PHILADELPHIA – Derek Walker saw first hand the struggles his son, Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker, went through ever since he entered the big leagues in 2023.
Going into the 2026 season, Jordan never played a full season in the big leagues because of inconsistency in the batter’s box and with the glove. Last year may have been his worst season yet. Jordan had a slash line of .215/.278/.306 with six homers and was -11 in defensive runs saved.
But Derek felt ‘26 was going to be different for his oldest son. For starters, according to Pops, Jordan went into the offseason on a mission to have his best year to date.
“He did a lot of things in the offseason. He worked on his body, the elements of his swing – all of that,” Derek said. “When he reported to Spring Training, it didn’t necessarily click.”
It was March 15. Jordan still looked lost at the plate, going 6-for-30 (.200) with two RBIs and 11 strikeouts at that point in Spring Training.
But he spent three days working in the Cardinals’ hitting lab, located in the back fields at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Jordan was going through swing changes in order to see the ball better out of the pitcher’s hand. It was Jordan’s idea to take a break from game action to work in the lab, and the Cardinals accommodated him.
Jordan said the goal was to slow things down in the batter’s box and be ready for any pitch coming to the plate. In order for Jordan to be successful at the plate, he must spread the ball all over the field. He is known to hit monster home runs into the left-field seats.
After Jordan’s time in the lab, Derek went to an exhibition game between the Cardinals and Mets on March 20. Jordan went 1-for-3, but the father noticed that Jordan wasn’t chasing as much out of the strike zone as he did in the past.
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“When he hit the ball, he stroked it solidly and the ball jumped off his bat,” Derek remembered. “Then I looked into his eyes. I looked at him as a dad to see whether he was locked in or not. That was the first indication for me to say, this year may feel different. The boxscore wasn’t great that day, that was a first indication that things may be different.”
Things turned out to be different. Walker is not only an All-Star, but having an MVP-type of season. During the first half, he had a slash line of .294/.354/.532 with 22 home runs and a National League-leading 74 RBIs.
Jordan capped off the first half by winning the 2026 T-Mobile Home Run Derby. Walker won the derby by edging Kyle Schwarber by a homer, 12-11, on Monday night. Walker became the first player in Cardinals history – not even Albert Pujols or Mark McGwire did it – to win the derby.
“I’m still trying to figure it out. I’m not down off the high – yet,” Derek said. “It’s just so exhilarating to see him. I just watched his interview. When he hit that last ball to win the derby, he kind of blacked out. When I saw (the home run), I knew it was going to be the winner. …
“When you get into the situation where he was in Philadelphia – Kyle Schwarber is on top and the crowd is going crazy, for most people that would have driven them off the course. It would have made them nervous. Jordan has dealt with way worse than this over the last two years. This is nothing to him. All he had to do was channel it and keep doing what he did. It doesn’t always turn out, but it turned out well tonight.”
