The James "Tip" O'Neill Award is presented annually by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum to the Canadian player judged to have excelled in individual achievement and team contribution while adhering to the highest ideals of the game of baseball. Walker, the only player to win the award more than once, split the 2001 award with Minnesota Twins slugger Corey Koskie.

The eight-time winner Walker, of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, is also the only Canadian to win a batting title since O'Neill led the majors in hitting with his .492 average in 1887, the highest single-season average ever recorded. O'Neill's feat was accomplished when bases on balls were counted as hits, but even when his average is computed according to today's standards, he batted .435, the second highest of all-time behind Hugh Duffy (.438 in 1894).

Walker, who batted .351 in 2001, along with 38 homers and 123 RBI, was named to the NL All-Star team for the 5th time, and was awarded his 6th Gold Glove. "Again, I am honoured and proud to be selected by the Canadian Hall of Fame for this award," said Walker upon being told the news of the award. "My hope is that this award in a small way helps promote baseball in Canada."

"We had the unique and very pleasant problem of deciding which Canadian to honour when, truly, a solid case could be made for any of the top five finalists," said Tom Valcke, President/CEO of the CBHFM. "It took more than a century for the second Canadian to win a batting title, so we would have been remiss not to have Larry's name all over this trophy."

The Toronto Blue Jays' Pitcher of the Year, Paul Quantrill (London, ON), who was 11-2, 3.04 ERA, with 80 appearances, finished third in the voting. The Texas Rangers' closer Jeff Zimmerman (Kelowna, BC), with 28 saves, and the Florida Marlins' starter Ryan Dempster (Gibsons, BC), with 15 wins, rounded out the top five.