New York Mets starting pitcher Marcus Stroman just can’t handle No. 7 anymore, announcing he’ll change it out of respect for Jose Reyes.
Marcus Stroman is the anti-George Costanza. While the Seinfeld character zigs, the right-handed pitcher zags.
Unlike George, who selfishly clings to Mickey Mantle’s number as his eventual first born’s original name, Stroman sacrifices.
On Friday, the New York Mets starter announced he’ll be changing his number out of respect for Jose Reyes.
Grew up watching the passion and energy of @lamelaza_7 at Shea Stadium. Also, loved playing with him. With that being said, I don’t feel right wearing his number because of the incredible career he had in a @Mets uniform. Excited to switch numbers and compete in Queens next year!
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) October 11, 2019
“Grew up watching the passion and energy of @lamelaza_7 (Jose Reyes’s Twitter handle) at Shea Stadium. Also, loved playing with him. With that being said, I don’t feel right wearing his number because of the incredible career he had in a @Mets (Mets official Twitter account) uniform. Excited to switch numbers and compete in Queens next year!”
Reyes, of course, donned the number for the entirety of his 12-year Mets career. And boy was it a career worth sacrificing for.
Over those 12 seasons, Reyes hit .282 with 108 home runs and 521 runs batted in. The speedster also swiped 408 steals, a franchise record.
Speculated new numbers for Stroman include 6 and 54, both of which he wore in Toronto with the Blue Jays. Jeff McNeil currently wears No. 6.
Over 11 starts in Queens, Stroman put forth a 3.77 ERA to go along with a 4-2 record. He didn’t carry over his dominant-self from up north after the shocker that sent him to Flushing.
