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Spencer Strider wore the uniform number 65 during his rookie season for the Atlanta Braves in which he was the runner-up to teammate Michael Harris II. This year, he's planning on sporting a new number: 99.
99 is the number worn by newly crowned American League MVP Aaron Judge, but the inspiration for the number change has nothing to do with him. According to MLB.com, it has nothing to do with any real person:
“My favorite movie is Major League and I like Rick Vaughn. I see some similarities between Wild Thing and myself.”
In the movie Major League, Vaughn was a fan favorite, played by Charlie Sheen in the 1989 film. Strider loves the movie and the character and sees some of himself in Vaughn.
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The pitcher was a hard-throwing rookie who routinely hit the upper 90s on his fastball. One reporter jokingly asked whether or not that played into the new jersey number:
“That had nothing to do with it. I think my average velocity was 98.2, so that wouldn’t be completely accurate.”
Strider will hope to build on his phenomenal rookie season. Perhaps the number change will spur him in the right direction.
Spencer Strider's phenomenal 2022 season and 2023 predictions
Spencer Strider burst onto the scene for the Atlanta Braves in 2022 to the tune of an incredible 4.9 fWAR. He recorded a fantastic 2.67 ERA and went 11-5 across 20 starts and 131 innings.
His xERA of 2.39 suggests he was also a little unlucky, but that his numbers didn't lie- he was excellent last year. He also had a nearly 14 K/9 number as he often mowed down hitters.
In 2023, the predictions expect more of the same. His Fangraphs projection believes he'll have another great year with a 4.6 fWAR as well as an ERA of 3.09.
They also expect him to win 13 games this year and pitch over 150 innings.
After an extremely successful first year in the big leagues, it looks like Strider might be poised to become the Braves' ace for the next six years as they extended him recently.
