VIERA, Fla. (AP) -There’s a new Ocho Cinco in pro sports: Washington Nationals outfielder Lastings Milledge is switching to No. 85 after relinquishing his career-long No. 44 to new teammate Adam Dunn.
Milledge, who wore No. 44 with the Mets and Nationals, chose his new number because he was born in 1985.
“That number’s so ugly,” Dunn said, “I might just give this one back.”
It’s quite rare for players in the majors to have numbers that high, although Manny Ramirez did wear No. 99 after he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer.
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Both Dunn and Milledge said the latter offered to make the switch. Dunn – who wore No. 44 with his previous club, the Cincinnati Reds – originally was given No. 32 by the Nationals and donned that jersey number for his introductory news conference after signing as a free agent. The Nationals even gave Dunn’s 2-year-old son a tiny No. 32 jersey that day.
So why did Milledge – who agreed to a $452,000 contract for 2009 on Thursday – offer his jersey number to Dunn?
“He hit 240 (homers) the last six years,” Milledge said. “How … am I going to wear that and let him wear another number?”
While both players said Milledge didn’t ask for anything in return, Dunn – when pressed – said: “I tipped him.”
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