Capping career with Cards, Walker a HOFer

Two former Cardinals players will be enshrined in Cooperstown, N.Y., this summer.

Rockies great and former Cardinals outfielder Larry Walker will join former Cards catcher Ted Simmons as part of the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s class of 2020. They are the 50th and 51st individuals with ties to the Cardinals organization to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In his 10th and final year on the Baseball Writers' Association of America ballot, Walker earned six more votes (304) than the minimum needed for election -- exceeding the 75 percent threshold with 76.6 percent. He and Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who received 99.7 percent of the votes and was named on 396 of the 397 total ballots, were the only two players elected this year on the writers’ ballot announced Tuesday on MLB Network.

• Complete 2020 Hall of Fame election results

Simmons and the late Marvin Miller, who was the former head of the MLB Players Association, were elected in December by the Modern Baseball Era Committee. The 2020 induction ceremony will take place July 26 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Walker ended his 17-year career by appearing in 144 games with the Cardinals after being acquired from the Rockies in the middle of the 2004 season. A former National League MVP winner, Walker slashed .313/.400/.565 in his career and .286/.387/.520 with the Cards. He was a seven-time Gold Glove Award winner, five-time All-Star, three-time NL batting champ and three-time Silver Slugger Award winner. Walker, 53, hit a combined 383 home runs with Montreal, Colorado and St. Louis, and his only World Series appearance came in 2004 with the Cardinals, during which he batted .357 with a 1.366 OPS.

Another former Cardinal also gained support on the ballot this year. Scott Rolen, one of the best third basemen in Cards history, earned 35.3 percent of votes cast in his third year on the ballot, up from 17.2 percent last year.

Rolen played for the Cardinals from 2002-07 and had some of his best years in St. Louis, where he made four All-Star teams and won three Gold Glove Awards. He played on the Cards' 2006 championship team and hit .421 during that World Series.

Rolen was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1997 with the Phillies, and over his 17-year career, he was a seven-time All-Star, eight-time Gold Glove winner and finished fourth in the MVP race in '04. His home run (316) and RBI (1,287) totals rank in the top 15 all time among third basemen.