Mr. Met blocks Walker wearing No. 00
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 baseballshaped head.
“I was 44 growing up, and I finally got it with the Mariners in 2016,” Walker said Tuesday. “And then I ended up getting traded at the end of the year, and when I got traded to the Diamondbacks, Paul Goldschmidt was No. 44. So I was, OK, I’m never going to get that again.”
So Walker thought: “What number can wear that not a lot of people in the league have it?”
He chose 99.
“And I think the only way I don’t wear 99 is if I get traded to the Yankees,” he said. “So I was, OK, 99 is a safe bet and live with that.”
“And then, of course, last year I got traded to Toronto and (Hyun Jin) Ryu wears 99. So, I was like, OK, well, that didn’t work out. So I’m wearing 00. Something different, again.”
“And, of course, this year, Mr. Met is 00. So I just went back to wearing 99.”
The only previous Mets No. 99 was Turk Wendell from 1997-2001, according to Baseball Reference.
Lamar Stevens drove for an easy dunk with 4.1 seconds left and Atlanta failed to get off a final shot as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Hawks 112-111 on Tuesday night to end their 10game losing streak — the NBA’s longest this season.
Collin Sexton scored 29 points for the Cavs.
Trae Young, snubbed as an All-Star reserve earlier in the day, had 28 points and 12 assists for the Hawks.
Bucks 139, Timberwolves 112 — Giannis Antetokoumpo had 37 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as Milwaukee spoiled the debut of new Minnesota coach Chris Finch.
Bryn Forbes added a season-high 23 points for the Bucks.
76ers 109, Raptors 102 — Tobias Harris scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and Philadelphia beat Toronto to end the Raptors’ four-game winning streak.
Joel Embiid had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the 76ers, and Furkan Korkmanz added 19 points.
Nets 127, Kings 118 — Bruce Brown scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter to lead Brooklyn over Sacramento.
James Harden recorded a triple-double, finishing with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists.
Pistons 105, Magic 93 — Rookie guard Saben Lee scored a career-best 21 points, Josh Jackson added 18 and Detroit snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over Orlando.
Warriors 114, Knicks 106 — Stephen Curry welcomed fans back to Madison Square Garden with another big night in the building, scoring 37 points and leading Golden State past New York.