July 14, 200323 yr Urbina wanted his number 41 but Looper already has it.... Urbina adds to his numbers By Juan C. Rodriguez Staff Writer Posted July 14 2003 MONTREAL ? Ugueth Urbina's Marlins debut on Sunday felt a little strange to him, but not for the reason one might think. A closer with 200 saves, Urbina pitched the eighth inning of an 11-4 blowout win over the Expos. It wasn't so much that Urbina didn't record the last out. "It feels weird because today was the first time I pitched without my favorite number," said Urbina, who had worn No. 41 his entire career, until sporting No. 74 on Sunday. "Besides that, everything is fine." It so happens closer Braden Looper owns No. 41. Urbina, who will serve as Looper's setup man, was unsure whether he would ask for it, and Looper didn't know if he would give it up. Traded to Florida by the Rangers on Friday, Urbina chose 74 because it's his birth year. The number on Urbina's back was secondary to those he put into the box score. He walked two of his first three batters, but he struck out two for a scoreless, 23-pitch inning. Six of his past eight outings have been scoreless. Sunday's game was only the third in 40 appearances that he did not finish. "I know what Urbina can do," pitching coach Wayne Rosenthal said. "He's going to throw that stuff over the plate and get you out. He might sometimes go deep in the count, like he did today, but I've seen him throw 10-pitch innings many times." The outing afforded Rosenthal a chance to reacquaint himself with his new reliever. Rosenthal was a coach and later the pitching coordinator in the Expos farm system while Urbina was saving games for the big-league club. "He goes right at guys," Rosenthal said. "He's got the movement on his slider and the fastball, and the changeup that looks like it stops at times. He's aggressive in the zone. When you're a closer or a setup guy, that's what you need to do, get ground balls early in the count and go right at guys." Link
July 14, 200323 yr It'd be interesting to see if any of the other players have a certain attachment or a special reason for their numbers.
July 14, 200323 yr It'd be interesting to see if any of the other players have a certain attachment or a special reason for their numbers. I have a special attachment to my number, 25 (DLee wears it for the Marlins). When you first pick your number it sticks with you for a few years and it grows on you. It becomes a superstition to some even when they can't play well without their number. And usually the number has some sort of significance when it is first chosen.
July 14, 200323 yr Author It'd be interesting to see if any of the other players have a certain attachment or a special reason for their numbers. I know Burnett changed his number from 43 to 34 because "34" was his high school number and he wanted it....
July 14, 200323 yr I couldnt care less what my # is. My junior year in high school I picked 88 (receiver) because I could have the same # for away and home jerseys. Then, of course you gotta stick with ur #, so I was 88 again. Being redshirted my first year in college, I didnt have a #. Havent picked one yet for this coming season. I really dont care. In fact, I might just let the equipment manager pick it. Ill just make sure I keep it for the next 3-4 years.
July 14, 200323 yr I couldnt care less what my # is. My junior year in high school I picked 88 (receiver) because I could have the same # for away and home jerseys. Then, of course you gotta stick with ur #, so I was 88 again. Being redshirted my first year in college, I didnt have a #. Havent picked one yet for this coming season. I really dont care. In fact, I might just let the equipment manager pick it. Ill just make sure I keep it for the next 3-4 years. Thats a rarity, in my experience (myself included) most people actually care what number they have and usually have a specific preference for a specific reason. Most people keep their same jersey number as long as possible and if they have to change they change to something similar.
July 14, 200323 yr Well what I was kind of hinting at were specifics on Marlins players... But it's okay, I'm sure your stories are equally as touching!
July 14, 200323 yr Brad Penny swapped with Rich Dubee a couple years ago - 31 for 28. I don't remember why.... Also, Cliff Floyd switched from 15 to 30 in 1999 or 2000 - I think it had to do with his goal to be a 30/30 man. Another tid-bit - since many venezuelan shortstops wear 13, John Boles offered to give SeaBass his 13, but SB didn't care or want to do it.
July 14, 200323 yr I think Cliff changed so Kevin Millar could take it... He had only used #15 in his carreer (except for when he was #18 when he was originally called up). Todd Dunwoody's number was the sum of the chapter and verse numbers of his favorite Bible verse (I don't remember the number though). Josh Beckett is "61" because it is his favorite number "19" (Mike Lowell's) up-side down.
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