To hear Greg Walker, the toughest part of his life-threatening seizure wasn’t the seizure itself, which left him gasping for air as his face turned purple.
And it wasn’t the toll it took on his playing career.
The toughest part was the uncertainty.
Nearly 15 years after he collapsed before a game at Comiskey Park, the doctors still don’t know what caused it.
“They said: ‘Listen, we can’t tell you why, but we don’t think it’ll ever happen again. But we can’t promise you that.’ “
Not exactly comforting. But Walker, who returned to the South Side to be the White Sox’s hitting coach, has learned to live with the uncertainty.
When the seizure hit, Walker was in his prime. A year earlier he had reached personal highs with 27 homers and 94 RBIs.
Walker only played parts of three more seasons, managing just 61 hits and five homers.
Walker was out of baseball for almost a decade. He went home to Douglas, Ga., where he and wife Carman raise their three daughters. He played golf and went fishing.
And every year he got closer to returning to baseball.
“[Sox chairman] Jerry [Reinsdorf] would ask me, ‘Is this the year?’ ” Walker recalled. “He thought I would love it.”
He was right. And after a year at Triple-A Charlotte, he’s back with the Sox.
– – –
Sox vs. Tigers
Season series: Sox lead 5-1.
Friday: Mike Maroth (0-9, 5.73 ERA) vs. Jon Garland (2-4, 6.10). 7:05 p.m.; WCIU-Ch. 26,
WMVP-AM 1000
Saturday: Gary Knotts (1-3, 4.81)
vs. Esteban Loaiza (7-1, 1.99).
6:05 p.m.; Fox Sports Net,
WMVP-AM 1000
Sunday: Adam Bernero (0-6, 5.87)
vs. Dan Wright (0-2, 6.59).
1:05 p.m.; Fox Sports Net,
WMVP-AM 1000
