C. Trent Rosecrans

crosecrans@enquirer.com

Jersey No. 27 could have very well been retired on Sunday instead of No. 14, as Pete Rose wore that number during spring training of 1963, and even in an exhibition game in Indianapolis before Opening Day.

But on April 8, 1963, when Rose arrived at Crosley Field, No. 14 was hanging in his locker.

“Ray Evans, 'Chesty' Evans, he had 14 hanging in my locker, because I was a second baseman,” Rose recalled on Friday. “And 27 wasn’t a good number for a second baseman, so I got 14.”

On Sunday, the Reds officially retired Rose's No. 14, a number that had only been worn by anyone without the surname Rose since Don Zimmer wore it in 1962. (The last non-Westsider to wear the number was Tommy Harper, in April of 1962. He'd later wear No. 17 for the Reds.)

As Rose noted, few players pick their number, and even those that do, don’t have much say unless they’re an established veteran traded or signed as a free agent.

Like Pete Rose, the most recent Red to get assigned a number, Cody Reed, had no idea he would be No. 44 until he walked into the clubhouse and saw it with his name on it.

“That’s what was given to me. That’s all I got,” Reed said when asked about his number. “(No.) 44 is better than 84 in spring training. That’s perfectly fine with me.”

Not only did Reed not wear No. 44 in spring, he knew who had worn the number before him, because former Red Eric Davis is in the organization and was in spring training wearing his old jersey number for workouts.

Reed had proper reverence for Davis’ accomplishments and was then told the number had also belonged to Adam Dunn and Mike Leake before him.

“And then you’ve got me,” he said with a self-deprecating chuckle.

Reed wore numbers in the 20s coming up through the minors, mostly No. 24, which he knew was out of the question here. Ken Griffey Jr. couldn’t get No. 24 when he came to the Reds because it had already been retired for Tony Perez. So desire or not, Reed wasn’t getting the number.

For his entire career, Zack Cozart wore No. 1 in honor of Ozzie Smith. But when he got to the big leagues, that number had been retired by the Reds in honor of former manager Fred Hutchinson.

Cozart said when he didn’t make the club out of spring training in 2011, he was told he was close and was given a list of numbers to choose from, ultimately taking No. 2.

“I’m a big fan of (Derek) Jeter, but that’s not the (reason),” Cozart said. “It’s because No. 1 was available and there weren’t a whole lot of options available for me that I liked. No. 2 — I guess now, I’d say it’s good to have a number Jeter was wearing.”

Jay Bruce always wanted No. 24 because “I always wanted to be Ken Griffey Jr.” But when he was a freshman in high school, his coach gave him No. 32, and he’s been No. 32 ever since.

“He always told me there was a reason, but he never told me,” Bruce said. “ He was here for the weekend, he said he wanted me to have No. 32, but he never told me why. I guess I should ask him.”

Billy Hamilton always wore No. 3 in high school, no matter the sport - baseball, football, basketball. When he got to professional baseball, he wore No. 4.

When he made it to his first big-league spring training, No. 4 was taken by Brandon Phillips, and he found No. 6 in his locker in Goodyear, Ariz.

While most players in their first camp find themselves with numbers more fitting wide receivers than quarterbacks, Hamilton got a coveted single-digit number.

“I was talking to Dusty (Baker), he said you can’t wear a double-digit number, it could slow you down a little bit, it’s heavy,” Hamilton recalled. “They had to give me a single-digit number.”

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In spring training, the number is as good as an address. For Hamilton, it meant he sat on the veteran side of the locker room, between Phillips (No. 4) and Jack Hannahan (No. 9).

A high spring-training number is almost a rite of passage, one that Hamilton skipped, but then he paid his dues in other ways.

“Brandon and everyone had big numbers and I sat beside Brandon every day in spring training and they gave me big-time (teasing),” Hamilton said. “I can’t say what all they said. How can this guy come in first spring training and get a small number. We had to wear 70 and 90.”

Homer Bailey wore those high numbers early in his career. Then he wanted No. 21 when he came up, but that was held by Scott Hatteberg at the time. He settled for 34, a number that he’s grown used to.

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Few, though, will complain about any number, because the “wrong” number in the big leagues is better than the “right” number in the minors.

“When I played in the minor leagues all those years, two years and two months, I was No. 11. Whatever number they give you, you’re just happy to get a uniform,” Rose said. “You don’t say I want No. 14, I want 12. You just want a number, man. You’re happy to get a number.”

And now, officially, no other Red will ever get No. 14. But Ross Ohlendorf has No. 27.

Doc: Tough not having Joe Morgan at Pete Rose's induction