Jordan Walker won the Home Run
Derby. He wants to lead the next wave of Black athletes into baseball
[July 17, 2026]
By DAN GELSTON
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jordan Walker rooted for Chipper Jones as a
young Braves fan raised in suburban Atlanta and used to beg his
family to take him to baseball games at Turner Field.
Walker’s parents -- “Jordan’s Dad” and “Jordan’s Mom,” as known by
their customized jerseys this week at the Home Run Derby — often
obliged. Derek Walker and his 7 year old son were out in left field
seats for an April series in 2010 when Braves slugger and future
Gold Glove winner Jason Heyward made his debut.
Oh, for sure the younger Walker still cheered for Jones.
But to see a young Black star such as Heyward command the outfield
the way Walker wanted to play, a new favorite player was born.
“As soon as Jason Heyward debuted,” Walker said. “I was like, oh
yeah, that’s the guy. That’s who I want to be like.”
The significance of representation in the Black community was never
lost on Walker.
So when Walker, a former St. Louis Cardinals' first-round pick once
on the cusp of bust territory after several demotions over the last
few seasons, had his breathtaking, breakthrough moment with a
six-swing, six-homer rally past Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber to
win the Derby, he hoped his star-making turn would inspire more
young Black athletes to follow in his footsteps and choose baseball.
Just as he was inspired by Heyward.
“For Black kids, I want to kind of be a role model for them,” Walker
said, “like he was for me.”
With each prodigious blast off his customized Iron Man bat, the
24-year-old Walker silenced the Philly boo birds clamoring for a
home team Schwarber victory and shined in his coming-out party
beyond the St. Louis bubble and to the entire baseball world.
He flashed the kind of swag that appealed to a younger generation
much in the way Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. did in his heyday.
Walker wore his Cardinals hat backward, chewed a big wad of bubble
gum and reveled afterward in flashing his imitation Liberty Bell
bling, the champions' chain presented by Ryan Howard.
None other than career home run leader Barry Bonds gave Walker his
stamp of approval — “you got my trophy, too” — for winning the
greatest Derby he's ever seen.
“That means the world to me,” Walker said.
Walker is among the scores of All-Star talents leading a modest
uptick of Black baseball players in the major leagues. When Houston
and Philadelphia played the 2022 World Series that featured no U.S-born
Black players, Astros manager Dusty Baker noted, “It looks bad. But
there is help on the way.”
They're here — with Walker as the All-Star weekend centerpiece.
“I think once kids see more people to look up to,” All-Star
Nationals outfielder James Wood said, “the more kids will get back
into baseball.”
Baseball has seen modest gains with Black baseball players
Take a look around the All-Star clubhouses and it was clear — while
not at the pace perhaps MLB would like — Walker helped represent a
new wave of emerging Black talent.
Three-time AL MVP and Yankees slugger Aaron Judge sat out with an
injury, but Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams and outfielder
James Wood, Cincinnati Reds ace Chase Burns and Braves catcher Drake
Baldwin ushered in the next, young group of future Black stars. The
game also featured Minnesota Twins veteran Byron Buxton.
“I feel like there's been like a little surge in getting more Black
players in the game,” Wood said. “We've got four on our team right
now. Last year at one point, we had five. I think you're seeing it
come back.”
MLB said that 6.8% of players on opening day rosters, injured lists
and the restricted list were Black, up from 6.2% at the start of the
2025 season and 6.0% at the beginning of 2024. This year’s 0.6%
increase was the most in a season since a 0.7% rise from 2017 to
2018.
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St. Louis Cardinals' Jordan Walker celebrates winning the MLB
baseball All-Star Home Run Derby, Monday, July 13, 2026, in
Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Twenty of the 64 Black players had been in MLB-sponsored
programs such as the MLB Youth Academy, Breakthrough Series, DREAM
Series, Nike RBI and the Hank Aaron Invitational.
MLB said the total included 22 players 25 or younger and eight older
than 32. The average age of Black players was 27.8 and the overall
average 29.25.
The 23-year-old Burns, 11-1 with a 2.54 ERA with the Reds, was proud
to hear Walker champion a Black youth movement at the Derby.
“You don't see a lot of Black athletes in baseball,” Burns said. “I
don't know why that it is. I think it's great for guys like me and
him to strive to get Black athletes into the game of baseball,
whether it's talking about it or doing stuff in the community. I
think it's great he pointed it out.”
Walker hopes he can keep leading the way
The best chance, naturally, for Walker to serve as a role model for
the next generation is to make sure he's not just a one-Derby
wonder.
Walker has 22 home runs, leads baseball with 74 RBIs and is a solid
13th with an .886 OPS — Wood is second at .985 — for a Cardinals
team in the NL wild-card hunt. The Cardinals are finally getting the
production expected out of the right fielder they drafted with their
first-round pick in 2020.
Walker, who signed out of high school after he had committed to
Duke, skipped Triple-A and made the opening day roster as the
youngest player in baseball in 2023 and tied Eddie Murray's under
21-rookie record with a 13-game hitting streak.
He was sent down later that season; was the 2024 opening day right
fielder and demoted again with a .155 batting average. Walker
suffered a variety of injuries in 2025 and played in just 111 games
that suddenly put his future as a key Cardinals' contributor very
much in doubt.
Leaning on the same convictions that made him believe he could
overtake the mighty Schwarber in the Derby championship round,
Walker said a day after his win he never wavered in his belief that
he would blossom into an everyday player and All-Star with the
Cardinals.
He tinkered with his swing during an extend rehab assignment last
season and the results were on full display in Philadelphia with 12
home runs in the final round.
“When my swing's fluid and easy, that's when it's at it's best,”
Walker said. “That's really what it is.”
Walker, who struck out in his lone at bat in the All-Star Game,
earned a $1 million prize for winning the Derby, which is more than
his 2026 salary of $799,400.
(Here's a fun fact: Walker has 49 career homers off 49 different
pitchers.)
As for the backward hat, “I call it the Griffey because no one did
it better than him."
No one did it better than Walker at the Derby.
He just hopes his win can be a launching pad for a next generation
of Black athletes into the big leagues.
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