Taijuan Walker takes back seat on new team –to Mr. Met

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Taijuan Walker is taking a back seat on his new team — to Mr. Met. A day after the Mets finalized his $23 million, three-year contract, Walker said he was aced out of his preferred jersey number by the rotund mascot with the baseball-shaped head. Walker grew up wearing No. 44 and got the number with Seattle in 2016. He switched to No. 99 in Arizona because Paul Goldschmidt had 44. Walker wanted No. 00 with New York, but it’s taken by the he rotund mascot with the baseball-shaped head.