Ahahhahahaha. I am BigTom 33 in a couple of places, and not just because of a typo setting up my name. You see, this all started 60 years ago when I had to pick my first baseball uni number. There were only two single digit numbers left when it was my turn. Numbers 7 and 3. I dammed sure didn't want to be compared to Mickey Mantle so chose #3. I also wanted to be a first baseman (position #3 when scoring baseball) so I wore #3 right up to College where it wasn't available. I took 1 3. One three. Not 13 :)
It's gotten to be a part of me, #13 but I occasionally honor my roots and use just 3 or 33. BTW, #3 was Babe Ruth's number.
Most would say, 13 is an unlucky number but clearly it hasn't been for you.
I know those two names of course, who doesn't? But tell me, what did Mickey Mantle do that would make you not want to be likened to him. Did he pitch the last ball and it got hit for a home run and lost the game or something?
Mickey Mantle was the best player in the game at the time. He really was that 'one in a generation' guy. Every kid on earth wanted to be like Mickey. Well, almost every one :)
That's what I thought, that he was a good player, and that's why I asked because I would have thought any kid would wanted to wear his number.
I had played enough Little League that I knew there were dickheads watching that would say shit like "Cumon Mantle, show us what you can do" when you came up to bat. Or "Nice hands Mantle" when you kicked a grounder. I honestly didn't realize I was getting Ruth's number. And nobody was going to confuse my scrawny ass with Babe Ruth :)
Haha, yeah I hadn't thought of the heckling; Good call and great foresight for a young lad. Non need to give anyone any more heckle-ammunition, heckleunition, than they already had.