anything to anybody," he said. "I'm just playing my game. Helping my team. "

Dented baseballs included. *

----

K-K's Walker finally swings into action

By TED SILARY

So, you think being a baseball star is a nonstop walk in the park?

Oops. Bad choice of phrases. Sometimes it is a walk in the park, literally, and that's not even close to fun.

Say hello to Christian "Ya-Ya" Walker, a 6-1, 215-pound junior third baseman for Kennedy-Kenrick High. You may wave to him, too, just so you're not ordering him to take first base.

Imagine being a basketball star and having to go through an entire game without ever getting a chance to shoot. Not even the best box-and-one in world history could make that happen.

But when K-K visited archrival Archbishop Carroll - and its infamous bandbox - 3 days ago for a Catholic Blue contest, Walker could have buried his bat and strolled to the plate carrying a toothbrush. Or nothing at all.

He received one, two, three, four, five intentional walks. Four were official wave-downs; in high school ball, no pitches are necessary. The fifth was intentional without being labeled as such.

"It was frustrating the first couple times," Walker said. "But then I realized there's a level of respect when that happens. The last couple times it was funny. Plus, my teammates picked me up, so it was no big deal. "

The result that day was a 15-7 win for K-K.

Yesterday, the teams tussled again at Latshaw/McCarthy Field, in Norristown, and Walker enjoyed seeing his freebies cut by 80 percent.

Mixed in with one intentional walk were three regular plate appearances. He laced a single to left in the first, powered a solo home run over the fence in the same direction in the third, and collected a second RBI in the fifth on an infield single deep into the shortstop hole.

The Wolverines won this one, 10-5.

Among the impressed was K-K's first-year coach, Tom Sergio, a first-magnitude star at the ol' Bishop Kenrick (class of '93; its last) who soared as high as Triple A in minor league baseball.

"Christian's potential is whatever he wants it to be," Sergio said. "He's a coach's dream not only because of how he produces, but because of how he approaches the game - all out, all the time.

"He wakes up thinking about baseball. Raring to go. During the games, we're always on the same wavelength. Or he's even one step ahead. "

That trait was shown in the very first inning. With two away and Walker trying to steal second, Sal Spera sent a popup into shallow left-center. The ball was dropped and Walker, showing a combination of great hustle and instincts, scored without a throw.

"You have to run hard all the time," he said. "Anything like that could happen. Hustle is one of the things I pride myself on. That's one of the most impressive things a teammate can see. If you want to hustle, they want to hustle. "

Walker blasted his homer with two outs.

"Coming off all those walks, I was a little anxious to swing today," he said, smiling. "I was more patient during the second at-bat, and he gave me what I was looking for. "

Which was?

"Fastball right down the middle," he said.

Although Walker dabbled in football and basketball through seventh grade at the Spring-Ford Middle School, he allowed those careers to fizzle, as he called it, to concentrate on baseball. Smart move. He committed to South Carolina last summer and no doubt will draw scouting interest next spring.

Many playmates also contributed yesterday, and that was true even an hour before the game began when the Wolverines combined to remove a tarp from the field (they also recovered the field afterward).

Matt Marino collected two RBI apiece on a single and triple. Brandon Evangelist joined Walker on the solo-homer-to-left list. Evan Basile and Nick Guardino each posted two hits and two runs scored and Shane Giongo, a large football lineman and the game's only lefthanded hitter, provided a late-game highlight by smashing a ball off the rightfield fence and rumbling into second with a double.

K-K's four-run fourth, making it 6-5, allowed Steve Hopwood to emerge as the winning pitcher. Ed Skilton (two innings) and Steve Mahoney (one) combined for scoreless relief.

Carroll's highlight was Neil Gilman's two-run, fourth-inning single.

Meanwhile, Christian has been walkerin' around with his unusual nickname for 9 years. It came courtesy of his sister, Emily, now 10.

"One day we were driving somewhere and she kept saying 'Ya-Ya,' and no one knew what she meant," he said. "The next morning I came downstairs and she said 'Ya-Ya' real loud. We made the connection. She must mean me. I've been called that ever since. "

Now, he's also called an impressive baseball player. One who always prefers the chance to get in the swing of things. *