Ryan Walker, like so many other lesser-known MLB prospects, had to find a way to make ends meet during the COVID-19-canceled 2020 season.
Walker spoke to The Seattle Times' Ryan Divish before the Giants' win over the Mariners on Saturday, where the Arlington, Wash., native discussed his homecoming and his difficult MLB journey after San Francisco selected him in the 31st round of the 2018 draft.
“I obviously didn’t start off with the most promising spot in 2018, but it just goes to show it doesn’t matter,” Walker told Divish. “You just go out and do your thing and pitch. That’s all you can do and that’s what I did. It’s cool to see how the years progressed, moving up each year was always a plus. There were always the years where it’s like, all right, if I don’t go up next year or whatever, I’m going to start rethinking my career. But every year, I just kept moving up. I just stayed true to who I was as a pitcher and it worked out.”
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Walker, at least temporarily, had to re-think his career in 2020 when the MiLB season was canceled due to the pandemic. Walker told Divish that he drove for Lyft for a few months in the Spokane area but he didn't enjoy it, which prompted him to take a job with a local locksmith company.
“If you locked your keys in the car, locked your keys in your house, re-key houses and businesses, I learned how to do it,” Walker said. “It’s way better pay than Lyft or anything else I was going to do. It was actually fun. We had to survive somehow. I definitely didn’t have the funds to go for a whole year without working, so it was a good time. It’s a great skill to learn. My boss was great. I started off just doing car lockouts, and then he’d show me how to do more.”
Walker had his fair share of odd encounters while working as a locksmith, including opening the doors of multiple running cars. Some of which even had babies locked inside.
“I saw a lot,” Walker shared. “I have some stories.”
San Francisco Giants
Now, the 28-year-old is closing the door on opposing hitters in the ninth inning as the Giants' new closer. Walker has appeared in 65 games this season, pitching 68 1/3 innings with 89 strikeouts to 15 walks and a spectacular 1.98 ERA.
It's safe to say that if he continues to pitch well, he won't need to reprise his locksmith career any time soon.