With Jordan Walker swinging a hot bat in spring training, the St. Louis Cardinals will more than likely add him to their Opening Day roster.
Opening Day is on Thursday next week, and the Cardinals will take on the Toronto Blue Jays.
With Walker as hot as he is, it would be hard to imagine St. Louis not carving out a roster spot for him.
The only question is what his number will be.
Walker has worn No. 22 in the minor leagues, but that number currently belongs to Jack Flaherty.
However, Flaherty is a big fan of the late Kobe Bryant.
On Twitter, a Cardinals analyst suggested that Flaherty may switch to No. 8 or No. 24 to honor the late Bryant.
Jordan Walker wore #22 in the minors last year and talked about how he’d like that number again.
What if Jack Flaherty took #8 or #24 for Kobe and Walker was about able to be #22 come Opening Day 🤷🏻♂️ #STLCards
— Joshua Jacobs (@joshjacoMLB) March 21, 2023
No. 24 is retired by the Cardinals in honor of Whitey Herzog, so that would not be an option.
However, No. 8 is not in use as of now, and Flaherty could still take that number.
The number was last worn by Mike Shildt, who managed the team from 2018-21.
Shildt was fired after the 2021 season and gave way to current manager Oli Marmol.
However, Flaherty has made it clear that he admires what the late Los Angeles Lakers star stood for and the competitive spirit that he brought with him to the court.
Flaherty is also a native of Southern California and grew up watching Bryant.
It certainly would be a nice way to honor the Hall-of-Famer and Lakers legend.
Walker is currently wearing No. 67 in spring training, but things may change once the regular season starts.
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