Walker was the team’s Coach in 2017
(Rochester Minn.) – The Rochester Honkers announced today that Thomas Walker has been named the team’s Field Manager for the 2018 Northwoods League Season. Walker was the team’s coach last year under third-year Field Manager, Trevor Hairgrove.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity that Kim (Archer) and Dan (Litzinger) have given me to come back to Rochester next summer,” said Walker. “2018 will see a Honkers club ready to retain its rightful place atop the Northwoods League!”
Walker was the team’s coach last summer, in charge of hitters and running the offense from the third base coaches box.
“I thoroughly enjoyed breaking the team’s home run record as well as witnessing the NWL home run record broken by Zubia,” said Walker. “Working on a daily basis with a hitter like Zach Zubia was special for my first real opportunity as a hitting coach.”
Under his tutelage, the Honkers led the Northwoods League in home runs (76), second in Slugging Percentage (.398), and third in walks (373). He also produced the league’s new home run leader in Zach Zubia (22) who was also named the NWL MVP.
Walker started his playing career at Oregon, before moving on to Golden West College and finishing his last three years at the University of California Riverside (UCR). He was a team captain all three years and finished the 2016 season as an everyday starter between first base and the outfield.
Walker began his coaching career at UCR as the Assistant Director of Baseball Operations in 2017. He was just named the Outfield/Hitting Coach at Golden West College.
Walker, 23, hails from Long Beach, California. His older brother Glenn Walker, is an Assistant Coach at Compton College and was the Field Manager for the Orange County Riptide, the 2017 California Collegiate League Champions. Walker expects to name his pitching coach soon.
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The Rochester Honkers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. The 24-year-old summer collegiate league is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 20 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 180 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including two-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champion Ben Zobrist (CHC) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET), Curtis Granderson (LAD) and Lucas Duda (TBR). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League portal. For more information, visit www.rochesterhonkers.com or download the new Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play and set the Honkers as your favorite team.
