From his vantage point in the south suburbs, former Cubs utility player Chico Walker thinks this year's team has a good chance to go all the way.

“Wednesday night was the biggest game of the series,” said Walker, who lives in Olympia Fields. “If you go down 3 to 1, it's a different kind of pressure.”

The Cubs pulled it out, though, proving, “anything can happen,” Walker said.

“Most important, they get the chance to come back home,” he added.

The National League Championship Series continues Saturday in Chicago.

Walker, who played outfield and third base, as well as pinch hit for the team from 1985-87 and again in 1991-92, said in addition to being made up of mostly young players eager to win, this year's team has “great chemistry.”

“This Cubs team is a bunch of young guys who don't know a whole lot about pressure,” he said.

And for that he credits Manager Joe Maddon.

“I guess Maddon has this thing called throwback days, where you dress like it's the '70s or '80s,” he said. “It's that type of stuff that brings guys closer together. When you're trying to have a winning team, that's what you need — good leadership and you need guys to be on the same page. That's a big part of their success.”

Walker played on the 1987 team with Andre Dawson, Ryne Sandberg, Mark Grace and Shawon Dunston.

At the beginning of that season, he recalled, “everyone said we had the potential to go far.

“But things happen — injuries, things don't fall into place and you end up having a so-so year,” he said. “Andre Dawson was (National League) most valuable player that year even though we were probably one of the worst teams in baseball. The chemistry wasn't there.”

Walker, 57, said: “Like everyone else, I think this year has been an amazing year. You could see this building toward the end of last year.

“A young team, nice camaraderie among the players. I knew going into this season that if they got off to a great start, they'd be in contention for a World Series. And that's exactly what happened.”

But even if they don't win, he said, “The main thing is, it's a young team.”

Young guys, he said, “just go out and play and have fun.”

He says Maddon and his coaching staff have done a good job keeping that laid-back vibe going.

“These players don't seem to care about all the accolades,” said Walker, who also played for the Red Sox, the Angels and the Mets during his career.

One thing working against the youngsters, he said, is the lack of comeback experience.

At the beginning of the year, there's not a whole lot of expectations, he said. But come September, it's a whole new ballgame.

“To coin a baseball term, you're going down the stretch,” he said. “Because you've had a great year, you're expecting playoffs to be the same.”

With 103 wins, the Cubs had the most in Major League Baseball this year, adding tremendous pressure, he said.

“There's this feeling that you gotta win,” he said. “When it comes down to it, all sports — baseball, basketball, football — are just about winning.”

Youth and lack of experience working through a downturn might explain why a few of the guys began to struggle for the first time once the playoffs began, he said.

Anthony Rizzo, Addison Russell and Jason Heyward seemed in kind of slump, he said.

“They got off to a rough start and the pressure was building. It seems like they may be coming out it,” he said.

“But there's a long way to go.”

He doesn't like to pick favorites but when pressed, Walker said, he likes Russell and Javier Baez.

“They're two young players with a lot of potential,” he said.

Walker, a graduate of Tilden Tech in Chicago, grew up rooting for both the Cubs and the White Sox.

“I lived on the South Side, in White Sox territory, but the Cubs had the more popular players,” he said. “I grew up watching Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Don Kessinger and Ron Santo.”

It wasn't a popular stance back then, but he says he has always been a “Chicago fan.”

Fan rivalry could be intense at times, he said, but after the Sox won the series in 2005 “that ended a lot of the tension.”

Today, Walker, who is married and has three grown kids, mostly plays golf and does charity and foundation work.

His fondest memories of being a Cub, he said, are of hanging out with Dawson and Dunston while on road trips.

In addition to Wrigley Field, Walker said he loved playing ball at Fenway, old Yankee Stadium, Dodger Stadium and in Atlanta.

“Mostly, I just enjoyed being around the guys, just playing at Wrigley,” he said.

“I had a great opportunity to play in my hometown, in one of the most historic ball parks,” he said.

“That's the chance of a lifetime,” he added.

Whatever happens with the Cubs this year, he said, fans should be proud of the great run they've already had and of the potential their youth affords for the future.

“It's extremely difficult to even get to the majors,” he said. “You have to have a lot of talent and you have to work hard.

“And it's incredible the year they've had.”

dvickroy@tribpub.com

Twitter @dvickroy