Can someone answer this?

[jjw0530]

What number can never be worn in Major League Baseball and why?

[Erik Bedard]

42, because Jackie Robinson wore that number and he was the first black Major Leaguer and the whole MLB has retired it. Various teams can retire individual numbers, for both service to the team and all around greatness. But #42 is the only all-MLB retired number.

[keving7]

Mariano Rivera wears #42

[flash143817]

Mariano Rivera wears #42

He was grandfathered into the rule because he wore #42 before it became retired leaguewide. He will be the last major leaguer to wear #42.

[KingSwisher]

What number can never be worn in Major League Baseball and why?

Jose Canseco tried to wear this number - 1,238,749,639,200,390,000,294,773,021 - but all the stitching thread weighted him down too much, so I doubt that one can ever be worn.

Got anymore good ones?

[Utter Chaos]

Bill Lee wanted to wear number 337 once so when he look down at his shirt he'd see his name (337 upside down looks like LEE)

[va_nats_fan]

Pi.

Oh my.

[Erik Bedard]

Bill Lee wanted to wear number 337 once so when he look down at his shirt he'd see his name (337 upside down looks like LEE)

That was just on the Red Sox, who don't put names on their uniforms.

[Mikie]

He was grandfathered into the rule because he wore #42 before it became retired leaguewide. He will be the last major leaguer to wear #42.

Jose Lima also continued to wear #42 after it was retired, but I see now he's wearing #17 for the Mets. Personal choice, or due to having been out of MLB then coming back and no longer being considered eligible for the grandfather clause, I don't know.

[flash143817]

Jose Lima also continued to wear #42 after it was retired, but I see now he's wearing #17 for the Mets. Personal choice, or due to having been out of MLB then coming back and no longer being considered eligible for the grandfather clause, I don't know.

Lima wore #27 a couple years ago with the Dodgers. I was unaware that he ever wore #42 but I'm assuming that once he switched #'s, whenever it was, he was then ineligible to wear #42 again.

Interesting side note:
Who were some of the players that were wearing #42 at the time it was retired?

I can think of Rivera, Mo Vaughn, and Butch Huskey. I'm sure there were a few others.

[Royal Rooter]

Ted Turner convinced a rookie pitcher to wear number 7, and decided to call him by his nickname "Channel." So they stitched Channel on the back of his jersey, with the number "7". That just happened to be the same name of the TV network Turner owned that broadcast the games "Channel 7." So it was free advertising for awhile when ever this guy was on the mound.

[Utter Chaos]

Ted Turner convinced a rookie pitcher to wear number 7, and decided to call him by his nickname "Channel." So they stitched Channel on the back of his jersey, with the number "7". That just happened to be the same name of the TV network Turner owned that broadcast the games "Channel 7." So it was free advertising for awhile when ever this guy was on the mound.It was in 1976 and the player was 31 year old Andy Messersmith, one of the first free agents in baseball. Turner wanted Messersmith, who wore #17 with Atlanta, to change his name on his uniform to Channel. NL President Chub Feeney nixed the idea as soon as he found out about it.

[soberdennis]

Mariano Rivera is the last of the players who were allowed to wear #42. When Mo finally retires, noone will ever wear that number again. But since he is still playing, that cannot be the answer.
I doubt they will let anyone wear 1/8 again. Anyone remember who wore that.

[Erik Bedard]

I doubt they will let anyone wear 1/8 again. Anyone remember who wore that.

Eddie Gaedel.

[flash143817]

More number trivia:

Who was the only player (to my knowledge) to wear his initials as his number?

[Utter Chaos]

Omar Olivares wore 00 in 1993 and 1995

[HOYA86]

1. What player had his birthday (month and date) on the back of his jersey?

2. What player had his hometown (and what was the name of the town) on the back of his jersey?

[Yankwood]

Carlos May 17
Bill Voiselle of Ninety Six, South Carolina

[Gee Walker]

1. What player had his birthday (month and date) on the back of his jersey?

2. What player had his hometown (and what was the name of the town) on the back of his jersey?

Bill Voiselle was from 96, South Carolina.

[HOYA86]

Carlos May 17
Bill Voiselle of Ninety Six, South Carolina

Those are the correct answers.

A minor leaguer in the 50's wore a backward number - what was it and why did he wear it that way?

[Mikie]

1. What player had his birthday (month and date) on the back of his jersey?

2. What player had his hometown (and what was the name of the town) on the back of his jersey?

Two of my all-time favorite trivia questions, though they're pretty well-known. Voiselle was actually born on a farm that technically was not within the township borders of Ninety-Six, SC, but he lived there most of his life and always considered it his hometown.

There's a much more difficult derivative question along the same lines....

Name the only player who would have worn his hometown on the back of his jersey, except he played before uniforms had players' names on them?

Hint: He could be on that All-Seafood team in another thread.

[Mikie]

Those are the correct answers.

A minor leaguer in the 50's wore a backward number - what was it and why did he wear it that way?

It was a backward "7" because his name was Johnny Neves, playing for the 1951 Fargo-Moorhead Twins of the Northern League. There's a picture of him here, from the HOF's site:

http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/exhibits/online_exhibits/dressed_to_the_nines/numbers.htm

[Utter Chaos]

Name the only player who would have worn his hometown on the back of his jersey, except he played before uniforms had players' names on them?

Hint: He could be on that All-Seafood team in another thread.
Here's a list of ball players whose last name is the same as the town they were born in.

Happy Townsend, born 4/9/1879 in Townsend, DE
Jack Ogden, born 11/5/1897 in Ogden, PA
Lore Bader, born 4/27/1888 in Bader, IL
Slim Love, born 8/1/1890 in Love, MS
Verne Clemons, born 9/8/1891 in Clemons, IA
Curly Ogden, born 1/24/1901 in Ogden, PA
Estel Crabtree, born 8/19/1903 in Crabtree, OH
George Turbeville, born 8/24/1914 in Turbeville, SC
Charlie Gassaway, born 8/12/1918 in Gassaway, TN
Steve Phoenix, born 1/31/1968 in Phoenix, AZ

Also Preston Gomez was born in Preston, Cuba and Lefty York died in York, PA.

Doesn't look like any of them are seafood related.

[Mikie]

Here's a list of ball players whose last name is the same as the town they were born in.

Happy Townsend, born 4/9/1879 in Townsend, DE
Jack Ogden, born 11/5/1897 in Ogden, PA
Lore Bader, born 4/27/1888 in Bader, IL
Slim Love, born 8/1/1890 in Love, MS
Verne Clemons, born 9/8/1891 in Clemons, IA
Curly Ogden, born 1/24/1901 in Ogden, PA
Estel Crabtree, born 8/19/1903 in Crabtree, OH
George Turbeville, born 8/24/1914 in Turbeville, SC
Charlie Gassaway, born 8/12/1918 in Gassaway, TN
Steve Phoenix, born 1/31/1968 in Phoenix, AZ

Also Preston Gomez was born in Preston, Cuba and Lefty York died in York, PA.

Doesn't look like any of them are seafood related.

Wow, you've just expanded my horizon considerably, I thought Crabtree was the only one...his nick was "Crabby" to qualify him for the seafood team. Thanks for the list!

[Utter Chaos]

Wow, you've just expanded my horizon considerably, I thought Crabtree was the only one...his nick was "Crabby" to qualify him for the seafood team. Thanks for the list!I was surprised there was that many as well. Don't know how I missed the "Crabby" Crabtree / seafood connection.