We often hear about veterans coming to new teams and asking younger players for their old jersey numbers. Often there is payment involved.
Last year Julio Borbon gave Adrian Beltre his customary number 29 in exchange for a watch. The year before, Jim Thome gave Alexi Casilla a Rolex in exchange for his number with the Twins. My favorite of all time -- which I mention whenever this comes up -- was former Giants punter Jeff Feagles who got Plaxico Burress to pay for an outdoor kitchen at his vacation home in Phoenix in exchange for number 17 and -- before that -- got Eli Manning to send the Feagles’ family on a vacation to Florida in order to give up number 10. Dude was a ninja.
The latest in this sub-sub-sub genre of baseball news comes from Pittsburgh, where new Pirates starter A.J. Burnett wanted to wear his lucky (Lucky? Sure, lucky) number 34. Except Daniel McCutchen wears it. Or, wore it, because A.J. has ponied up:
It was McCutchen’s idea, by the way. Burnett asked him what he wanted and McCutchen said a college fund.
Now, to be sure, a 529 fund can be in all manner of amounts and, as McCutchen notes in the article, its true value will be determined in 18 or 19 years when it matures and his daughter goes to college. The initial investment by Burnett could very well be less -- much less -- than a Rolex.
But the optics here are pretty great. Way better than a vacation or a watch or a grill. Good for McCutchen for thinking of it and Burnett for doing it.