Quote:
Originally Posted by RchW
I'm not in agreement with this as many well known veterans have high numbers. Aaron 44. Russ Martin 55 Justin Verlander 35, Ortiz 34 VMart 41, Beltre 29, Scherzer 37.
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Russell Martin has always worn #55, so that would be his default number anyway. I wouldn't consider any of the other examples you listed to be high numbers. I basically just meant that as a general rule, a veteran player would not opt for a number over, say, 60 without a good reason (like adding another to a single-digit number, so a guy who always wore 6 and would go to 66). No Spring Training numbers for veterans, basically. Relief pitchers would be more likely to take high numbers.
In the OP's example, Jeter ended up with 83, which is a little ridiculous IMO. In the example I gave, which was adding a number before the 2, Jeter would opt for the lower number (12, 32, etc.) rather than the higher number (72, 82, etc.).
There are a few ways to make it a relevant number: add a digit to a single-digit number, take away a digit from a double-digit number, flip it, add one, subtract one, double it, cut it in half, keep the same first number, keep the same second number. The low-number rule would apply at around 60. So even though flipping a two-digit number (34 becomes 43) is logical, if a guy wears 17, he's more likely to go to another of the above rules (and get 16, 18, 27, 37, 47, 34, 1, or 7) rather than taking 71.
Like I said before, basically no Spring Training numbers for veterans without a good reason as a general rule. There's no reason that Jeter should wear 83. Perhaps outliers could be linked to personality rating, so you have the occasional situation like Manny Ramirez wearing 99 for the Dodgers. But like I said, as a general rule, no Spring Training numbers for veterans.