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Neil Walker Still Has Mom Do His Laundry

Neil Walker still lives at home, the Wall Street Journal reports:

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Then there's the bonus of having a mother who does laundry, says Mr. Walker, the 24-year-old Pittsburgh native whom the Pirates called up to the majors in May. His typical day involves waking up to a bacon, pepper and onion omelet cooked by mom, playing with his Australian Shepherd puppy, Brisby, and then driving off to the stadium to play second base.

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Mr. Walker insists he loves life at home. His mother, Carolyn, isn't so sure. "He's really not thrilled about that," she says. "We try to give him his space."

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My first instinct is to chuckle a bit, but actually, if I were a rookie playing for the hometown team, I'd probably live at home too. As the article points out, the lives of rookies are uncertain. Walker, for example, has played very well this year, but had two middling years in the minors before this one. He could have a bad stretch of games and be back in the minors in a month. (I'm not saying that to be pessimistic about Walker, just that this would be something I'd consider if I were in his situation.) On top of that, major leaguers spend half their time in hotel rooms on the road anyway. If I were Walker, I wouldn't be in any rush to buy a house.

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.