GARY | You'll be hard-pressed to find a baseball park in the country that doesn't play Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days," a song that opens with a baseball player who could throw that speedball by you, make you look like a fool, boy.

The coda is all about remembering the good years, because they'll pass you right by.

In Edwin Walker's case, he's a RailCats pitcher who leads the club in most strikeouts by a reliever because his speedball will go right by you. He picked up his 29th strikeout of the season on Sunday in his third win of the season for the RailCats.

Then, while sitting in the dugout after the game, Walker was told his Glory Days aren't done yet: Walker's contract had been bought by the New York Yankees.

In independent baseball, finding an affiliated club is the oasis, the brass ring, Cloud Nine.

Walker, who signed this winter with Pittsburgh, arrived in Pirates spring training injured and was released. The RailCats snagged him right away, despite his penchant for injury.

Now 41 games into the 2009 summer, it was the Yankees who came calling.

"I'm ready to go and pick up where we left off, hopefully stay healthy this time," said Walker, who was still trying to let the news sink in.

The 25-year-old leaves the RailCats with a 3-0 record and three saves. He was, until the recent signing of Clint Goocher, the only lefty reliever in the RailCats' bullpen.

Walker will pick up this week with Charleston, a Single-A team in the Southern Division of the South Atlantic League.

"It's always nice for the players," RailCats manager Greg Tagert said. "Those are the good kind of departures."

The big league dream stays alive in independent baseball, which is why these guys still play the game. Edwin Walker's name goes on the board with the likes of Tim Byrdak and Nathan Haynes, both who have made their way to the major leagues since their days in Gary.

Walker is the first RailCat since Chad Blackwell in 2007 to have his contract purchased midseason. Blackwell was picked up by the Toronto Blue Jays, but on Sunday was pitching two-thirds of an inning of relief for Joliet, which dropped the final game of the three-game series to the RailCats 5-4.

Walker said he had no idea anyone was looking seriously at his numbers -- which include a 3.26 ERA and a .194 average against.

"We just go out every game and try to pitch your best," Walker said. "That's all of us, we try to give it our all. You want to have your best stuff."

Walker is the 19th RailCat to have his contract purchased from the team and the ninth pitcher.

The Texas native was just trying to catch his breath and think of everything that needed to be packed on Sunday.

"It's like a feeling, like when you catch a wind," Walker said.

As Walker talked to the media about where his next move would take him, through the sound system at The Steel Yard came the unmistakable sound of Bruce Springsteen, singing about the Glory Days.

This column solely represents the writer's opinion. Reach her at hillary.smith@nwi.com.