Port ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Tiazuan Walker is withdrawing a seat from his new team – Mr. Met.
The day after the Mets finalized his $ 23 million, three-year contract, Walker said he was knocked out of his favorite jersey number by a rotund mascot with a baseball-sized head.
“I turned 44, and finally reunited with the Mariners in 2016,” Walker said on Tuesday. “And then I started doing business at the end of the year, and when I got the Diamondbacks business, Paul was Goldsmid No. 44. So I was fine, I’m never going to be like this again.”
So Walker thought: “What number can one wear that a lot of people in the league don’t have?”
He chose 99.
“And I think the only way I haven’t worn 99 is if I do business with the Yankees,” he said. “So I was, well, 99 is a safe bet and live with it.”
“And then, of course, last year I traded for Toronto and wears (Hyun Jin) Ryu 99. So, I was like, okay, okay, it didn’t work. So I’m wearing 00.” Something different, again. “
“And, of course, this year, Mr. Mate is 00. So I went back wearing just 99.”
According to Baseball Reference, the only previous number from 1997-2001 was No. 99 Turk Wendell.
Leave a Reply