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On Sunday morning, new Cardinals outfielder Carlos Beltran appeared at the annual Winter Warm-up to sign autographs for his new St. Louis fan base.  He was also prepared to address the question on everyone’s mind: namely, what jersey number he would be selecting.

While Cardinal fans and media pondered options, it appeared that Beltran himself was undecided the night before his scheduled appearance.

Then again, maybe Beltran was deciding whether or not to take Edgar Renteria, Gary Gaetti, Brendan Ryan, Kiko Calero and Trever Miller to the “LOST” island.  Take note: if we ever have a chance to cross-reference Cardinal jersey numbers and LOST, we’re going to take it every time.

Anyway, Beltran ultimately decided to go with the #3.

The majority of fans were excited about Beltran’s choice because your best players (really, in any sport) typically wear single-digit numbers (editor’s note: not including JD Drew).  Nevertheless, we strongly opposed this choice.

Why?

Well, let’s take a gander at the last seven (read: SEVEN!!) Cardinals to wear the #3.

Sure, both Theriot and Preston Wilson won World Championships with their respective clubs, but the #3 has been an island of misfit toys since Edgar Renteria left for greener pastures after making the last out in the ’04 World Series.

In six season with the Cardinals, Renteria amassed 903 games played with the Cardinals.  Since he bolted, the stumps seen above have played a total of 678 games over seven seasons in the #3 uniform.

We don’t wish mediocrity upon Carlos Beltran, but he’s been warned.

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