Son was assigned No. 44 during his freshman year. Later, the number he had worn in high school became available — it's his birthday (which he shared with his hitting coach and mentor now deceased) and was the number of one of his heroes. I asked why he didn't go get it and he said because he'd heard the last guy who had that number had left the program on bad terms. The guy who had 44 had been drafted. He decided to stick with 44. I still struggle to remember his number.