9 Hall of Famers who you might have forgotten were Cardinals

Larry Walker

Baseball was a distant second in Canada, a nation crazy about hockey, during Larry Walker's upbringing. His Hall of Fame career helped bring baseball into the spotlight in his home country, and he also provided value to the Cardinals at the end of his playing days.

Walker got his feet wet in professional baseball with the Montreal Expos, who signed him to a minor league contract after the 1984 season. He initially struggled, not accustomed to the far superior pitching in the United States. He also wasn't familiar with all of the rules of the game.

Walker debuted with the Expos to great fanfare in Canada, and although he only hit .170, Montreal kept him on the roster. He finished seventh in Rookie of the Year voting in 1990 and continued to ascend. The Expos eventually embarked on a teardown, and Walker signed with the Colorado Rockies following the 1994 season. Walker's time in Montreal saw him hit 99 home runs and hold a .281 average.

The Cardinals tried to pry Walker away from the Expos to serve as the team's first baseman in 1995, replacing Gregg Jefferies, who had become a free agent. It clearly wasn't enough to keep Walker from signing a four-year, $22.49 million contract with the Rockies, but it was far from Walker's final interaction with the Cardinals.

The high altitude in Denver benefited Walker's bat, and he hit 36 home runs in 1995. After breaking his collarbone and later straining his shoulder the next season, Walker erupted with an MVP campaign in 1997, hitting a league-leading 49 home runs and finishing second in batting average at .366. He hit 29 of his 49 home runs away from Coors Field, proving that he wasn't a mirage. He also won a Gold Glove, his third of seven that he would receive in his career.

That would prove to be Walker's best season, but he continued to be a face of the Rockies until August of 2004, when they traded Walker to the Cardinals for Luis Martinez, Chris Narveson and Jason Burch. In 44 games with St. Louis that season, Walker hit .280 with 11 round-trippers.

Walker had not been to a World Series in his career, and at age 37, he knew the clock was winding down. He was the final piece of the puzzle and would hit second in what was a monster lineup for the Cardinals, containing Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds. Walker thrived in the playoffs, hitting six home runs — two in each round of the postseason. He was one of the few hot St. Louis bats in the World Series, where the Cardinals were swept by the Boston Red Sox and hit a collective .190, while Walker batter .357.

Injuries, including a herniated disk, were a constant in 2005, which Walker announced would be his last year. Yet he still managed to hit .289 and put up a 130 OPS+. However, his postseason numbers left something to be desired, as he only mustered three hits in 28 at-bats.

Walker loved his brief stint in St. Louis, but he was nearly a Cardinal for much more of his career. If Jocketty had managed to sign him in 1995, Walker might have gone into the Hall of Fame with a Cardinals cap.