Waterford - Pete Walker's coaching career will begin the same place his playing career ended - with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The team announced Wednesday that it hired Walker, the former East Lyme High School standout, as its roving minor league pitching coach.

"It's a great first job. I'm pretty excited about it,'' Walker said.

Walker, the co-owner of America's Game Baseball and Softball Training Facility in Old Lyme with his brother Andy, will actually be doing a lot more from the team's Dunedin, Fla., facility with the pitchers than the job description says.

"I'll be handling the major league guys that are on rehab,'' Walker said. "In my spare time I'll be working with the younger guys that are down there.''

Walker, who pitched at UConn-Avery Point and UConn, was drafted by the New York Mets in 1990 (seventh round). He pitched for the Mets in 1995, 2001 and 2002, the San Diego Padres in 1996, the Colorado Rockies in 2000 and the Blue Jays from 2002-2006. He was 20-14 with four saves in 144 games.

Walker, 40, lives in Waterford with his wife Kari and daughters Kazi (11), Marissa (9) and Milena (5).

He was actually set to begin his coaching career last year with the Blue Jays' team in the Gulf Coast League (Rookie League). Then his family learned their daughter Marissa had been diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, the most common type of bone cancer and the sixth most common type of cancer in children.

"That's the reason I didn't coach last year,'' Walker said. "I was under contract with the Blue Jays last year. They basically told me to stay home.

"I stayed home for the entire year. She's doing very well ... she just finished chemo. She's been an absolute trouper.''

Marissa underwent surgery at University Hospital in Newark, N.J. She had her knee and femur replaced with a prosthetic device, which will be expanded to allow for a natural growth cycle.

"We're very fortunate,'' Walker said. "She had major surgery with cutting-edge technology.''

When Walker leaves his family - and his players at America's Game - in late February, he'll be going to an organization he's familiar with.

"I don't think I'd go to another organization. I know almost everybody there, it's almost a sense of family,'' Walker said. "I know the complex and I'm familiar with a lot of the players.

"I'm not doing this with the intention of being a minor league coach,'' Walker said. "I'm replacing Rick Langford, who took the bullpen job in Toronto.''

The major leagues is where he wants his coaching journey to finish, just like his playing career. And 2010 can't come soon enough for the entire family.

"This has been a very difficult year,'' Walker said. "A year we look forward to putting behind us.''

d.davis@theday.com