NEW YORK -- A few years back, when Neil Walker was visiting New York City for a series with the Pirates, MLB Network invited him to its New Jersey studios to appear on a show. While there, Walker quizzed employees where he might find footage of his father, Tom, playing in the Major Leagues.
Tom Walker was an accomplished big leaguer in his day, a veteran of six seasons with four different teams. But because his career unfolded mostly in Montreal in the mid-1970s, little video existed. A family scavenger hunt led the elder Walker to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which was able to retrieve 15 to 20 seconds' worth of video of Walker facing Phillies hitters Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski.