"I'm kind of trembling inside right now. I feel like I'm shaking. Nothing seems real about it right now," Larry Walker said Tuesday of his orientation at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Walker is known for his career with the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies and the St. Louis Cardinals. It may be hard to believe, but his first love was the sport of hockey, not baseball. Now, he's making history as he's being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame this summer.

"It really never entered my mind," Walker said. "A Canadian kid growing up playing hockey, the Hall of Fame for me was the Hockey Hall of Fame. It wasn't the Baseball Hall of Fame."

Nevertheless, Walker found his way into baseball. The early days of his career were actually in Utica with the then-Blue Sox.

"It was kind of where they sent the rejects in a way, and I was one of them for the first two years of my pro career. But it starts somewhere, and for me it started, as I've been told, the beeline from Cooperstown to Utica is 33 miles," Walker said.

Baseball fans say Walker's story is inspiring.

"It's those unexpected stories that make baseball so cool and so relatable, make me love the game, I think [it makes] many people love the game," said John Trupin of Cooperstown.

Walker wants kids to know that you don't have to play baseball in school in order to become a pro.

"I don't think you're ever too old not to learn," said Walker. "I mean, I was 17 years old at the time. Five years later, I was in the major leagues."

Walker said he's nervous but excited for induction weekend, which takes place July 24-27.