Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Don Mattingly said he'll wear uniform No. 8 to honor Yogi Berra when he takes over as hitting coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers, rather than the 23 he wore with the New York Yankees.

The 46-year-old Mattingly said in an interview with New York radio station WFAN that he wanted to ``do something different'' with his uniform number with the Dodgers. He picked No. 8, which was worn by Berra, the Yankees' Hall of Fame catcher.

``He's my man,'' Mattingly said. ``It's for good luck.''

Mattingly joined the Dodgers on Nov. 5, when former Yankees manager Joe Torre was introduced as Los Angeles's manager. He was one of three candidates to replace Torre, with the job going to Joe Girardi.

First baseman Olmedo Saenz, now a free agent, wore No. 8 with the Dodgers for the past four seasons.

One of the most popular players in Yankees history, Mattingly batted .307 with 222 home runs and 1,099 runs batted in during a playing career from 1982-95. He was the 1985 AL Most Valuable Player, a six-time All-Star and won nine Gold Glove Awards for defense at first base.

Mattingly, who wore number 46 in his first two seasons with New York before taking No. 23 in 1984, was the Yankees' bench coach this season after three years as hitting coach.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Bollerman in New York at dbollerman@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 9, 2007 17:12 EST