What’s in a number?
Sometimes more than you would guess, or even want to know.
Take No. 5 for the Cubs. That belongs to shortstop Ronny Cedeno, at least it does right now.
But it used to belong to catcher Michael Barrett, until Nomar Garciaparra came aboard two years ago.
Garciaparra was given No. 8, but he had always worn No. 5, so Barrett swapped numbers with his new, more famous, teammate.
About the same time, Neifi Perez came to the Cubs.
“I used to wear No. 5, that was my lucky number,” Perez says. “But Nomar had it.”
So Perez took No. 13.
“A lot of people say it’s bad luck,” Perez says, “but it can’t be for everybody. I like it.”
Once Garciaparra left, Barrett was asked if he wanted No. 5 back. No, he said he was fine with 8.
And Cedeno seemed OK with No. 11–until Jacque Jones came along and wanted it. So Cedeno gave it up and wound up with the much-worn No. 5.
Dealing in digits
Obviously handing out numbers is not as simple as it sounds for Tom “Otis” Hellman and Vince Fresso, clubhouse managers for the Cubs and White Sox, respectively.
On the other hand some players are easier to please than others, like White Sox outfielder Scott Podsednik, who came to town in December 2004.
“I wore No. 20 in Milwaukee,” he says. “I’ve worn all kinds of different numbers. It’s not real significant to me. For as superstitious as I am, I’ve never worried about the number.”
So how did he wind up with 22 on his Sox uniform?
“It was hanging in my locker, so I rolled with it,” he says.
How does the clubhouse man decide who gets what number when a new player arrives?
“It depends how many years of service they have,” Fresso says. “Jim Thome had been around for 15 years when we got him. Joe Borchard had No. 25 and it wasn’t very good for him. I called Borchard and he said he would give it up.”
So Thome got his 25 and Borchard took the 27 Geoff Blum had worn last season.
“Blum was a good friend of Borchard’s, so it worked out,” Fresso says.
Of course since Borchard has been traded, 27 is now available.
It also is unused on the North Side, one of the few prime numbers–usually considered those below 50–that isn’t taken by either team.
Double vision
When the Cubs and White Sox meet this weekend at U.S. Cellular Field, which No. 25 do you root for, Derrek Lee or Jim Thome?
That should be easy with Lee on the disabled list.
But which No. 34 pitcher, Kerry Wood or Freddy Garcia? Which No. 5 shortstop, Cedeno or Juan Uribe? Which No. 15 at second base, Jerry Hairston or Tadahito Iguchi? Which No. 45 pitcher, Sean Marshall or Bobby Jenks? Which No. 44, 13, 38?
Some numbers are so unusual they aren’t duplicated on the other side of town, like No. 62 with the Cubs and No. 56 with the White Sox.
“My first year with the White Sox, I had 62,” Cubs reliever Bob Howry says. “Then I switched to 46. I was 46 with Boston. When I went to Cleveland, I was 62. Then I switched to 46 last year.
“When I came to the Cubs, I wanted 46, but it was taken [by Ryan Dempster]. So I took 62; I knew no one else was going to take it.”
No. 56 with the White Sox is ace lefty Mark Buehrle, who surely has earned a more desirable number.
“The number I always wanted was 38,” Buehrle says. “At the time I came up, Gary Glover had it. He lived with me and said I could have it.”
Buehrle declined, was given 56 and the rest is White Sox history.
“One good thing about it,” Buehrle says, “if I’m traded, I won’t have to argue with anyone to get it.”
Decisions, decisions
How does a player decide on a number when given a choice? Not always like you might imagine.
Jerome Williams was given No. 32 last year with the Cubs but didn’t like it. He wanted No. 57, which he had worn in San Francisco.
“I didn’t want to switch during the season because I heard that was bad karma,” Williams says.
So he waited and made the switch on April 6–during this season.
Oops. A short time later Williams was demoted to the minor leagues.
It works for them
Some numbers have special meaning to certain players.
Former White Sox Carlos May favored No. 17, because the back of his jersey spelled out “May 17,” which was his birthday.
While American-born players traditionally shun No. 13 as unlucky, Venezuelan players request the number because it was made famous by shortstop Dave Concepcion.
The White Sox someday probably will retire the 13 of Ozzie Guillen to go with the 11 of another Venezuelan shortstop, Luis Aparicio.
And while White Sox knuckleballer Charlie Haeger wore No. 40 in his debut, he might want to consider switching to 49 in the future because of its historical significance. Knuckleballers who have worn 49 include Hoyt Wilhelm, Tom Candiottti, Charlie Hough and Tim Wakefield.
It wasn’t that long ago that players bought expensive necklaces to hang their numbers on, usually given to wives and/or girlfriends. Switching numbers with a new team, therefore, became a very big deal and, potentially, very expensive.
“It’s not as much the jewelry anymore, it’s more their numbers on the [back of] specialty shoes and [on] wristbands,” Fresso says.
And then there’s the case of Willie Harris when he was with the White Sox and wore No. 12. Out of respect Harris was forced to give that number to Roberto Alomar and take No. 13. No word on whether Harris has removed the “12” he had tattooed on his left calf.
Some players like their numbers so much they will buy them from another player. That wasn’t the case with the Cubs’ Marshall, who was assigned No. 45 in spring camp.
“I always liked 34, but it was taken [by Wood] and I didn’t have enough money, for sure,” Marshall says.
Luck of the draw
Some players are traded and get lucky.
Reliever Matt Thornton wore No. 37 in Seattle and got to wear it again when he came to the Sox, but only because Jon Adkins had been traded during the winter for Alex Cintron. Javier Vazquez wore No. 33 in Arizona and found it open when he came to the Sox because Aaron Rowand had recently been traded.
Jermaine Dye was able to keep the No. 23 he wore in Oakland because Robin Ventura was gone. But clubhouse managers are very sensitive about giving out the numbers of stars or even their favorite players, like Ventura, and usually let some time pass before reissuing them.
“Mark Prior was 21 in college,” Hellman says.
That number was Sammy Sosa’s when Prior came up and now goes unused.
“It’s out of respect for Sammy,” Hellman says.
Prior wears No. 22.
Many players can’t get their preferred number because the team has retired it, although that is not as big a problem with the Cubs and Sox as it is with the Yankees, who have 16 out of use.
Except for Jackie Robinson’s No. 42, which is retired by all clubs, the Cubs have only four numbers flying from the foul poles. The Sox have retired eight jerseys, including the No. 72 of Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk, who also has had his No. 27 retired in Boston.
Cintron wore No. 3 in Arizona but found it worn by Sox coach Harold Baines, who will be the last one to wear it for the Sox.
Timing is everything
Not all players want the uniform worn by a just-departed player. Just ask Cubs announcer Bob Brenly, who remembers when he left San Francisco as a free agent and signed with Toronto.
“The only number the Blue Jays had available was 9,” Brenly says. “Apparently it was worn by Rick Leach the year before. He must have ticked off fans everywhere, because every place I went, I kept hearing, `Leach, you [stink].’
“And I kept saying, `But I’m not Leach.'”
Cubs manager Dusty Baker has lived a charmed life, at least number-wise.
“I wore No. 12 as a kid because Tommy Davis was my hero,” Baker says. “When I got to the pros, they gave me 12, so I ended up wearing my hero’s number, playing the same position on the same team (the Dodgers) as my hero.”
Baker still wears No. 12 with the Cubs. Would he ever switch with a player who came aboard after a trade or through free agency?
“He better be a bad dude,” Baker says. “If Derrek Lee or someone came to the team and wanted it, then, yeah, I would switch. But he better be a real bad dude.”
