Anyway, what I really have here is nothing more than a cheap and flimsy excuse to waddle down Memory Lane, and summon up the ghosts of Blue Jays of yore.

Baseball is a game of numbers, some say. (The next time I actually hear someone say it, I want to ask about the running and the throwing and the hitting that seems to me to be kind of cental to the whole \\"baseball\\" thing as well... stop me, now. Thanks.)

Over the years Blue Jays have taken the field wearing numbers ranging anywhere from 0 to 88. So who was the best or most memorable to wear any of those numbers? Let's find out...

1 - This is about easy as it gets. Tony Fernandez wore number 1 during all four of his tours of duty, and we find his name all over the team record book: most games, at bats, hits. He was the defensive whiz who banged out 200 hits a year, only to lose much of his edge, and possibly much of his joy in the game, after a serious beaning in 1989. He came back just to fill a hole, to fill a role in 1993, but he played brilliantly in the championship run. His third tour found him losing so much of his defensive skills that he had to be moved out of the middle of the infield, but he could still rip line drives at will. And he wrapped it all up with a memorable coda as a pinch-hitting specialist (and a dandy!), receiving and giving back more fan affection than he'd probably ever known in his long and distinguished career. He was an amazing player before the beaning. Other notables: Bob Bailor, who was the team's first .300 hitter, and Orlando Hudson, who will win his first Gold Glove wearing this numeral.

2 - This is tricky, as number 2 seems to have been the numeral of choice for mediocre infielders. It's been worn by Fred Manrique, Luis Sojo, Danny Ainge, and Dave Berg, among others. My vote goes to Nelson Liriano for his fine performance in 1989, especially his knack for breaking up no-hitters. And that double of the wall against the Red Sox. Runner-up, by default: Otis Nixon.

3 - This number was out of player circulation for much of the 1980s, as it was being worn by Jimy Williams. So far, the most noteworthy playing performance was turned in by Mookie Wilson during the 1989 stretch run. It was just two months, but man, he was on fire. The O-Dog wore 3 for a couple of seasons, before turning it over to Reed Johnson this year. And, lest we forget, Jeff Frye wore number 3 when he became the second (and last) Blue Jay to hit for the cycle.

4 - Catcher Phil Roof wore this in 1977; since then it's been exclusively the possession of middle infielders. And with all respect to Manuel Lee and Craig Grebeck, it's obvous that number 4 belongs to Alfredo Griffin. Alfredo still shows up on a couple of the all-time team lists: 10th in games played, 4th in caught stealing, and, of course, 1st in insane basepath commando raids. I will always remember him scoring from second base on an Ed Sprague's infield ground out against Seattle. In the 9th inning of a one-run game. April 7, 1993.

5 - This is pretty easy: Rance Mulliniks wore this number with class and skill for eleven seasons. He didn't look like an athlete - he looked like the guy who does your taxes. But he was a ballplayer, a doubles-hitting machine. Chris Woodward is a distant runner-up.

6 - The Jays very first All-Star, Ron Fairly wore number 6, and Carlos Delgado wore it while he was trying to become... Carlos Delgado. Otherwise, it belongs to fringe players and failed prospects (hello, Sil Campusano!) So the Jays number 6 will have to be Bobby Cox, who introduced us all to a little thing called winning. Which, it turns out, beats hell out of losing. So thanks for that, Bobby.

7 - First worn by original manager Roy Hartsfield, and now being worn by Josh Towers. Tony Batista hit a lot of home runs, and Shannon Stewart made his first September call-ups in this number. But the honours here have to go to Damaso Garcia. Damaso was the first Jays position player who actually looked like a real genuine major leaguer to me, and he still sits among the team's all-time leaders in at bats, runs, hits, doubles, and stolen bases.

8 - Bullpen coach John Sullivan wore this number for 12 seasons, so the players haven't had much of a shot here. At the moment, Alex Gonzalez is the most distinguished number 8, and besides being really cute and a very fine defensive player, Gonzo also shows up in some of the all-time leader lists. Unfortunately, it's in the categories for sac hits, caught stealing, and strikeouts. Oh, Alex, Alex. You coulda made us proud. Russ Adams, we're counting on you.

9 - Rick Cerone's Blue Jay number has been returned to the catchers in recent years. Gregg Zaun wears it now, and before him it belonged to Darrin Fletcher and Tom Wilson. Bob Brenly wore this when he was a Blue Jay. But, with all respect to these men, and Rick Leach and Barry Bonnell before them, we know who number 9 has to be - the only Blue Jay to win a batting title, Long John Olerud. Johnny O has the best career on-base percentage of any Blue Jay, and also appears in the leader boards for BAVG, slugging, hits, doubles, walks and RBI. And he's a fine gentleman to boot.

10 - It's tough to snub a World Series MVP, but... sorry. Pat Borders wore the number longer than anyone, but Vernon Wells has worn it better. He already has set a team record for hits in a season, won one Gold Glove, and gives the promise of much more to come. Also of note: John Mayberry, the first Blue Jay to hit 30 HRs in a season, and Dave Collins who still holds the single season stolen base record.

11 - Hmmm....I wonder. Well, Jeff Kent started his fine career wearing a Blue Jays 11... the man he was traded for, David Cone, put on Kent's uniform and won a World Series... Eric Hinske won rookie of the year. Yeah, right. Give it up for the one and only George Bell, ladies and gentleman. Like Barfield and Moseby, his outfield comrades from the 1980s, Bell did not age well. I always wondered how much playing every game every year, half on them on the old Ex turf, had to do with that. Bell could steal bases and throw out base runners when he arrived, and while that part of his game departed fairly quickly, he kept right on hitting. He was the original Dominican redneck, the only Jays MVP, still second in team history in RBIs and third in home runs. And absolutely my favourite hitter to watch, ever. He was so cool in the batter's box. It was his ofice, and he was in charge.

12 - Ernie Whitt wore this number longer than any other Blue Jay, he wore it very well indeed, and he's wearing it again down in the coaching box. But Roberto Alomar was arguably the greatest player in team history, and it's as a Blue Jay that he'll be best remembered. At his peak... oh, you had to see him. He could do absolutely anything he wanted on a baseball diamond, anything at all, and he could think of things to do that other players couldn't even imagine. It was hard to take your eyes of him and look at the other people on the field. He was that compelling a player. He took your breath away. Sox GM Kenny Williams wore this number in between Whitt and Alomar...

13 - ... and Williams switched to this number after Alomar arrived. It didn't change his luck. Jeff Musselman switched to this number in 1988, and a year later he was out of baseball. The Maple Leafs' captain wears this number, and how many games have they won lately? The most distinguished Blue Jay to wear 13 was of course Buck Martinez. You remember him: the manager fired right after winning his 100th game as a manager, the player best remembered for a play in which he broke his leg. Maybe there's something to this superstitious nonsense. Buck was a wonderful defensive catcher, and he could punish a southpaw from time to time. Managing didn't work out, but he's as fine a baseball broadcaster as you're ever going to hear.

14 - Wow, is this a number of ill omen. Last seen on Carlos Tosca's back, it has never been worn by a regular player. The closest we get is Rickey Henderson, who wore it until he was able to bribe Turner Ward into surrendering number 24. Howard Battle! Tilson Brito! Ruben Sierra! Bad news. Do we really have to vote for Derek Bell here? How about Dave Keon? I guess it has to be Bell... he did draw a big walk in the 1992 World Series. It's something. And we'll always have Operation ShutDown to remember, although they may not be as amused by that in Pittsburgh as we are. The proverbial million dollar talent attached to a ten cent head.

15 - The Pat Tabler interregnum aside, this number has generally been the province of outfielders with wonderful tools - Alex Rios fits nicely into that tradition. Shawn Green had two very big years, but the all-time number 15 has to be the Shaker. Lloyd Moseby is second in team history in games played, hits, runs, and walks - you know, pretty significant categories. He is still the all-time stolen base leader, and he shows up in the leader boards for doubles, homers, and RBIs. And, gosh, he was so much fun, and he had so much fun. He was kind of the Orlando Hudson of his day, although Shaker was a little easier to understand.

16 - He was no Whitey Ford, but Garth Iorg possibly got more mileage out of less talent than anyone who ever played for the Jays, and he was here so long as both a player and coach that no one else has had much of a chance to accomplish anything wearing number 16. Mike Bordick had one very nice season, and we're waiting for Guillermo Quiroz.

17 - As it turns out, this is still a pretty easy choice. I think we all thought Josh Phelps would put up a challenge, but that never quite developed. So Kelly Gruber is still the man. His peak was very short, as the doctors (and perhaps his own lack of... commitment, shall we say?) basically called of his career. But it was quite a peak, and his 1990 campaign was the greatest season ever by a Jays third baseman. He was always a superb defender, a very fine baserunner, and in 1990 he had as many huge, game-altering hits as any Jay ever had in any season.

18 - Gabe Gross will get his chance, but Diamond Jim Clancy toiled away for 12 seasons, on some absolutely awful teams. At least before he was done to got to pitch and win a World Series game. Clancy always seemed so big and durable and steady - in fact, he was streaky as all hell and three of his seasons here were torn up by lengthy spells on the DL. But he was always real easy to root for. Clancy is still second all-time in wins, innings, shutouts, complete games, and strikeouts. He lost more games than anyone too, but you can't hold that against him. He was here in 1977. And 1978. And 1979, 1980, and 1981. 'Nuff said.

19 - This number has a fine Toronto pedigree. Otto Velez was the first Blue Jay ever to win AL Player of the Week. Dan Plesac was a great guy, a credit to the game, and a very fine relief pitcher as well. Fred McGriff led the league in HRs, and started what I still insist is a Hall-of-Fame worthy career. But this time, we're not going to slight the World Series MVP. Paul Molitor chose number 19 to honour his long-time Brewers team mate, Robin Yount. No one who saw the way Molitor played in Toronto is going to forget it any time soon. Whatever his team needed, whenever they needed it... he delivered. Again and again and again. As great as his numbers were while he was here, and they were great indeed, they don't even hint at how well he played, and how much he meant to that team.

20 - Al Woods hit a pinch-hit HR in his very first major league at bat, which is pretty cool. Ken Huckaby put Derek Jeter on the disabled list, which I guess is pretty cool if you like that sort of thing. Who else? Rob Ducey put himself on the disabled list running into the wall. Mike Stanley had a good half-season, but Brad Fullmer had a really good full season, and a decent second year. Pickings are slim.

21 - First there was the Beeg Mon, Rico Carty. He was followed by a slew of e'er-do-wells, from Ron Shepherd to Willie Canate. Lately, it's been the province of disappointing pitchers, from Cory Lidle to Voldemort himself, Esteban Loiza. In 1996, Carlos Delgado switched to 21 in order to honour Roberto Clemente, the idol of all Puerto Rican ball players. One year later the Jays signed a free agent pitcher, already on the fast track to the Hall of Fame, and Delgado volunteered to surrender to Roger Clemens the number he had long worn in Boston. (Paul O'Neill would be nowhere near so accomodating when Clemens moved on to New York.) The Rocket had a brief run here, but it was noteworthy, to say the least. Two Cy Youngs, 41 wins, and 563 Ks in two years. It turned out he wasn't washed up after all.

22 - There was Rick Bosetti and Hosken Powell, and now there is Brandon League. In between was Jimmy Key. He spent one year as a LOOGY before emerging as the best lefty in team history, winning 110 games and two more in the 1992 World Series. Nobody who saw his last Blue Jays start, Game 4 of the 1992 World Series, will ever forget the response he received when he left the mound that night. He'd earned it, and then some. We're not going to forget him any time soon, either.

23 - Dave Lemanczyk was the Jays first decent starting pitcher, and Candy Maldonado helped win a World Series. Cecil Fielder started his mythic career right here. The best, however, was probably Jose Cruz. Junior was always a disappointment - he wsn't as good as his father, and he wasn't even as good as you thought he could be. But for all that, he was still a pretty decent player.

24 - Tom Underwood was the Jays original hard-luck lefty. Strangely enough, his luck didn't improve when he moved to the Yankees. Dave Righetti finished his major league career here, demonstrating beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had nothing left whatsoever. Glenallen Hill fought with the spiders, and Turner Ward extorted riches out of Rickey Henderson for the rights to this very number. The best Blue Jay, easily, was Shannon Stewart. Stewart never became quite the player I thought he would - he developed in a different direction. But he was and remains an excellent ofensive player. And of course, watching him throw remains one of the funnier sights baseball has to ofer.

25 - The late Doug Ault was the first Blue Jays hero, and Roy Lee Jackson was the leader of the 80s chapel contingent. Devon White played centre field as gracefully and effectively as the position has ever been played. But seriously folks...Carlos Delgado is by far the most dangerous hitter ever to call Toronto home. He is also fondly remembered by his former team mates (we heard from Zaun and Hinske on this just last week), and universally regarded (except by a few bitter fans) as one of the game's genuinely good people, an intelligent and cultured man who just happens to be as dominating a hitter as you could ever hope to see.

26 - I met Mike Huff at Gate 9 one night, and he looked less like an athlete than... Craig Burley? Chris Carpenter probably was rushed a little, and now seems to be fulfilling his considerable promise elsewhere. Meanwhile, Willie Upshaw was the first Blue Jay to drive in and score 100 runs, and seemed to be emerging as one of the league's rising stars in the early 1980s. His ofense mysteriously and gradually faded away, and he himself was made redundant by Fred McGriff. But he had a few very fine years.

27 - This was Jimmy Key's rookie number, during his LOOGY season. Not much to choose from - Frank Catalanotto is actually a pretty easy choice. This was Tony Castillo's first Jays number, and Randy Knorr wore it on the bench during the 1993 World Series.

28 - We all loved the 2003 Greg Myers, and there are still people bitter that Al Leiter left town after 1995. Tough. Leiter was damaged goods when he arrived, and it took years for him to get back on track. He helped win a World Series, though, which makes up for a lot. This number was worn by Brandon Lyon and Mark Eichhorn in their first major league runs as starting pitchers, before each would find his true, best destiny. In the bullpen. And Randy Myers saved a lot of games in half a season.

29 - It belongs to Shea Hillenbrand now, and Pat Borders wore it during his 1999 cameo. Jesse Barfield was the first Blue Jay to lead the league in a major ofensive category (HRs in 1986), besides possessing one of the greatest outfield throwing arms of all time, let alone anything you and I are ever likely to see. If you didn't actually see Barfield throw... well I'm sorry, but you don't even have a frame of reference. No one today is even close. But still ... I mean, come on! Do I have to tell you his name? DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU HIS NAME? The King of the World! Jumping Joe Carter himself. Touch 'em all, Joe. Pretty well no baseball player who ever lived has, or will ever, hit a bigger home run.

30 - Joe Carter wore this number in Cleveland and Devon White wore it for the Angels. When they came to Toronto, however, it was being worn by Todd Stottlemyre. This was the number Todd's father Mel wore during his fine career as a Yankee pitcher. He didn't wear it as a Yankee coach because Willie Randolph, who had worn it after him, came back as a Yankee coach before Mel did. You find this with the Yankees - the numbers get passed on to players of similar quality. Bill Dickey's number went to Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto's to Tony Kubek. Billy Martin and Bobby Richardson (there's an odd couple). Roger Maris and Graig Nettles (borderline Hall of Famers?) Joe Pepitone and Jason Giambi? Anyway, Stottlemyre never quite harnessed his considerable gifts as a Blue Jay - but he was generally decent, and he was always a ferocious competitor. As well as being one of the more entertaining base runners of all time, him and Kenny Williams. Woody Williams adopted number 30 after Todd was gone, and of course Justin Speier has it now.

31 - Dave Winfield had worn this number for almost 20 years, in San Diego, New York, and California but it wasn't available in Toronto. No, not because of Jim Acker - Acker had been traded to Atlanta in 1986 and the guy who came back was still around, a sweaty right-hander with a filthy undershirt and an even filthier two-pitch arsenal. It all ended suddenly for Duane Ward - the pitches he threw in the 9th inning of the final game of the 1993 World Series were like the last pitches he ever threw as himself - that was some impostor who tried to come back two years later. But for those last three years, 1991-93, he was about as good a pitcher as you could hope to see. The number fell into some disrepair since Ward, being worn by such reprobates as Robert Person and Tanyon Sturtze. Ted Lilly is now trying to restore its honour.

32 - So this is what Dave Winfield settled for when he couldn't get number 31. In 1992, he became the first 40 year old to drive in 100 runs in a season, exactly as Bill James had predicted in the 1983 Baseball Abstract. He also exorcised some old personal demons (Mr May!) that went back to the 1981 World Series (1-22) by driving in the Series winning runs. Good times indeed, but Roy Halladay has already got a resume strong enough to claim the laurels here. And he's nowhere near done yet. Earlier this year, Doc moved past Todd Stottlemyre into 6th place on the Jays all-time win list. He should catch Juan Guzman by about the All-Star Break, and David Wells by the end of the year.

33 - Well, Mike Willis was one of just three guys to beat Ron Guidry in 1978. This was what Doyle Alexander wore his last couple of years here, and David Wells wore this one during his second tour of duty. But Wells was such a grouchy sod in 1999-2000 (\\"like a fat sour neighbour with big dogs\\" as Bill James so memorably described him) that we're going to snub him. Ed Sprague was a GIDP machine, a defensively challenged third baseman, a catcher who had trouble getting the ball back to the pitcher, and about the slowest infielder I have ever seen. But a big World Series home run makes up for a lot, and he did chip in with a decent year or two with the bat. Jose Canseco claimed Sprague's number when Sprague left town in the great 1998 fire sale - it had been Canseco's number in his previous major league stops.

34 - Not too promising - there was Jesse Jefferson, who never amounted to much. Jim Acker wore this in his second tour of duty, which was probably better than his first. But since Dave Stewart was the MVP of 1993 ALCS, and a good citizen to boot, we'll forgive him for the Joey Hamilton trade. Just this once.

35 - This is really, really grim. A host of pitchers who didn't help as much as anybody hoped, including: Dave Geisel, Bryan Clark, Bud Black, Denis Boucher, Corey Thurman. Yuck. Geisel was actually the most useful of this bunch, but I just can't bring myself to do it. So let's honour Phil Niekro, who stunk in his August 1987 Jays moment, but had a Hall of Fame career in other parts.

36 - Jerry Garvin was the Chris Michalak of 1977, a LH who couldn't get that many hitters out, but was really good at picking them of after they reached base. Bill Caudill came here and lost his fastball, very bad news for a guy with just one pitch. Darren Hall had half a season of success and slipped back into the obscurity from whence he came. Marty Janzen was the hot prospect obtained in the David Cone trade. Whoops. Bob File managed one good season, and then his arm rebelled at the whole pitching thing. So clearly, we have to vote for the original David Wells, the one who made the team as a reliever, reluctantly moved into the rotation, and didn't look so much like a professional wrestler.

37 - Recent callup Scott Downs has this number, worn last year by Reed Johnson and before him by Tim Crabtree. But it will always belong to Dave Stieb. I seem to remember writing a word or two about The Hard Luck Kid before.

38 - Way back in the day, this was worn by Balor Moore and Jim Gott. But in 1986, it was given to a failed starter trying to salvage his career as a submarining reliever. That worked out pretty well for Mark Eichhorn, who in 1986 had one of the greatest seasons any relief pitcher has ever had, in the long history of the game. Since Eichhorn's day, 38 has been mostly a pitcher's number of Very Ill Repute, worn by such shady characters as DeWayne Buice, Rick Luecken, Aaron Small, Giovanni Carrara, Huck Flener, Mark Guthrie, Pasqual Coco, and John \\"Way-Back\\" Wasdin himself.

39 - The original Canadian Blue Jay, and Tony LaRussa's long time coach in Oakland and St Louis, Dave McKay wore this in the beginning. And big Dave Parker wore it during his two weeks in Toronto. Since then... Erik Hanson? Steve Parris? Gustavo Chacin, you got here just in time.

40 - Well, there was Mark (1-9) Lemongello, and more recently there was Carlos Almanzar before he actually became a pretty decent pitcher. In between there was Mike Timlin, who was maybe never quite good enough to be a bullpen ace, but he's had a nice major league career, much of it in Toronto. As we all remember, he was pretty good at coming down of the mound and fielding a bunt.

41 - Cito Gaston wore this when he made his return as hitting coach and found his own long-time number was not available. Pete Walker wears it now, and Al Widmar wore it as pitching coach for three Toronto managers in the 1980s. But this will always belong to Pat Hentgen, who maybe didn't have the greatest fastball or the best control. But no one ever competed harder. A very easy player to cheer for. And when he couldn't get the hitters out anymore, he walked away.

42 - This has hardly been worn by anyone in Blue Jays history - basically Paul Mirabella and Xavier Hernandez - and the number is now permanently out of circulation as all baseball honours Jackie Robinson. Mariano Rivera will be the last. I think we can all be happy that baseball's last #42 is both a truly great player and a gentleman of genuine class and dignity. So we're going to leave this blank. There was only one Jackie Robinson. He was more than a credit to the game; he was a credit to the species. I can be proud to be a human being, because Jackie Robinson was also a human being.

43 - Miguel Batista has it now, and Raul Mondesi has worn it wherever he goes. But Cito Gaston put on a Blue Jay uniform more often than any other man, for more than 2500 games, and this was the number he wore for 16 years. And he remains the only man in major league history to manage a team to back-to-back championships and never get a second managing job.

44 - Henry Aaron and, later, Reggie Jackson, made this into a traditional slugger's number. And so it was taken by the man who solved the Jays DH problem, the man with more pinch hit home runs than anyone in the history of the major leagues, the handsomest man in baseball, Heathcliff himself, the unforgettable Cliff Johnson. The man could hit. He couldn't do anything else, and half his career was wasted as teams tried to make him into a catcher. Otherwise he might have hit 400 career homers. This number seems to attract certain personality types: Jose Canseco and Billy Koch wore it during their Toronto tours.

45 - A pitcher's number that has had trouble finding decent pitchers to wear it. The fact that I even mention Jose Nunez and Rob MacDonald kind of gives that away. Kelvim Escobar may never have been as good as we expected him to be, but his managers could never seem to decide what job they wanted him to do. It wasn't all Kelvim's fault.

46 - Wow, this is the land of the LOOGY - this number has been worn by Gary Lavelle, Ken Dayley, Jason Kershner, and Steve Sinclair. The best of them was a lefty starter named Mike Flanagan. Flanagan's best years, including a 1979 Cy Young, were way behind him when he got here. But he filled a rotation spot for a couple of years, pitched a brilliant and memorable 11 inning duel with Jack Morris during the final lost weekend of 1987, and shared his wisdom with the younger pitchers. Now back in Baltimore, as co-GM, and things are going well as we speak.

47 - This was the number was adopted by the talented but generally impossible Junior Felix during his second Toronto season, but it was most memorably worn by Jack Morris in 1992 when he became the first Jays pitcher to win 20 games. More importantly, he single-handedly carried the faltering staff on his back through the entire month of August. He had nothing left by the time the post-season arrived, but they would never - never - have made it there without him.

48 - The first man to throw a pitch for the Blue Jays was Bill Singer. As is well known, Pat Gillick almost traded Singer for Ron Guidry but Peter Bavasi wouldn't let him. Luis Leal had a six year run in Toronto, that ended suddenly in 1985. But we have to give the nod here to the all-seeing, all-knowing, omnipotent Q. Gord Ash traded Howard Battle to the Phillies for Paul Quantrill, thinking he had found a third starter. Six weeks into the season, Cito Gaston decided that Q was born to pitch relief. Gaston was generally right about these things. At his peak, Q could pitch 80 games a year, and walk a batter about once every two weeks. Every bullpen should have one.

49 - Tom Filer had a memorable 7-0 run for the 1985 Jays, and Tom Candiotti pitched very well after he was brought in to fill the shoes of the injured Dave Stieb in mid-1991. But both men only had partial seasons here, and Tony Castillo during his second Toronto tour from 1993-96 was absolutely my favourite player to watch in those days. The most relaxed man on a pitching mound I have ever seen. He always looked like he was about to yawn. I loved it, and I can't explain it. Dave Bush, one of my new favourites, now carries that burden.

50 - For years, memories of Joey McLaughlin haunted us all, but Tom Henke put an end to our pain. Tom Henke was a great, great pitcher. No one mentions him for the Hall of Fame, but his career numbers are very much like Bruce Sutter's - only distinctly better. There will be hard times in Toronto until we see Henke's number on the Rogers Centre wall - I have foretold it. of course, the hardest thing of all was watching Joey Hamilton wearing Henke's old number. I do not think it is a coincidence that Mike Timlin wears Henke's number for the Red Sox. A good man and a great pitcher - Vinnie Chulk has a lot to live up to.

51 - This is pretty thin. A very young September callup named Greg Myers wore this while he filled in for the injured Ernie Whitt at the end of 1987. Since then, it's been worn most notably by a couple of disappointing pitchers named Pedro Borbon and Terry Adams. So I'm voting for Trever Miller who wasn't as disappointing simply because so little was expected.

52 - This has not been worn very often. There was Jeff Ware, who couldn't make it in baseball or hockey. September callup Roy Halladay was wearing it during the Bobby Higginson game, but switched to 32 the following spring. So let's go with John Frascatore, for one decent season, when he vultured a whole lot of wins. The coolest thing Fracatore did was win three games in three days: June 29, June 30, and July 1, 1999. That doesn't happen very often.

53 - Pitching for both Chicago teams, Dennis Lamp allowed Willie McCovey's 513th homer (NL record for LH batters), Lou Brock's 3000th hit, and Reggie Jackson's 2000th hit. The Jays signed him to be their closer in 1984. That didn't work, but in 1985, he and his sinker moved into middle relief and fared much better. It's hard to be better than 11-0. There's no one else of any real consequence to mention: David Weathers? Sandy Martinez?

54 - Jason Frasor has it now, but let's salute Woody Williams, one of Cito Gaston's favourites, who wore this number from 1993 through 1997 before switching to number 30. This way we can apologize for trading him away. For Joey Hamilton. Woody turned out to be a much better pitcher than most people expected, and I'd have him back in a heartbeat even if it was just to pinch hit. He might be a better hitter than some people on the current roster.

55 - Bill Risley was a potential closer who never panned out. So let us remember, with sorrow and admiration, John Cerutti. He was a fine baseball player, but he was an even better man. We miss you, John.

Basketball requires special permission to wear numbers higher than 55, and we're going to invoke that rule here. It's my story, I'll do what the hell I like. There have, of course, been any number of Blue Jays wearing oddball numbers.

But the choice here has to be Juan Guzman who showed up in mid 1991 wearing number 66. He lost his first couple of starts, and was on the verge of going back to Syracuse when he suddenly ran of 10 straight wins. Guzman started his Blue Jay run by going 40-11. And after a couple of of years, sensing perhaps that he'd used up whatever mojo was possessed by number 66, he switched to number 57. Thus recharged, he proceeded to lead the AL in ERA. Guzman was very small for a RH power pitcher, and his work and delivery required enormous effort. He seemed to need at least 30 seconds to recover from the exertion required to throw a baseball the way he threw it. But he was one hell of a pitcher while he lasted.

Other notable oddball numbers include Al Oliver, who wore 0, and Cliff Johnson who wore 00, both in 1985. Rene Gonzalez, for some strange reason, wore 88. The truly high numbers are usually the domain of kids in spring training, September callups, and minor leaguers getting a cup of cofee. Wearing number 56, Andy Dominique! Sometimes these players choose to keep those numbers, perhaps to better remember the bus rides they hope to leave behind. That's why Jim Bouton kept number 56. I don't actually know why Scott Schoeneweis wears number 60, like Brian Bohanon before him, but it's as good a reason as any, I suppose.

Next up in the Lobby of numbers: the Baltimore Orioles.