PORT ST. LUCIE, Florida – Taijuan Walker is falling behind on his new team – for Mr. Met.
The day after the Mets finalized their $ 23 million, three-year contract, Walker said he was eliminated from his favorite shirt number by the rotund baseball-shaped mascot.
“I was 44 and finally got it with the Mariners in 2016,” said Walker on Tuesday. “And then I ended up being traded at the end of the year, and when I was traded with the Diamondbacks, Paul Goldschmidt was No. 44. So I was, OK, I’ll never get that again.”
So Walker thought, “What number can I use that not everyone in the league has?”
He chose 99.
“And I think the only way not to use 99 is if it is negotiated with the Yankees,” he said. “So I was, OK, 99 is a safe bet and living with it.”
“And then, of course, last year I was traded to Toronto and (Hyun Jin) Ryu uses 99. So, I thought, OK, well, it didn’t work. So, I’m using 00. Something different, again.”
“And of course, this year, Mr. Met has 00. So, I just started using 99 again.”
The only previous Mets # 99 was Turk Wendell from 1997-2001, according to the Baseball Reference.