ATLANTA — Making the All-Star team can be a funny thing.

While it’s supposed to signify a great season, it can also just mean a guy enjoyed a very good first half.

That was Taijuan Walker’s story last year. In his first go-round with the Mets, he also pitched in his first All-Star Game. At the time when he embarked for the Midsummer Classic, he had a 2.66 ERA, was averaging more than a strikeout per inning, and was holding opponents to a .573 OPS.

Then the bottom fell out, quickly. In his first start of the second half, he was pulled in the first inning against the miserable Pittsburgh Pirates. The next 12 starts weren’t that great either. Walker finished the second half of his All-Star season with a 7.13 ERA, watching that .573 opponents’ OPS skyrocket by nearly 300 points.

“Last year I got really heavy on the fastball, especially in the second half,” Walker told the Daily News. “It started getting hit hard. This year, we’ve been mixing everything so well, I think I’m throwing the splitter 30% now. It’s been my best pitch by far. I can locate it for strikes, get swings and misses, ground balls, a bunch of everything.”

After falling apart down the stretch last season, Taijuan Walker has turned to his splitter to keep his early-season momentum rolling. (Julia Nikhinson/AP)

That splitter has proven to be Walker’s port in the storm. It’s gone from a 14.2% usage in 2021 to 27.7% this year (something that he called an “everybody decision”), and the results validate that decision. Hitters are hitting .188 against it and it is Walker’s best pitch at both generating whiffs and putting hitters away with two strikes. Even more telling, last year the splitter generated a .388 Weighted On-Base Average (wOBA), an advanced version of on-base percentage that weighs extra base hits more than singles and walks.

This year, batters have a .215 wOBA against Walker’s split-finger. When asked if the splitter is the main reason for his 2022 success, he did not hesitate.

“I would say so. In my last couple starts, I’ve kind of lost the feel for it, and that changes my whole game. When I have it on I feel like it’s such a big weapon for me.”

The newly-minted 30-year-old says he felt the pitch starting to improve in spring training. As the season has played out, he’s gained more and more confidence in it, even though most people know it’s coming.

“Everyone knows it’s my best pitch,” Walker said with amusement. “The biggest thing is, with runners on base, I’m probably going to live and die by the splitter. If I need to throw it ten times in a row, I’m going to throw it ten times in a row.”

Entering his start on Tuesday in Atlanta, a staggering 41 of Walker’s 85 strikeouts have ended with a splitter. He said that the general confidence he has in the pitch also allows him to throw it in any situation. This season when he’s behind in the count, Walker has thrown the splitter more often than any other pitch. That didn’t use to be the case (last year it was his third-most used pitch when behind in the count), and the change comes from an assurance that the ball will not betray him.

“I’m able to throw it whenever I want and know what it’s going to do,” Walker said. “It’s gonna get weak contact or swing and miss.”

That weak contact has mostly been on the ground, a dream-like scenario for any pitcher who relies on a splitter and another main statistical difference between this year’s splitter and last year’s. When hitters put the splitter in play, it’s a worm burner 65.5% of the time, compared to 53.4% last year. Walker pointed to that as one of the main pieces of evidence that the pitch has gotten better.

“You can see from the swings on it or the action on it,” he explained. “If it’s dropping late, it’s going good, but if it’s kind of just floating up there, it does nothing.”

One particular day of the season made everything fall into place for the Yucaipa, Calif., native, who will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of his MLB debut next summer. He said it happened in his home state, when the Mets played in Los Angeles on June 2.

“The Dodger start, really, that’s when it got me out of some big jams,” he said. “That’s when I was like, ‘Oh wow, this is good.’ After that it kind of took off and I said, ‘OK, this is my pitch. This is what I know I’m going to throw.’”

In addition to bringing his big moment of clarity, that game also led to one of Walker’s favorite personal highlights of the season. Asked if he’s thrown one specific splitter that stands out above the rest, Walker chose one that struck out a former MVP.

“Ooh, there’s been a lot of good ones,” he said before a long pause. “I would say the Mookie Betts at-bat. I think it was a 3-2 count, runners on, big situation. It was one of those that almost looked like a slider. He couldn’t hold up his swing, and it got me out of a big jam. That was probably my best one.”

Perhaps it’s a good sign that Walker thinks his best pitch of the season happened at Dodger Stadium. If all goes well, that’s a place the Mets will end up in October. They already have one player who thinks he’s done his best work there, and if the Mets get the best out of everyone else too, it could mean a chance for Walker to test his splitter in the World Series.

Copyright © 2022, New York Daily News

Copyright © 2022, New York Daily News