Quote: NY is Where Redding Wanted to Be
Mets RHP Tim Redding, during a recent interview on MLB Network’s Hot Stove Show, said:
“Tom O’Connel, my agent, when he got the phone call that I was non-tendered from Washington, he said he had a couple different teams in mind – and within six days the Mets called. I told him there is no place I’d
rather be then in New York. He said, ‘Well, I’ve got some other teams on the side. I’ve got Colorado, I’ve got Pittsburgh, Baltimore, let me get as many offers from out there as I can.’ I said, ‘Fine, I want to have some options, obviously, but New York is where I want to be…
“I’m from the state of New York. I’m from Rochester. I grew up a new York sports fan, I watched the Yankees, I watched the Mets, I watched the Jets, Giants, Bills, everybody. There’s no bigger market, and anybody who is anybody who plays a professional sport wants to play somewhere in relation to where they grew up and what they grew up knowing and I know New York sports. I was a New York fan, I know what to expect from them, and I know what they expect from me.”
In early January, the Mets and Redding agreed to a one-year, $2.2 million deal with incentives.
In 33 starts, Redding was 10-11 with a 4.95 ERA through 182 innings for the Nationals last season.
He underwent surgery on his left foot in November, but, reportedly, will be 100 percent by spring training.
