A Troubling End for Jordan Walker? – From the Many Laptops of Will Saulsbery

A Troubling End for Jordan Walker?

Jordan Walker’s magic season is ending worse than a sitcom that decides it’s time to get serious. Think Jim and Pam’s marital issues, or when Will and Grace decided they wanted to have a kid together then Will kicked her out because she got a boyfriend.

On August 31st Jordan Walker was hitting .285 with 27 home runs and 97 RBI’s. The Silver Slugger was his. MVP Votes were his. Now, 21 days later, he’s hitting .274 with 28 home runs and 100 RBI’s. For the month of September his numbers look far too familiar to a guy named Jordan Walker that played for the Cardinals in ‘24 and ‘25.

Walker’s September: .185 BA, 1 home run, 3 RBI’s, .542 OPS

Is The Dream Dead?

I have written about the greatness of Walker’s season’s several times this year and am a true believer, but even the truest believers have their moments of doubt. And doubt has attacked my mind on a nightly basis for the past two weeks. On TV and at Busch I have watched JW step to the dish with a chance to deliver over and over…and then not.

He’s played eighteen games, he’s struck out 28 times, walked 6, and has only 12 hits. He’s had 9 multiple strikeout games, and three multi-hit games. He hasn’t hit a home run in three weeks and hasn’t driven a run in for 15 days.

Is this a blip, or a regression to his established norm of the previous three seasons? Am I truly worried? To quote Bob Dyan, “It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there.”

What Happened?

My personal theory, no matter how big and strong you are, when you do more than you’ve ever done, you get tired. This season he has played more games, more innings, had more at bats, and ran more distance in the outfield and on the bases than he has in any year of his life. Yes, he is a huge human, but no matter your size you have to build up stamina.

We hear every single season about building up arms of pitchers and having innings limits. Now project that same thinking on Walker. The Cards have played 156 games and Walker has played in 152 of them. That is my kind of player. That is my kind of competitor. He clocks in every single day and does his work.

He needed this workload. He now knows he can go the distance. He can go 15 rounds with Creed and still throw haymakers as the bell rings. Can he pick himself up off the mat for this final week?

Six More Chances

My positive outlook will not waver! We have six more games, maybe 24 more at bats…24 chances for Jordan Walker to write the last chapter he deserves. Get to 30 home runs. Get to 105 RBI’s. Steal a couple more bags and unleash a few more rockets from right field to home.

The work he has put in this year needs a great final page. I don’t know if he needs it, but I feel like we do. We want a cliffhanger that has us all counting down the days until opening day 2027.

I feel Jordan Walker can do it. I know he will.