PORT ST. LUCIE, Florida – Taijuan Walker takes his place on his new team – Mr. Met.
A day after the Mets finalized his $ 23 million three-year contract, Walker said he was taken out of his favorite T-shirt number by the baseball-round round mascot.
“I was 44 and finally arrived with the sailors in 2016,” Walker said Tuesday. “And then I got traded at the end of the year, and when I was traded to Diamondbacks, Paul Goldschmidt was number 44. So I was, OK, I’ll never get that again.”
So Walker thought, “What number can I wear because not many people in the league have it?”
A ales 99.
“And I think the only way I don’t wear 99 is if I’m traded to the Yankees,” he said. “So I was, OK, 99 is a safe bet and I live with that.”
“And then, of course, last year I was traded in Toronto and (Hyun Jin) Ryu wears 99. So I was like, OK, well, that didn’t work. So I’m wearing 00. Something different, again. “
“And, of course, this year, Mr. Met has 00. So I just went back to dressing at 99.”
The only Mets no. The previous 99 was Turk Wendell from 1997-2001, according to Baseball Reference.