MESA, Ariz. (AP) – Todd Walker considers himself an everyday player.
He played 144 games last year, 155 the year before that. In five full seasons in the majors, he’s never played in less than 143.
But odds are he’ll spend most of this year on the bench, and it’s largely by choice.
Walker turned down plenty of starting jobs to sign with the Chicago Cubs during the offseason. The Cubs couldn’t guarantee him playing time every day, but they offered something even better: a chance to win.
“The overriding factor was the fact that we have a chance to win the World Series, and there’s only a handful of teams going into spring training that can say that,” Walker said. “If it turns out this year that I don’t play much, it’ll be tough. But it’d be much tougher to start every day for a team that you already know is not going to win.”
Walker did that the first few years of his career, playing for Minnesota, Colorado and Cincinnati. It wasn’t until last season, when he was with the Boston Red Sox, that he made the playoffs for the first time.
The experience was so thrilling he wanted to make sure he got there again, even if it meant sacrificing personal numbers. Walker has spent most of his career at second base, and Mark Grudzielanek has a solid grip on that job in Chicago. Grudzielanek hit .314 and had a .986 fielding percentage last season, and he played so well the Cubs parted with once-hot prospect Bobby Hill.
But Walker wasn’t deterred. Cubs manager Dusty Baker is known for making liberal use of his bench, and Walker figures to be one of his first options because he can play second, third, short and some outfield. Arriving early at spring training, he was working out at third base one of his first days at camp.
Walker is left-handed, too, a valuable trait on a team that’s heavy on right-handers.
“Todd understands that whatever he’s doing or whatever his role is, he has to be prepared and be ready to do it the best he can,” said former Boston manager Grady Little, now an assistant to Cubs general manager Jim Hendry. “A lot of things change in the game of baseball, so he’ll just have to be ready.”
Still, willingly accepting a reduced role can be tough, especially for someone who’s fared as well as a starter as Walker has. A career .290 hitter, he had one of his best seasons last year. He hit .283 with 13 home runs and a career-high 85 RBIs, and he was a huge part of the Red Sox’s playoff run. He hit .349 with five homers in the postseason.
If Walker was a different type of person, he might get resentful if the season wears on and he’s not playing much. And those types of feelings have a way of undermining and disrupting the chemistry of a team.
“We try to get guys with character as well as guys that can play,” Baker said. “But just because you get a bunch of good players, that doesn’t mean that they’re going to be unselfish and accept their particular roles. Everybody wants to contribute, and everybody wants to play. But everybody can’t play.”
Baker doesn’t have to worry about Walker. Walker has seen people grumble on the bench, and he won’t do that to someone else. He’s already developed a good relationship with Grudzielanek and shortstop Alex Gonzalez, and he has pledged to do whatever he can to help them.
After all, he chose this role.
“In all honesty, I hope Grudzielanek has the best year of his life, as well as everybody else in here,” Walker said. “That would obviously mean I wouldn’t play, but that also means we’re going to win.”