Taijuan Walker was a surprise no-show for the Philadelphia Phillies in the postseason, not throwing a single pitch.
That’s surprising given his regular season stats (31 starts, 15-6 record) and the big contract (four years, $72 million) he signed last offseason.
Despite being on the postseason roster, Walker did not pitch. And after the Phillies’ elimination by the Arizona Diamondbacks in NLCS Game 7 Tuesday night, he sent a cryptic tweet.
“Disrespect is at an all time high #nextyear,” Walker tweeted.
The tweet went out at 2:04 a.m. (ET), the time of night when many regrettable tweets surface. It mystified fans. Did Walker mean disrespect for the Phillies? Or disrespect for himself, for not pitching in the postseason?
If it’s any indication, the posts Walker liked in response to his tweet seemed to indicate he was talking about personal disrespect.
Many fans agreed that Walker deserved a shot to pitch in the offseason, that if he was upset he had every right to express his disappointment.
Other fans were not so kind, saying Walker picked a bad time for the message, and that manager Rob Thomson had reason not to pitch him.
Hopefully #nextyear we can somehow move your abysmal contract off the books.
— Joey Mullen (@joeymullen_) October 25, 2023