Veteran longshot pitcher Jose Lima arrived at Met camp boasting that he never wears the same suit twice. Apparently he’s applying the same rules of fashion to his Met jerseys.
Lima on Saturday suited up No. 17, his third different Met jersey this spring. Lima, you will recall, was issued No. 99 and then spent an afternoon in 42 before the Mets thought better of reissuing the mothballed Jackie Robinson uni and gave him 99 back. In the meantime the Mets sold Dae Sung Koo back to Korea, freeing up 17, in which Lima appeared most recently. For a guy the Mets are likely to bid “auf wiedersehen” to in a matter of weeks, he’s kept things interesting on the runway. (Thanks to MBTN reader Jason for the tip).
Jason also reports that coach Jerry Manuel appeared in No. 35, solving the mysery of what number he fled to after Chad Bradford claimed his 53 (below). What number remains for World Baseball Classic-exiled reliever Jose Santiago is still unknown (as is the question of whether he’s actually coming back after the tournament is complete). Santiago earlier this spring lost his assigned number 33 to teammate John Maine.
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