Adam Ottavino Will Wear Number 0

BREAKING NEWS: sturdy relief pitcher Adam Ottavino has switched his uniform number from 37 to 0. As Troy Renck notes, other Major League Baseball players to wear that number include Rey Ordonez and Al Oliver. But that only scratches the surface of the greatness of the number 0.

Ottavino will wear the number 0 this season. Image: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

ZERO. How about some Rockies connections (courtesy of Paul Lukas over at ESPN.com)? Former manager and hitting coach Don Baylor wore 00 as a member of the Oakland Athletics. Former Rockies great Curtis Leskanic wore it as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers. Curtis Goodwin also played for the Rockies once. In Colorado he wore the cockiest number in sports, the big #1. The “00” he wore in Cincinnati prior to his tenure with the Rockies would have been more fitting, no?

Miguel Tejada wore 0 by accident as a member of the Baltimore Orioles because the “1” in his “10” came loose during a slide. That’s two Miguel Tejada references on Rox Pile in one day, boys and girls. Eat your heart out.

Bobo Newsom was the first MLB player to ever wear the double zero. Could he have pulled that off if he wasn’t called Bobo?

Oddibe McDowell wore 0 because his first name started with O. This logic parallels Ottavino’s, who likes 0 because his last name starts with O. The more important question is this: how was there a baseball player named “Oddibe” whom I had not heard of until today? I’m ashamed of myself.

Does this make Adam Ottavino the “Mike Bibby of the Colorado Rockies.” I’m officially making that his nickname until somebody comes up with something better.

He can’t be “the Chief” and he can’t be “Agent Zero.” Those are taken.

Ottavino is not the only current Colorado athlete who wears 0. Gary Forbes, he of the limited but effective playing time, wears 0 for the Denver Nuggets. I’m sure Forbes will now want to take “the Mike Bibby of the Nuggets” as his nickname. I’m sorry Gary. The nickname is spoken for.

Westbrook is a famous zero these days. Image: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder wears 0. Somebody should tell him that, now that Ottavino wears 0, he is the second greatest current athlete who wears it. He would freak out.

Enough musing about the number 0. Consider me excited to see the “Mike Bibby of the Colorado Rockies,” Adam Ottavino, in action this season.