Why are baseball pitchers assigned large uniform numbers

Wow - look at all those shortstops wearing 1-4!

A few years ago, Bobby Ayala wore #13 for the Mariners.

Er, Ayala was a pitcher…

Numbering is only important in football. It tells the defense who the ends/receivers are. For a" tackle eligible" play, the officials must be told before the play.

here’s a little sports trivia that has nothing to do with the OS…Dennis Rodman, when with Chicago, wore the number 91 because one reason or another couldn’t have the number 10, his number in Detroit. 9 plus 1 equals 10.

A little off topic too, but the highest uniform number for a pitcher, had his request been granted, would have been 337. The immortal freak Bill “Spaceman” Lee petitioned the Red Sox for the number. Why? Turn the number 337 upside down…

Bob Love had his #10 retired by the Bulls.