Baseball is a game of numbers. For everything a player does on the field, there's a number to evaluate it. But the number that a player chooses to share with us -- the one on the back of his jersey -- often remains a mystery. So we asked players around the league for the best stories behind their numbers.
For some it's a tribute to a childhood hero or a family legacy, while others have more humorous tales behind their selections. And, yes, some were just handed a jersey with a number on it somewhere along the way and never let it go. What is your favorite big leaguer's uniform-number story?
Adam Ottavino, Colorado Rockies
Ottavino is the only pitcher to ever wear zero. He said it's an "O" for his last name, and he has worn it since little league. His former team, the St. Louis Cardinals, would not let him wear it, but the Rockies said yes.
Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox
"I grew up following Derek Jeter. He was one of the prime examples of how you want any kid growing up to play the game, just to take the good habits that he had. That's why I asked to see if I could get No. 2 after Jacoby [Ellsbury] went over to the Yankees."
J.J. Hardy, Baltimore Orioles
"There were only two single digits available when I came here -- 2 and 7. Cal Ripken Sr. was 7, so they said they'd rather not give that one out. So I took 2. I was 7 in Milwaukee and 27 in Minnesota. So I figured the 2 kind of went with both of those. My first thought was, who was No. 2? And it was Bill Hall when I played in Milwaukee. But Jeter was my favorite player in high school. The 2 didn't have anything to do with that, but I did like Jeter."
Sandy Leon, Boston Red Sox
"Three is the month when I [was] born -- March. July 3 is my mother's birthday. May 3 is my dad's birthday, too. March 13 is the day I [was] born. There's a lot of 3s in there, so I like that number."
George Springer, Houston Astros
"My favorite player as a kid was Torii Hunter, and he wore 48, so I kind of stuck with it. I always wore some multiple of 4 -- whether it was 2, 4 or 8.
"When I was at Connecticut, we were at a fall practice and I was screwing around and my coach, Jim Penders, said, 'What, are you 4 years old?' When it was time to pick our jerseys, that was the smallest one. I weighed like 170 pounds at the time, and I needed it to fit. I was like, 'I need the smallest jersey, and coach says I act like I'm 4. So I'll be 4.'"
Albert Almora Jr., Chicago Cubs
"I think I'm a single-digit guy. I don't think I'm big enough to wear two digits. It was between 5 and 8, and I chose 5. I just don't think I'd look good in two digits."
Anthony Rendon, Washington Nationals
"I actually hate the No. 6, but they gave it to me when I got here. I was 23 in college, and I was always 24 growing up for [Ken] Griffey [Jr.]. But 24 was taken in college, so they gave me the closest number. Everywhere we used to go, they called me Jordan. My birthday's in June, so there are some ties to six. I don't hate it, it's just not my favorite. It's a single number, too. That's weird. I've never had a single number.
"I was going to switch for this year. I could've taken 24, but MLB makes you buy all of the inventory, and it would've been like 40 grand. I told them, 'Don't make any more then. Just sell it and get the total down, and maybe I'll change it next year.'"
Dee Gordon, Miami Marlins
"Dad's high school number. And they thought I looked like Juan Pierre when I first got up to the Dodgers. I used to wear 5, but I got to the Dodgers and [Juan] Uribe had it, and 9 was better than 70. People thought it was a Pierre thing -- I mean, I'm little and fast and hit leadoff -- but for me, it was my dad. His big league numbers were 36 and 45: 3 plus 6 is 9, and 4 plus 5 is 9."
Dusty Baker, Washington Nationals manager
"I wore it because Tommy Davis wore it, and he was my baseball hero with the Dodgers. I was lucky enough that when I got to the Braves, they just gave me 12. That's why Jeff Kent wore 21. He was 12 with New York, but I was wearing it already in San Francisco. It's been my lucky number since I was a kid. Calendar has 12 months. There's 12 tribes of Israel. Twelve is just 12.
"My life's been so good that, when I got traded to the Dodgers, Tommy Davis was one of my heroes, and then there I was wearing his number, then I ended up batting where he batted, I played left. How many guys end up playing their hero's position and wearing their number?"
Chase Headley, New York Yankees
"I wanted something lower. They gave me three numbers and I chose 12. ... But I've never been like, 'I have to have this number.' ... If I came to a new team, I would not buy someone a Rolex just so I can have a number. To me, it is not worth it. There is nothing wrong with it, it is just not me."
And so on, it goes.....
No comments:
Post a Comment