What Easton Walker lacks in stature, he more than makes up for in other ways
When talking about senior pitcher Easton Walker, BYU baseball coach Mike Littlewood rattles off several titles and descriptors, like “anchor,” “ace,” “team captain,” and “bulldog.”
All those terms certainly apply to Walker, a 5-foot-9, 185-pound right-hander from Pleasant Grove, Utah.
What Walker lacks in stature, he more than makes up for in many other ways.
“He’s 5-9, maybe 5-10 in cleats. But when he gets out on the mound, and you factor in all of the intangibles, just like being a bulldog, and competitiveness and mound presence, and all those things that go into being a great pitcher, he pitches like he’s 6-4,” Littlewood said. “He’s never going to give in, he’s never going to get frustrated. He’s going to go straight forward and just go at you. To me, that’s just such a comfortable person to give the baseball to. Because you know what you’re going to get day in and day out.”
As a sophomore in 2019, fresh off serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Walker earned All-West Coast Conference second-team honors after posting a 7-2 record with a 2.20 ERA. He recorded 48 strikeouts, issued 14 walks and gave up only 19 earned runs.
That season, he led the nation for multiple weeks with a 0.00 ERA after not allowing an earned run during his first 34.1 innings of work.
In 2021, Walker has a 1-1 record with a team-best ERA of 1.15. In 31.1 innings pitched, he has surrendered 22 hits, four earned runs and eight walks while striking out 28 batters.
“The best part about playing the game of baseball is, I’ve always been taught that size isn’t as important in baseball as it is in other sports,” Walker said. “As far as being tall, you can’t control that. What I can control is the heart and being able to compete. For me, it’s about a love and respect for the game and my teammates.
“Every time I step out there to compete, I’ve got to give it everything that I have — mentally and physically — as far as what I can produce,” he continued. “Baseball is more of a mental game than a physical game. That’s the best part about it. The player that shows up ready to play that day has a better chance of winning. With me, my size and ability and my strength is being able to be mentally locked in.”
One athlete that Walker admires is former Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who was named 2008 American League MVP. The diminutive 5-9 Pedroia starred for the Red Sox from 2006 until his retirement in 2019.
“When that guy stepped on the field, he was scary. It didn’t matter how small he was, he was a threat,” Walker said of Pedroia. “He was locked in and his athletic ability took over. That’s exactly what I try to follow and that same kind of mindset I try to have every single day.”
‘Perfect name for our family’
With a first name like Easton, it seems Walker was destined to play baseball. And he did not acquire that given name by coincidence.
Anybody who knows anything about the sport knows about Easton bats, although as a pitcher, Walker’s job is to silence those bats.
The way Walker tells the story, when his mom, Lisa, was pregnant with him, the family was coming home after purchasing an Easton brand bat. His oldest brother, Braden, was sitting in the back seat of the car and his dad, Kim, was driving.
“My dad had just bought an Easton bat. There was an Easton warranty sticker on the visor of his hat,” Easton said. “My oldest brother said, ‘Why don’t we name the baby ‘Easton?’ because he saw that sticker. My dad talked to my mom and they thought it was awesome — a perfect name for our family. That’s where it comes from.”
The Walkers are certainly a baseball family. Kim played baseball at Utah Tech in 1980-81. Easton’s brother, Braden, played at UNLV from 2005-09, and his other brother, Devin, played at Utah from 2008-11.
“I’ve absolutely loved my name, whether it worked out that I played baseball or not. I’ve absolutely loved the name Easton,” Easton said. “It’s pretty cool that my brothers were involved in that and they’ve taught me a lot about the game from watching them.”
Choosing BYU
Easton grew up attending his brothers’ games and absorbing everything he could.
“My parents have been blessed enough that all three of their sons have been able to play the game of baseball and to make it to a Division I school and be able to compete at this level,” he said. “It’s an awesome experience. I grew up watching that and participating in that and it became part of my goals.”
At Pleasant Grove High, Walker was named Mr. Baseball 2015 by the Deseret News while pitching and playing shortstop. That season, he had an 8-1 record, striking out 92 with a 2.37 ERA and a batting average of .408. He led the Vikings to the 5A state championship in 2015.
Walker was recruited by BYU, Utah, Utah Valley, UCLA and Oregon State.
Littlewood lives five minutes from Pleasant Grove High, so he was able to see Walker play frequently.
“We actually recruited him as a two-way player. He was a shortstop in high school,” Littlewood said. “We didn’t know if he was going to pitch for us or hit for us or do both.”
Ultimately, Walker chose to play for the Cougars.
“A big reason was, I wanted to stay around Utah. I love being here in Utah,” he said. “I like being here close to my family and I wanted them to be able to come and support me as much as they could.”
Also, Walker was planning to serve a mission.
“I knew Brigham Young would provide the best atmosphere for what I wanted and to feel comfortable and be myself and be able to excel and get a great education,” he said. “BYU was a perfect fit for me. I was excited to play for coach Littlewood. Those guys took me with open arms and they treated me with respect to give me space to make the right decision. It was a pretty natural decision for me.”
His brothers, who had played for different schools, were supportive of his choice, he said.
Littlewood said it became apparent that his best role in the program would be as a pitcher, not as a shortstop.
“It’s worked itself out, as it usually does with guys. He migrated toward pitching and he’s such a strike thrower,” he said. “He throws four different pitches for strikes. It was a natural progression for him to come in. He decided to give up infield play. That bulldog mentality that he brings, you can’t ask for more when a guy takes the mound.”
Serving a mission
After playing at BYU as a freshman in 2016, Walker served his mission in Cusco, Peru.
During his two years in that South American country, he played catch twice with a fellow missionary. The second time, near the end of his mission, he used a Walmart plastic glove that he duct taped while the other missionary used Walker’s real glove.
“That was all the opportunities I had — besides throwing rocks at dogs that were coming at us,” he said. “I did plenty of that.”
When he returned home from Peru, Walker was excited to compete again. It’s not easy for most athletes to jump back into their sport after spending two years sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“Some guys will come back off their missions and they’ll lose some of their competitiveness. It takes them a little bit of time to get that back. Easton really never lost that,” Littlewood said. “For him, even though he never lost it, it’s still hard to put it in play and make it translate from what’s inside of you and actually putting it in play on the field. His competitiveness was there and his will to win.
“But it takes time for your arm to come back off your mission as well. As soon as both of those things started working together, he’s been lights out. I really believe that he’s one of those guys that it doesn’t matter what he’s competing at, whether it’s pingpong or chess or whatever it is, he wants to beat you. That’s what really makes him special.”
Walker wouldn’t trade the way things have worked out for him.
“I had multiple people question what might happen to my competitiveness before I made my decision whether to go or not. There’s no doubt that it was a concern and I thought about it multiple times before I made my decision,” he said. “But in the end, I was going to be hungry when I came back to play.
“You lose some of the fight and energy and excitement to be on a baseball field again. Serving my mission was going make me excited to get back on the baseball field and compete again. Serving a mission isn’t about competition. It’s about loving and serving other people. It was great to get that in my life. Serving a mission was the best thing I could have ever done. I would never go back and make a different decision.”
Another break from baseball
Following his phenomenal 2019 campaign, Walker experienced another layoff due to the pandemic. In mid-March 2020, the season was canceled as sports came to a standstill because of COVID-19.
A year later, Walker calls the unexpected and extended interruption “a blessing” for him.
“It made me humble,” he explained. “It gave me time to work on things that I needed to when I got home from my mission.”
With a lot of free time suddenly on his hands, and with a wife to help support, he started working full time with his father-in-law at an insurance agency in Pleasant Grove last summer.
“I wanted to take advantage of the extra time to work and make some money and help my wife,” he said. “It worked out well. I loved working there and my plan is to go back and continue that. Everybody needs insurance, right?”
After work, he’d play catch with other players and he participated in a summer league at Salt Lake Community College to keep in baseball shape. Last winter, he became licensed as an insurance agent.
So, during the pandemic, Walker discovered a career that he enjoys.
Walker’s future
But what does his future in baseball look like? Walker is both optimistic and realistic.
“I’m never going to drop that opportunity. I’m going to enjoy it as much as I can. But I’m not working with scouts,” he said. “Because of my age, and where I am in life, I’m definitely ready for that next step in life, which is to move on, start a family and start work and enjoy some other parts of life that I haven’t been able to because I’ve been so dedicated to baseball. I’m super excited for that also. I haven’t closed any doors to any opportunities like that. But as far as right now, there’s not a whole lot to see as far as a future.”
That means after giving so much of his life to the game, this might be Walker’s final season playing baseball.
“I’m trying enjoy my last year as much as I can,” he said. “I’m enjoying it as much as I can and for my family to enjoy it as much as they can also.”
As long as this BYU baseball season goes, Walker is going to continue to embrace that bulldog mentality.
“When I get handed the baseball and it’s time to step on the mound, it’s time to lock in. It’s time to be focused on what my task is that day,” he said. “Being a bulldog means laying it all on the line. Sometimes, that can be challenging to do it every single day. But at this level, playing Division I baseball against very good athletes, that’s my job. That’s what I’m here to do. When it’s time to flip the switch and stand on the mound, that’s what it means to be a bulldog — it’s time to bear down and to be the best of myself.”
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/2PJqw4x
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario