Christian Walker spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons in Reno. He signed with the Houston Astros this year after spending eight years in the Diamondbacks' organization.
Photo by Steve Ranson.
SACRAMENTO — New ball club, new teammates, new cities.
Former Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker, who played for a little more than two seasons with the Reno Aces in 2017 and 2018, is slowly finding a new home with the Houston Astros.
The latest road trip for the Astros included a three-game stop in Sacramento to play the Athletics. During his time with the Aces, Walker played numerous gamers at Sutter Health Park, home of the Sacramento Rivercats, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.
Walker said the stadium brings back memories when the Aces took the three-hour bus trip over the Sierra Nevada from Reno to play their Pacific Coast League rivals.
“Yeah, for sure, for sure,” Walker said reflecting on his road games played against Sacramento. “I’m very familiar with this ballpark. I thing they’ve done a good job with the facilities and rearranging some things and making feel a little more like the big-league quality,” he said before the Astros took the field and posted an 11-6 win. “It’s a good place to hit.”
Although Walker is trying to find his groove with a new team, he’s struggling at the plate with an overall batting average of .214 with 10 home runs and 37 RBI.
The Pennsylvania native, who played his collegiate ball at the University of South Carolina, remains positive with half the season remaining. Although his fielding, a hallmark of the three-time Golden Glove first baseman, has carried him through the season, he has enjoyed the camaraderie with new teammates.
“I think anytime you’re in a new situation, it’s a bit of a transition, but honesty, since spring training, it’s felt good,” he said. “It felt like family. The guys are super welcoming. The staff is great. The team’s winning. You know, we play hard, we fight until the end, all the things are great.
Walker still possesses the confidence that led him to winning the PCL's MVP award in 2017 with a .309 batting average, 32 home runs and 114 RBI. The following year in Reno he maintained his solid hitting with a .299 average that included 18 home runs and 71 RBI. He also spent some time with the Diamondbacks during the season, playing in 37 games and hitting .163 but with three home runs, six RBI and a stolen base. His big break came after the season when St. Louis acquired Paul Goldschmidt.
The hard play he showed game after game in Reno continued for the Arizona fans, and his fielding at first base pushed him to the top in the National League. Even in the shortened pandemic year of 2020, Walker hit .271 in 57 games and launched seven homes and knocked in 34 runs.
Walker spent some time in Reno in 2021 because of a strained right oblique muscle. At the time, Walker said his playing in Reno again took him back to a confident place.
“I had a lot of success on the field,” he said.
In that same year at spring training, the Diamondbacks named Walker the most valuable player for finishing in the top 10 for home runs, RBIs and on-base plus slugging and slugging percentage.
Although his hitting continued to improve, so did his fielding when he won his first Gold Glove award in 2022. For an encore, he won two more Gold Glove awards in 2023 and 2024.
The 2023 season was especially memorable for Walker. The Diamondbacks won a wild card title, then the National League pennant for the final step to the World Series against Texas. The Rangers, though, captured the series in five games.
Walker won the Gold Glove in 2023 and again in 2024, his final year in the Valley of the Sun. A lack of a new contract from the Diamondbacks surprised him.
“Well, I mean, to be honest, no, they never made an offer,” Walker said.
Suddenly, Walker was staring down at free agency like a fast ball screaming toward him at the plate.
“Like that's a huge part of free agency, I think, that it can be a choice of where do I want to play,” he wondered. “But, I mean, for it to be a choice, you obviously need multiple teams interested, (and) you need it to make sense for your family.”
Once Walker discovered the Astros were interested in what he could bring the team, he talked with his wife, and they thought Houston would be a good challenge for him to play in southern Texas. He liked the vibe, but then came the waiting for a contract.
“Everybody's interested, but until there's offers or until negotiations or something like that, it's, it's all just talk and, you know, borderline speculation,” he recalled of the negotiations. “But yeah, I mean, an interesting process going through it for the first time. and feeling like I had some leverage.”
Walker figured the negotiations had moved to Houston to make a real offer to him. His high-school sweetheart, Amanda, was onboard.
“I mean, at the end of the day, it was like we said. We found out Houston was in, and we just kind of ran with it,” he said.
Walker eventually signed a three-year contract worth $60 million.
Even with the change of scenery to Houston, the Walkers still love the serenity of the deep blue Lake Tahoe and have enjoyed spending time at the high mountain lake. He said Amanda and him recently spent time at the South Shore.
Playing for a new team, though, hasn’t been the most exciting venture for the Walkers. He paused for a minute, smiling. They’re expecting their first child, a daughter, later this year.
Although Walker hasn’t played in Reno since 2021 when he spent a few weeks in rehab, he still retains some heartfelt memories of playing for manager Greg Gross and hitting coach Jason Camilli.
“Cami was great. I still talk to him every now and then,” Walker said.
His comments also veered toward the support he received from the Reno fans.
“It was great my time in Reno,” he recalled. “Obviously, the fans are great. That ballpark's a lot of fun. Yeah, it was. I'm very appreciative of those years in Reno, and I learned a lot about myself and met a lot of great people.”