ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports that Webb — who just signed a one-year deal worth $3 million plus incentives with the defending AL champs — plans to wear No. 33 in honor of Jon Hooker, who wore the digits as a friend and teammate at the University of Kentucky.
If you don't remember Hooker's name at first, you might when reminded of the particularly tragic circumstances of his death.
Back in 2006, he and his wife, Scarlett, were getting ready to head to a honeymoon in California. They had just been married the night before and they were just getting ready to start a new life together.
But they were aboard the Comair Flight 191 that crashed near the end of a too-short runway at the Lexington, Ky., airport and the Hookers plus 47 others lost their lives. The news quickly spread around major league clubhouses that morning — Jon had played in the minor leagues for a few years and had made a solid impresssion on many others — and it hit Webb and Joe Blanton (another Wildcat teammate) very hard.
"He was probably my best friend since we were roommates my freshman year in college," Webb said in the days after the tragedy. "Me and him were pretty much inseparable."
Then-Arizona Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin gave Webb the option of skipping his next start — which came just the day after the crash — but the righty took the mound and earned a win over the San Diego Padres, pitching solidly into the eighth inning.
Four years later — while most of the world has moved on and Webb faces the greatest challenge of his career — the former NL Cy Young winner is still working to keep the memory of his good friend alive by leaving his old No. 17 behind in Arizona. It's a very honorable move and we wish Webb the best when he dons his new numbers.
Bonus link: Buck Showalter just did something similar with the No. 26 that Johnny Oates wore when he managed the Baltimore Orioles.
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