September 2: It May Be Just A Fish, But It’s An Ace

It’s just a big, angry, painted fish. But it’s glaring out from its big, gold eyes, right behind home plate at Canwest Park and it’s fantastic!

If you were one of the 8,212 fans at the downtown ballpark on Monday for Fan Appreciation Night, you saw the “Angry Goldeye” behind home plate, and you probably wondered how it got there.

Well, you can thank Ace Walker, the guy that tossed a complete game gem in Winnipeg’s 7-2 win that night over Schaumburg.

“It’s just outstanding,” said Goldeyes general manager Andrew Collier. “He came out with four cans of spray paint (red, blue, gold and white) and was done in an hour-and-a-half. It just looks great and he did it without much set up at all. He just did it by sight. The guy has a lot of talent.”

Walker, who finished the regular season with a record of 12-6, led the league in wins and complete games (6). He was second in earned run average with an ERA of 3.32 and innings pitched with 149. He’s got a very legitimate shot at being named Northern League Pitcher of the Year.

But he’s also an accomplished artist.

“This is just something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” Walker said. “I’ve talked to Andrew (Collier) about it for a while and we just decided to go ahead and see how it looked.

“I got some great help from Dennis on the grounds crew and, together, we were able to get it done pretty quickly. It was fun. I like how it looks.”