DENVER (AP) — Larry Walker joined the conference call

[liny195]

with reporters and quickly announced his arrival.“54.6 percent here http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authent ... kis-jersey ,” the longtime player with the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals cracked.That’s his percentage in this year’s Hall of Fame vote. Keep up this sort of jump, though, and he may be able to proclaim something different next season in his 10th and final year on the ballot: Hall of Famer.Walker’s vote total rose 20.5 percent from a year ago, but the seven-time Gold Glove outfielder still fell short of the necessary 75 percent threshold. The 2019 Hall of Fame class elected Tuesday included reliever Mariano Rivera, designated hitter Edgar Martinez and pitchers Roy Halladay — a Denver native who died in November 2017 when an airplane he was flying crashed — and Mike Mussina.The 52-year-old Walker took it all in stride.“I don’t get set up for heartbreak or heartache if something doesn’t happen,” Walker said. “I’m a pretty level-headed guy.”Still, Walker acknowledged being emotionally invested in the days before the vote was officially revealed. He saw on Twitter that at one point he was trending at nearly 66 percent on some of the ballots made public.In the end, he was on 232 of the 425 ballots cast.“I don’t want to get too involved with that again next year http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authent ... kis-jersey , because your heart rate’s going up and down,” Walker said. “Part of me almost doesn’t want to make it, because doing that speech in Cooperstown, probably would have a heart attack before I got up there to do it.”Growing up in Canada, Walker was more interested in being an NHL goaltender than a baseball player. He didn’t really learn the nuances of the game until he started out in the minor leagues. A quick study, he hit .313 with 383 homers and 1,311 RBIs in 17 seasons. He won three batting titles and an NL MVP award.“It was never in my mind as a kid growing up: It was playing in Stanley Cup Finals, not talking about the Hall of Fame ballot,” Walker said. “Baseball was never on my radar Mike Foltynewicz Jersey , until I was offered $1,500 U.S. … I couldn’t wait to sign that contract to get that 2-grand Canadian, and off I went.”Walker thinks his surge is due in part to analytics, even if he really doesn’t understand such stats as dWAR (defensive wins above replacement).“I remember telling somebody a couple weeks ago, dWAR, I don’t even know if that refers to a pitcher or hitter,” Walker said. “I’m kind of clueless on all those things.”One thing he’s hoping eventually changes: having Coors Field held against him. Walker was a lifetime .381 batter with 154 homers inside the hitter-friendly park.“I took advantage of Coors Field as good as I possibly could and I’m glad I did it,” Walker said. “I’m not sad about it one bit.”Another Coors Field case study: Rockies first baseman Todd Helton, who received 16.5 percent in his first year on the ballot. Helton played 17 seasons with the Rockies and finished with a .316 lifetime average.“Todd was an amazing player http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authent ... kis-jersey ,” Walker said. “Unfortunately, if I’m falling into the Coors Field bias, then Todd falls into it more, because he spent his whole career there.”Should Walker fail to get in next year, there’s always the Today’s Game Era committee, which voted in reliever Lee Smith and outfielder/DH Harold Baines.“I have some things that are Hall of Fame worthy, and I have some things that aren’t,” Walker said. “I’ve heard them all. I’ve seen them all. I’ve read them all. I’m good with both sides of the fence of it.” The Baltimore Orioles come into Kansas City on Friday for the start of their three-game weekend series in an unusual position — riding a three-game winning streak.Andrew Cashner (4-12, 4.79 ERA) will help the Orioles try for their second four-game winning streak of the season. He goes against Brad Keller (6-5 Brandon McCarthy Jersey , 3.33).Baltimore (40-94) is coming off a three-sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto had scored victories in 12 of the first 13 games between the teams this season before the Orioles rolled over the Jays, scoring 29 runs in three victories.Article continues below ...Right fielder Adam Jones handled his shift from his long-time position in center without a word of complaint, trying to help rookie Cedric Mullins adjust to life in the big leagues. Jones was one of the big bats in this series.He finished with four hits in Tuesday’s win and banged out a grand slam in a 12-5 rout of Toronto on Wednesday night.“It’s just fun to see him have fun,” Baltimore starter Alex Cobb said to MASNsports.com about Jones doing well late in a season that doesn’t mean much. “He’s meant so much to this organization. For him to go out there and have big moments like that in a season that’s kind of lost for us, it’s fun to see and fun to be a part of.”Cashner will try and continue the fun in Kansas City on Friday night. He’s 0-2 with a 2.45 ERA versus the Royals in his career but has pitched better lately as Baltimore has played better.Keller will be making his first career appearance versus the Orioles.The Orioles are playing a team they’re “battling” for the title of worst record in the majors, something neither franchise is happy about. Four years ago, these two teams met in the American League Championship Series.Kansas City (42-91) is a bit behind Baltimore, but the Royals also have found more recent success, especially in the past week. The sweep of the Jays was the Orioles’ first sweep of a three-game series since late last season.But the Royals have won two series in a row http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authent ... kis-jersey , taking two of three from Cleveland before winning both games against the Detroit Tigers.In Wednesday’s win over Detroit, longtime Royals player Alex Gordon hit his 170th homer as a member of the franchise and moved to fourth place all time. He said he didn’t even realize where he ranked on the home run list.“I just wanted to make it to the big leagues and not mess up,” Gordon told the media after that game. “Any time you have been with an organization as long as I have, you’re going to pass some people. I’m just an old guy moving up the list.”The Royals made a move Wednesday, trading Lucas Duda to the Atlanta Braves for cash, which makes him eligible for postseason play. Duda was on a one-year deal with Kansas City.Baltimore also has lost outfielder/designated hitter Mark Trumbo to a knee surgery. He will miss the rest of the season. Mullins is battling a sore hip.