Who is Blue Jays coach Pete Walker? Meet the main antagonist of heated Yankees-Blue Jays series

Anyone who has watched enough Toronto Blue Jays games will know the name Pete Walker. The team's pitching coach since 2012, the Massachussetts native has found himself at the center of controversy of late.

Walker was cast into the limelight after reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge blasted his second home run of the game at Rogers Centre on Monday. During the at-bat, Judge repeatedly looked towards his team's dugout.

The incident set the stage for the series. The following game, Pete Walker jawed at Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas for where he was standing. Walker's griping at Rojas continued throughout the series, leading Yankees manager Aaron Boone to apparently shout towards Walker "You're f**king crazy."

"Beef???" Talkin' Yanks tweeted.

A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Pete Walker knows the ins and outs of pitching better than most. Following his decorated college career, Walker was drafted by the New York Mets in 1990 and made his debut for the team five years later.

He spent the late 1990s playing in the minor leagues before signing with the Colorado Rockies in 2000. However, his stint in the Mile High City did not last long. He surrendered nine runs in 4.2 innings in the 2000 season, giving him a 17.36 ERA.

Following the debacle in Colorado, Walker returned to the Mets before being claimed off of waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2002. Between the Mets and Jays in 2002, he posted an ERA of 4.36 over 140 innings, the most active year of his career.

"On this day. June 8th 2002. Pete Walker had an impressive start vs. Colorado," Scott BlueJays Always tweeted.

After a brief stint in Japan, Walker continued to pitch for the Jays throughout the early 2000s. He hit a career-high 41 appearances in 2006 before retiring in 2007 after shoulder surgery.

After retirement, Pete Walker began working with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats before being called up to act as the bullpen coach for the Jays. He currently lives in Pinellas, Florida, with his wife.

Pete Walker shows how baseball can call anyone into the limelight

This time last week, few people had ever heard of Walker. Now, circumstances have cast him squarely in the spotlight after one of the most high-profile managerial impasses of the 2023 season. Perhaps there is more to Walker than meets the eye.