Walker plays hometown Braves with family cheering him on

ST. LOUIS -- Their No. 18 Cardinals jerseys and the “JORDAN’S DAD” and “JORDAN’S DEAREE” nameplates across the back have made it impossible for Derek and Katrina Walker and grandmother, Normarene Merritt, to go incognito the past few days at Busch Stadium. However, the family hasn’t minded the extra attention they have gotten from fans because of all the kind things being said to them about their superstar son Jordan Walker.

The Walker family, seated not far behind home plate for Monday’s Cardinals-Braves game, had more reasons to cheer as the 20-year-old right fielder pushed his hitting streak to four games with an RBI single in the fourth inning. St. Louis lost 8-4, but Walker again showed why he is the Cardinals top prospect and already beloved by fans. After entering Monday with six 100-plus-mph smashes -- trailing only Mike Trout (8), NL Player of the Week C.J. Cron (7) and Kyle Tucker (7) and tied with nine others -- Walker had a 107.7 mph lineout in Monday’s first at-bat and the fourth-inning single for his third MLB RBI.

“Thank you for bringing Jordan to us,” a Cardinals fan said to the Walker family Monday. “We love him already.”

Those kinds of comments had the Walker family beaming with pride. The rookie is the youngest Cardinal position player to make his MLB debut since David Green (20 years, 274 days) in 1981. Already, Walker has shown a maturity beyond his years with how he has handled the hype -- both on and off the field.

“No words,” said Katrina, a Harvard graduate who got a master's degree from Washington University in St. Louis. “I’m impressed that he’s made this kind of impression on people already. He’s showing a lot of the things we hoped to instill in him, and it’s great that people are getting to see what kind of person he is.”

The subplot to Monday’s game was that Walker -- a native of Stone Mountain, Ga. -- fell in love with baseball after attending Braves games in Atlanta. His great grandfather, two grandfathers and father loved baseball and they passed that affinity down to the 6-foot-6, 245-pound Jordan, who rebuffed several offers to try out for basketball and football when younger. Jordan said prior to Monday’s game that the Braves were now “just another team,” but Derek balked at those comments. Instead, he regaled in stories of Jordan meeting Hank Aaron and idolizing Chipper Jones, the former Braves third baseman he once hoped to succeed.

“If you looked at Jordan’s room when he was growing up, he had all kinds of Braves paraphernalia everywhere,” Derek said. “He was a huge Chipper Jones fan. So [treating the Braves like just another team] is really saying a lot because of how big of a fan he was.”

Walker, a Double-A star last season who never played Triple-A baseball, has done exactly what the Cardinals hoped when they promoted him to the Opening Day roster following an exhilarating Spring Training. Other than a couple of missed cutoff men on throws from right field, Walker has shown himself ready by hitting .313 with three RBIs from the Nos. 7 and 8 spots in the lineup.

“He’s taken really good at-bats and he looks under control,” Cards manager Oliver Marmol said. “It doesn't look like it was his first three games in the big leagues. Offensively, he’s stood in there, and you would think he’s a [veteran] dude. He’s had a lot of balls hard hit and he’s done some stuff on the bases. We’ll continue to roll him out there.”

That’s fine with Merritt, who has become something of a mini celebrity at Busch Stadium after being repeatedly recognized as Jordan’s grandmother.

“People are walking up and talking about Jordan,” said Merritt, who has always been known as “Dearee” to her grandchildren. “People are like, ‘Oh my gosh, can I take a picture with you?’ It’s always great when someone thinks well of your children and particularly your grandchildren. I’d like to think I instilled something into my daughter that she passed along to Jordan.”

In the coming weeks, the Walkers will hit the road and try to watch the rising star play as many games as possible. The friends-and-family section was 30 people strong on Opening Day, and Walker’s cheering section continues to grow with each of his exploits.

“We have lots of friends and family around the country, and they’ve said, ‘When he comes to our city, we’ve got to get together and go watch Jordan play,’” Derek said. “Over the last two days, we’ve been planning our summer based on where he’s going to be. We’re planning on seeing as many games as we can.”