How walk-off hero Neil Walker learned to become Yankees’ weapon as part-timer

Neil Walker won Tuesday night’s game for the Yankees with a game-winning homer in the bottom of the ninth at Yankee Stadium.

NEW YORK — Neil Walker shared an interesting insight to a crowd of media Wednesday night after coming off the bench in the ninth inning of a tie game, seeing one pitch from Chicago White Sox reliever Dylan Covey and sending 40,000 Yankees fans home happy by putting a mistake in the seats for a 5-4 victory.

Thinking back to a day earlier, Walker said, “I was playing right field and looking around and the only other guy that was there on Opening Day was (Aaron) Hicks. And so that’s the just the nature of baseball. You look for opportunities, and coming here I knew it was going to be a good team and I wanted to be part of a winner.”

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There were times this season when the 32-year-old switch-hitter appeared close to being let go by the Yankees … like all of May and June.

One of last winter’s many free agents who struggled to find work, Walker finally signed with the Yankees midway through spring training for one year at $4 million. At the time, it was thought that he’d play his way out of an early season platoon at second base with Tyler Wade to being a regular, which is what he was (and a pretty good one) during his long run with the Pittsburgh Pirates and his time with the Mets.

Wade soon was back in Triple-A due to struggles, but Walker’s very poor start coupled with hotshot prospect Gleyber Torres’ good April in Triple-A changed the organization’s plans. When Torres took over at second and immediately showed that he was ready for the bigs, Walker went into an extra-man job that he had never been in before, one that he was told would be his role when he joined the Yankees.

That’s when his early season struggles turned into something far worse.

By July, Walker was hitting under .200 despite getting many chances to get hot with manager Aaron Boone playing him at first, second and third.

Right before the All-Star break, Walker finally started hitting, and ever since he’s been exactly what the Yankees had envisioned. Well, actually he’s been more than that, as he’s found himself in the outfield for the first time as a big leaguer of late due to Aaron Judge’s broken wrist and Giancarlo Stanton’s tight hamstring.

Tuesday was a night to sit for Walker, with Stanton playing right and Ronald Torreyes getting the start at second.

It wasn’t a night to rest.

From start to thrilling finish, Walker had his mind in the game. He kept leaving the Yankees dugout to head inside to hit in a cage. He studied video of the White Sox relievers that he figured he might face, namely all of their righties because he swings the bat better from the left side.

“You do your homework who you might be facing,” Walker said. “You try to get your timing in the cage as much as you can.”

More so than he would have been earlier in the season when he was still learning how to be successful as a non-starter, Walker was as prepared as possible when he called on to hit for Torreyes with one out and nobody on in the bottom of the ninth.

The Yankees had been down 4-0 in the middle innings, but they got two runs back in the sixth on a homer by Miguel Andujar and tied the game in the eighth on a homer by Aaron Hicks, so the crowd was really into it by that point.

Walking to the plate, Walker thought about the game-plan he had come up with for an at-bat versus Covey.

“As a pinch-hitter coming off the bench, you try to step in the box and you try to assume that the first pitch you see is going to be the best pitch you see,” Walker said. “He tries to be aggressive, so you try to be on time and if you can hit something on the barrel, good.”

Covey was aggressive all right, and he whipped in a first-pitch fastball trying to get ahead.

The pitch was right where Walker wanted it … middle in.

One big swing later, Walker barreled it up and … good. The ball jetted to right-center, and as John Sterling would say … it was high, it was far, it was gone.”

Walker pranced around the bases with fans going crazy, then was mobbed at home plate by teammates before being doused with a bucket of water.

After all of that, Walker talked at his locker to reporters a little about his second career walk-off homer and a lot about how he adjusted to his part-time role.

He’s started 80 of the Yankees’ 132 games, but probably will be a bench player for the playoffs if everyone’s healthy. He’s fine with that.

“I’ve played on 100-loss teams,” Walker said. “That’s no fun going to the ballpark. Coming to the ballpark here, this team is so close knit and you feel like you have a chance every single night to win.”

Walker has been a big part of the second-half winning.

His .224 season average, nine homers and 38 RBI in 93 games aren’t good indications of the value he’s been bringing the last two months.

Here’s some proof: After batting .185 with two homers and 15 RBI in 173 at-bats over his first 55 games, he’s hit .281 since July 9 with seven homers and 23 RBI in 121 at-bats over 38 games playing all over the field.

He’s fine with that, too.

“I knew that coming in here that was going to be something asked of me,” Walker said. “I certainly didn’t think I’d find myself in the outfield, but it’s about the team.

“It’s about finding ways to win every single night and whatever I’m asked to do, I’m going to do. I don’t see it as a hinderance or anything like that. I see it as helping this team any way I can.”

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.