Whit Merrifield Sent a Hand-Written Letter to Jeremy Walker After He Was Called Up by the Braves
By Daniel Marcillo
The MLB is certainly a brotherhood and those relationships run deeper than we all think.
This was the case when Atlanta Braves rookie Jeremy Walker was called up to the big leagues while Whit Merrifield and the Kansas City Royals were in town.
Jeremy Walker was recently called up by the #Braves. When he got to his locker this afternoon, he received a handwritten letter from Royals star Whit Merrifield. @KelsWingert has more. pic.twitter.com/mDuaw3XSY7
— FOX Sports: Braves (@FOXSportsBraves) July 25, 2019
Both players attended the same high school and worked out together in the offseason. Merrifield showed his admiration and support for the rookie, which is something not seen too often. Props to the veteran for setting an awesome example.
Walker put together a very strong minor league campaign before earning the nod to join the Braves roster. He had 71 strikeouts in 69.2 innings between Double-A and Triple-A.
Source: The Braves will add RHP Jeremy Walker (5th round, 2016) to their bullpen tonight. Walker has 71 K, 8 BB and a 2.84 ERA over 69.2 IP w/ Mississippi and Gwinnett this year. Wes Parsons was optioned after last night's game.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) July 24, 2019
Merrfield knows how hard Walker worked to get this point in his career and given that he's seen it firsthand, he wanted to let the youngster know how much he deserved the call.
Unfortunately, we didn't get to see Walker and Merrifield face off, and it won't be a while until that's possible. All in all, that's good news for Walker too.