For Schumaker, a position revamp isn’t lone fortuity out of leftfield.

An infielder’s glove isn’t the only new thing that Cardinal second baseman Skip Schumaker will be trying on for the 2009 season. On Wednesday morning, Schumaker announced that he’s going to play the upcoming season under the name “Cinco Cinco.”

“I figured that, with the new position and all, why not change the name, too?” Schumaker said. “It’s a whole new me.”

Schumaker acknowledged that the unconventional moniker, Spanish for each of the digits in his uniform number, would be strange at first for fans but noted that it wouldn’t be without its benefits on the team.

“Sometimes in the dugout it gets confusing, people saying ‘Skip’ and meaning [manager] Tony [La Russa]. So I’m going with Cinco Cinco. It’s just easier.”

Schumaker follows in the footsteps of the Cincinnati Bengals’ Ocho Cinco, formerly known as Chad Johnson, who changed his name to his uniform number — 85 — last season.

“Hey, it worked for, you know, what’s his name — that guy who plays wide receiver for the Bengals.”

Schumaker informed the team of his decision yesterday, and the club has already issued a set of revised jerseys.

“‘Mo’ [GM John Mozeliak] understood. I’ve kind of had an identity issue all my life, honestly,” said Schumaker, whose birth name is Jared Michael. “My family and people who don’t know me call me ‘Jared’ and fans call me ‘Skip,’ so this simplifies things. All they have to do is look at my jersey and remember the Spanish word for five.”

Cinco Cinco figures to bat numero uno on opening day and play position quattro for the first time in his major league career. The Cardinals and manager Tony La Russa are just hoping he can avoid a sombrero.

“I’m going to write in number 55 at the top of my lineup card, so it works either way for me,” said Tony La Russa, now the team’s sole Skip. La Russa noted that he’s already planning to rename several of his pets with Spanish numbers.

Teammate and Dominican Republic native Albert Pujols accepts the new name.

“It’s funny that a guy with a Swedish [Schumaker is actually German] name would want to change to a Spanish one,” said Albert Pujols. “But as long as he doesn’t change it to El Hombre, I don’t judge, you know what I’m saying, mang?”

Upon hearing Schumaker’s announcement, MLB commissioner Bud Selig issued a statement Wednesday morning, saying, “Baseball isn’t just America’s game, anymore. Cinco Cinco’s bold decision shows how far we’ve come in reaching out to global markets. We’re doing a lot to diversify the fan base. I’m very proud of that.”

This entry was posted by Pip on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 at 12:01 am and is filed under news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.