Sox hitting coach Walker likely returning

Greg Walker picked up the phone Monday at his off-season home in Georgia, and he reluctantly answered one of the White Sox' key off-season questions.

Are you coming back?

The longtime hitting coach seemed to leaning toward no at the end of the trying 2010 season, but six weeks of down time has apparently helped reverse that decision.

“I don't want to come across as a prima donna coach trying to decide whether I'm coming back every year or not,” the 51-year-old Walker told the Daily Herald. “The bottom line is I'm old, worn out, don't know if I've got enough energy to do it again unless I come home and get it back together.

“Right now, everything's going all right and it seems like we're leaning toward doing it again next year. Next year's the last year on the contract so maybe that'll make the decision for us. I don't know. I'm probably coming back, yeah.”

Walker wasn't the only member of the Sox that needed some recovery time in the wake of one of the most turbulent seasons in recent memory.

Tied with the Kansas City Royals for last place in the AL Central with a 9-14 record at the end of April, the White Sox' offense batted just .236 during the opening month and more than a few fans and critics put the blame on Walker.

When the Sox bounced back and surged into first place at the all-star break behind the big bats of Paul Konerko, Alex Rios, Alexei Ramirez and Carlos Quentin, Walker was a genius again.

But when the White Sox folded down the stretch and wound up finishing second to the Minnesota Twins again despite winning 88 games, Walker faced yet another round of criticism.

On the job as hitting coach since May 19, 2003, Walker has always been uncomfortable being a focal point good or bad.

“I don't want to be the story,” Walker said. “It's almost like this story every year is getting blown out of proportion and I want to diffuse it a little. I'm no different than most people that do my job other than I have a guaranteed contract next year. I've never said I'm going to do this job forever, but I love the job.”

And Walker and assistant hitting coach Mike Gellinger, a 1982 Fremd High School graduate, are very good at what they do.

The White Sox finished the season with a .268 batting average, 10 points higher than 2009. The scored 34 more runs.

As for clutch hitting, which been a chronic problem in past years, the Sox ranked second in the AL behind Minnesota with a .277 average with runners in scoring position. And over the last 105 games, they batted .301 with RISP, tops in the major leagues.

“Mike Gellinger has been a great helper for me,” Walker said. “We've been doing this for a long and we kind of have it down. We think we're pretty good at what we do. We understand our role in the big scheme of things. We're not the prime-time players; that's the players. We just kind of go do our job.”

The White Sox did manage to win 88 games this year. But their inability to hold five leads in the eighth inning or later during the second half, and their inability to beat the rival Twins, made it a season to forget.

“Last year was extremely trying for all of us,” Walker said. “To be honest with you, our clubhouse, we probably had as good of a year as far as the staff and the players getting along and being productive. It was as good as an environment to work as I've had.

“I had a great year within the confines of the clubhouse and on the field. I had fun last year; I really enjoyed the team. We just didn't win.”