Baseball's Hometown Heroes

Pirates second baseman Neal Walker recently joined exclusive company in Major League Baseball. A column in the July 28 edition of USA Today Sports Weekly described Walker's rise to the Majors after having been drafted by his hometown team.

The article states that Walker was a 2004 first round draft pick out of Pine-Richland High in Gibsonia, Pa. The team that selected him was the team he followed his whole life, the Pittsburg Pirates.

That fact puts Walker in the select company of players drafted by their hometown teams. While the rare occurrence of being drafted by the hometown team might seem like a dream come true, at least one player found the increased pressure less of a dream and more of a nightmare.

Here is a lineup of the ten best players from Major League Baseball who have been drafted by their hometown teams and rose through the organization to reach the pros, according to stats from baseball-reference.com.

Catcher - Joe Mauer: The Twins made this local high school baseball and football player the number one draft pick in the 2001 draft, and he has won three AL batting titles since playing for his hometown club.

First Base - Lou Gehrig: The Iron Horse went to the New York High School of Commerce and just a few years later found himself playing his first of 2,130 consecutive games at first base for the Yankees.

Second Base - Pete Rose: Charlie Hustle attended Cincinnati's West High and became a Rookie of the Year, an MVP, batting champion, and the all time hits king as a Red.

Shortstop - Barry Larkin: Before becoming an All-Star shortstop and winning an MVP for the Reds, Larkin attended Cincinnati's Moeller High School.

Third Base - Cal Ripken, Jr: The man who broke Gehrig's consecutive game record as an Oriole went to high school in Baltimore, where he also won Rookie of the Year and MVP honors.

Outfield #1 - Larry Walker: The Expos were the only Canadian team while he was growing up, so Walker went from British Columbia to play for the Montreal team.

Outfield #2 - Kirk Gibson: The Pontiac native played for Michigan State before plaing with the hometown Tigers, who the 1984 World Series Championship.

Outfield #3 - Dick Allen: Allen came from Wampum, Pennsylvania and was drafted by Philadelphia, where he played outfield in over 100 games in 1966, 1967, and 1968.

Pitcher #1 - Whitey Ford: The Hall of Fame lefty was raised in New York, NY and went on to join the Yankees staff during the 50s and 60s.

Pitcher #2 - Sandy Koufax: The Brooklyn native and Hall of Famer was drafted by the Dodgers, for whom he pitched even after the club relocated to Los Angeles.