Me And My Number

SHANNON STEWART

Twins outfielder

BEFORE coming to the Twins from Toronto in 2003, Stewart had number 24--which he wore in high school to emulate two stars. " Ken Griffey Jr. and Rickey Henderson (left) were my favorite players," says Stewart. "I could run like Rickey, and I wished I could hit homers like Griffey." In Minnesota catcher Matt LeCroy had the number, and, Stewart says, he wanted a car to give it up. "We were going to negotiate," Stewart recalls. Then Stew had a two-hit and a three-hit game and decided he didn't need the number. "[ LeCroy] messed up," he says. "Number 23 has been good to me."

BOB MELVIN

D-Backs manager

AS ARIZONA battles the Astros (and a half-dozen other teams) in the NL wild-card race, Melvin has his rival's number. He wears number 3 for Astros manager Phil Garner, who, as the Brewers' manager in the mid-1990s, gave Melvin his start in a postplaying career. "I made a phone call to him, and he got me a job scouting," says Melvin, who would later become Garner's bench coach. "He's a man I admire a lot and have learned a lot from." Melvin says his choice of number was "a no-brainer," but he isn't sure if his mentor knows why he wears it. Well, Phil, read it and preen.

MARK TEIXEIRA

Rangers 1B

HAVING Yankees star Don Mattingly--who wore number 23--as an idol was frowned upon when Teixeira was a kid in Baltimore. "I'd wear a Mattingly shirt to [ Orioles] games," says Teixeira, who endured epithets from O's fans. When he played, some thought the 23 was for Michael Jordan, but Teixeira was all about Mattingly. "I just loved the way he played, I loved his swing," says Texeira, who won a Gold Glove last year and has met his boyhood hero. "We've had lunch. [Mattingly] knows pretty well how I think of him."