Neil Walker on his upcoming honor at PNC Park, retirement, any future with Pirates franchise

Neil Walker caught his fair share of ceremonial first pitches at PNC Park over his seven years as a Pittsburgh Pirate.

Soon, he’ll be on the other end.

“I’ve never thrown a pitch from the mound,” Walker said during Thursday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast.

Although he did quickly boast about his glorious appearance as an emergency pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies during an 11-4 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in August 2020.

“Two-thirds of an inning. Two flyouts. One walk. But who’s counting?” Walker joked.

The former Pirates infielder and Pine-Richland product will finally get a chance to throw from the mound at PNC Park on July 3 when he is honored by the franchise. A tip of the cap to a local kid who was part of the organization’s core during its playoff renaissance of 2013-15.

Walker retired from pro baseball in April after 12 seasons. It’s been six years — and five different teams — since Walker wore black and gold. But owner Bob Nutting recently called Walker and asked if he would be comfortable with the organization honoring his years with his hometown team.

“Bob called me last week. Bob called me when I retired. Bob called me when I got traded,” Walker said of Nutting. “To have him call and let him know how humbled I am to be a part of July 3rd is something that I have massive respect for … There were a lot of ups and downs. A lot of fun times. But that stretch in Pittsburgh of 2012,’13, ’14, ‘15 was baseball at its finest.”

While Walker says most of his MLB memories date back to those years — especially the National League Wild Card Game victory over the Cincinnati Reds in 2013 — he gained some perspective on his career having spent the last five years bouncing between both New York teams, the Brewers, Marlins and Phillies.

“The Pirates are what they consider a small market, then I go to the biggest market in the world,” Walker said.

“I’ve seen it all. I’ve been part of 100-loss teams. I’ve been part of 100-win teams. I’ve had good seasons. I’ve had bad seasons. I’ve had in-between seasons. You finish the game, and you think back … you certainly smile and think how cool it was to have played the game for as long as I have.”

Walker is now trying out the broadcasting world with a weekly appearance on 93.7 The Fan’s morning show (9 a.m. on Mondays). But he isn’t ruling out a return to the Pirates in some sort of front-office capacity.

“I think I’m going to dabble in some things. The conversations that I have had with (general manager) Ben (Cherington) have been great,” Walker said. “There may be an opportunity for me to bounce over to Altoona in August and see what the player development people do and see what the scouts do. Maybe be a part of the draft, or give my two cents on player development.”

Walker just returned from New York where he visited former teammate Gerrit Cole, now with the Yankees.

And before you ask, yes, Walker shook Cole’s hand. And, no, it wasn’t sticky. Nor did he feel the need to rub his fingers through Cole’s hair.

“No. His hand wasn’t sticky,” Walker said of Cole being at the center of the Spider Tack controversy.

“These pitchers don’t want to take 10 days off (with a suspension).”

During our podcast, Walker and I get deeper into the pitch-grip controversy, his favorite memories with the Pirates and his thoughts on reconnecting with the organization during retirement.

Listen: Tim Benz talks with Neil Walker about his upcoming honor at PNC Park, retirement and more