Ignoring days on the active roster, let’s define their rookie seasons as when players exceeded 130 at-bats in the Majors. One Diamondback and one Ranger each turned 28 years old in March just before their final rookie season. Instead of calling them late bloomers, let’s say they arrived in the Majors at a relatively old age. They were Christian Walker and Adolis Garcia.
What do they have in common?
Their career journeys were unpredictable and surprising. More on that later.
They are excellent batters. During the 2023 regular season, their OPS+ was exactly equal (OPS+ of 123).