MINNEAPOLIS — When Aaron Hicks made the Twins' Opening Day roster, the rookie center fielder had to choose his jersey number. Unfortunately, the number he wanted was already taken.
Hicks was hoping to wear No. 31, the same digits his father, Joe, wore as a minor leaguer. But those numbers were already on the back of reliever Alex Burnett. Being a rookie, Hicks wasn't in a position to bargain with Burnett for No. 31, so he chose No. 32.
A few days before the season started, Burnett was claimed off waivers by Toronto, which meant No. 31 was available for Hicks. He was already content with his new number, though.
"I like the number 32. I'm happy with it," Hicks said. "It's a combination of my dad liking it because it was the next number up, saying, ‘Just be better than I was.' … (And) the fact that his favorite player wore his number when he was here; Dave Winfield wore this number. It's just a lot that goes with it."
Winfield, a St. Paul native and Hall of Famer, donned No. 32 while with the Twins in 1993 and '94. Five other players have worn the number since then, including Hicks, who wore No. 5 and No. 31 in the minors.
For players like Hicks, there's plenty of importance placed on what number they wear on their back. For others it's totally arbitrary, with no rhyme or reason to it.
Such was the case for Twins catcher Joe Mauer, whose No. 7 has become as recognizable over the years as his All-Star swing and his signature sideburns. Mauer never wore No. 7 during his high school days at Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul — he wore No. 6 and No. 16 in baseball and was also No. 16 as Cretin-Derham's quarterback. It wasn't until his first year in the minors at Elizabethton in 2001 that he put on the No. 7 that Twins fans now know so well.
"They gave it to me my rookie year. When I came up (to the majors), it was available," Mauer said. "It's kind of a boring story, but that's what happened."
You might have noticed a few familiar faces on the Twins wearing unfamiliar jersey numbers this season. That includes second baseman Brian Dozier, who was No. 20 as a rookie last year but now wears No. 2. That number used to belong to center fielder Denard Span, but when Span was traded this season to Washington, the No. 2 became available again.
Dozier says he prefers to wear a single-digit number — "Being a little bit smaller guy, it looks better," he said — and initially wanted No. 4 when he made his debut, but that number has been worn only once since Hall of Famer Paul Molitor wore it. As soon as Span was gone, Dozier jumped at the opportunity to make the switch.
"We had a lot of people come in, a lot of pitchers come in," Dozier said. "They couldn't give 2 to a pitcher, so (equipment manager Rod McCormick) knew that I wanted a different number, and two came open. They needed 20 for a pitcher. (Josh) Roenicke got 20, so that's it."
Span kept his No. 2 when he moved to Washington, and made sure to pass along a message to Dozier now that he was wearing Span's old number."Every time he texts me, he just says, ‘Represent the two, represent the two,'" Dozier said. "Last year, it was a blessing just to even have a number. To switch the number to No. 2, hopefully Denard's got some more magic left."
Catcher Ryan Doumit also changed numbers this offseason, giving up his No. 18 to switch to his preferred No. 9. That was the number he wore all throughout high school, but couldn't wear it with Pittsburgh as it was retired for Bill Mazeroski. Last year, Twins third base coach Steve Liddle wore No. 9, so Doumit switched from 41 in Pittsburgh to 18 in Minnesota. When Liddle was let go this offseason, Doumit finally had his No. 9.
"Once it was open, it was the first time as a professional I've had the opportunity to get it so I snatched it," he said.
Like Mauer, pitcher Cole De Vries didn't choose his No. 38 that he now wears. He wore lower numbers in the minors, often in the teens, but took the number that was given to him last year when he debuted.
It's the same number worn by Tony Oliva briefly in 1964, by current Rangers manager Ron Washington when he played in Minnesota from 1981-86, and more recently by closer Rick Aguilera from 1990-99.
"This was the first time I've ever had a number this high. But I kind of like it," De Vries said. "I know there's a couple other great Twins who have worn it. It's kind of one of those things, depending on what your number is, you kind of feel honored that they decided to give you that one. You never know if there's ever any thinking behind it or if it's just like, ‘Oh, 38's left, let's throw that to De Vries.
Twins fans are still getting to know Hicks and are getting used to seeing his No. 32 roaming center field. His jersey is already on sale at the pro shops in Target Field, and Hicks is hoping 32 becomes a popular number at the Twins' ballpark.
"I saw a few the other day," Hicks said. "Of course, they're all my family members."
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