At the press conference this afternoon introducing JJ Putz as a member of the Mets they issued him a jersey with No. 40 on it. That jersey most recently belonged to chubby reserve catcher Robinson Cancel and before that, Ambiorix Burgos who was not offered a contract last week and became a free agent at least in baseball terms.
Putz remarked to reporters afterward that he’d ask coach Howard Johnson about the possibility of taking over his No. 20 jersey when the games start this spring. I’d guess HoJo gives the OK, though I’ve always preferred the No. 20 jersey stay on the back of hitters (like HoJo, Agee, Burnitz… and Ken Henderson).It hasn’t been worn by a pitcher since Ricky Bottalicoin 2001 2004 (thanks commenters).
Bonus Trivia: Without looking it up, how many Met pitchers can you name who wore No. 20? (there have been six including Bottalico)
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 12/19/2008 – 9:08am.
Was Bottalico in 2001 or 2003?
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Bottalico was 2004. He
Submitted by Matt B (not verified) on Fri, 12/19/2008 – 9:18am.
Bottalico was 2004. He originally wore 34, but gave it to Kris Benson and switched to 20.
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My bad. 2004 is correct.
Submitted by Jon Springer on Fri, 12/19/2008 – 10:18am.
My bad. 2004 is correct.
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Rick Ownbey and John Pacella
Submitted by Ranjrz5 on Sat, 12/20/2008 – 12:19am.
Rick Ownbey and John Pacella are two
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Bottalico, Rick Ownbey, John
Submitted by gored82 on Sun, 12/21/2008 – 10:29am.
Bottalico, Rick Ownbey, John Pacella, Greg Harris, and Bob Friend – that’s 5…I give up on the 6th…
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Craig Anderson!
Submitted by Jon Springer on Sun, 12/21/2008 – 1:47pm.
Craig Anderson!
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That Anderson pitched in
Submitted by gored82 on Sun, 12/21/2008 – 11:20pm.
That Anderson pitched in the Polo Grounds era, I think…BTW, I just got the book and it’s great reading!