ST. LOUIS – Jordan Walker is enjoying lots of hits in his rookie baseball season, but lots of strikes in perhaps his next-favorite sport.
Walker told media members Friday about his newly-acquired love for the sport of bowling. During the recent All-Star break, Walker went bowling with close friends on three separate occasions.
“I really got into bowling,” said Walker. “My friend actually really got into bowling in college, so he’s been teaching me how to bowl. It was really fun.”
Walker said he ended up with a 220 in his highest game this week. “With a little more practice, I’m going to be a pro,” he said jokingly.
For Walker, bowling is another passion that helped him stay sports-minded while stepping away from baseball for a few days.
“I met with some friends from high school,” said Walker. “It worked out well because they’re on summer vacation and back from college. A lot of them are going into the last year of college, so I got to see a lot of them, hang out with them and chill a little bit. It was really cool.”
Walker is hopeful to translate his performance on the lanes to more success in his rookie season. The 21-year-old has strung together two hitting streaks of at least 12 games at the big-league level this year. He also ranks near the Top 10 of qualified NL rookies in batting average (.283), home runs (8) and RBI (25), even after spending all of May in the minor leagues.
The Cardinals enter the second half at 38-52 and ever-shrinking odds of postseason. Regardless of the team’s fate, Walker says it’s important to keep working hard.
“I think it’s more of not being so ancy at the plate,” said Walker. “When I first got here, I was super energetic. But now it’s like slowing the game down. I think that’s what’s most important for my growth for the rest of my career.”
“I like how I’m growing as a player, and there’s still a lot more to learn,” he added.