ROCHESTER, MN. – Front office officials of the Rochester Honkers announced today that Thomas Walker will return to the dugout once again in 2019 to lead the Honkers on the field.
2019 will be Walker’s third season with the Honkers and second as the skipper after leading the Honkers to a 34-38 record in his managerial debut season in 2018. Under Walker’s tutelage, the 2018 Honkers offense totaled 53 home runs which ranked second in all of the Northwoods League and aided both Chad Tworek (Keiser) and Josh Ibarra (Concordia Irvine) in earning mid-season NWL All-Star selections.
“I am really excited to return to the city of Rochester to lead the Honkers into battle for another summer,” stated Walker from his residence in California. “I am extremely thankful for Kim Archer and Dan Litzinger and the opportunity they gave me the previous two summers.”
Walker continued, “The new ownership group of the Honkers has me very excited to get back to work. I am looking forward to this transitional period where we are meshing new ideas with the championship traditions of the Honkers organization.”
Prior to taking the reins of the Honkers in 2018, Walker served as an assistant coach with the Honkers in 2017, in charge of hitters and running the offense from the third base coaches’ box. 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 home run leader in Zach Zubia (22) who was also named the NWL MVP.
The new ownership group of the Honkers is equally as excited to have a Northwoods League veteran back to lead the Honkers on the field. “We are thrilled to have Thomas returning to Rochester,” proclaimed team president Chris Goodell. “His experience in this league is invaluable and his commitment towards developing our players will undoubtedly provide us with a team that Rochester will be proud of and excited to watch on a nightly basis.”
The Honkers skipper was also a standout player in his own right, having 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 began his coaching career at UCR as the Assistant Director of Baseball Operations in 2017. He is currently the Outfield/Hitting Coach at Golden West College.
Coach Walker and the Honkers will open up the 2019 campaign on May 28, 2019 when they host the St. Cloud Rox on Opening Night at Mayo Field. Season tickets are available for purchase right now at www.RochesterHonkers.com or by calling the Honkers front office at 507-289-1170.
The Rochester Honkers are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Now in its 26th season, the Northwoods 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, over 200 former Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR). 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 Loggers as your favorite team.
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