Oh-Oh . . . : Padres: What’s that zany Jack Clark up to now? Ask your neighborhood numerologist.

Jack Clark, the Padre first baseman, has done some crazy stuff throughout his 14-year major league career, and some of his habits have been called eccentric. But his latest might top them all.

Goodby, sanity.

Hello, lunacy.

Clark, the same man who has used the same first baseman’s glove for the past 10 years, is now changing uniform numbers.

At 10:05 (PDT) today in a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs (necessitated by Friday’s rainout), Clark will emerge a new man in the eyes of those who distinguish players only by their numbers.

Clark said that when he steps to the plate, he plans to stop and listen, relishing the moment that Wrigley Field public address announcer Wayne Messmer says, “Now batting . . . Number double zero . . . first baseman . . . Jack Clark.

Really.

00.

OK, what gives?

It must be the .217 batting average through the first 21 games, right?

“No, just because I have a new uniform number doesn’t mean I’ll be hitting better,” said Clark, who has been wearing No. 25 since he joined the Padres in 1989 and wore No. 22 for 11 years with the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals.

Hmmm. So you wanted to have the same number as your buddy and former Giant teammate, Jeffrey Leonard of the Mariners?

“We’re good friends, but I didn’t change just to have the same number as Jeffrey,” Clark said.

Well, it can’t be because 00 represents the numbers of hits you have collected lately, is it?

“It’s just a number I’ve always wanted,” Clark said. “It’s no big deal, really. I just wanted to try something different, you know. And double zero, that’s real different. I mean, there are a lot of Clarks in this game, but that number’s pretty unique.

“Besides, jewelry looks better when it’s double zero.”

Oh.

In a season in which you have already experimented with a variety of batting stances, watched dozens of videos and consulted with every teammate and coach who will listen--and are still having difficulty batting your weight--why not try something bizarre.

“I don’t know,” said Padre Manager Jack McKeon, a bit perplexed. “There are a lot of guys who will do anything to change their luck. Me, I was just happy to have a uniform with a number.”

The procedure for changing a number is usually nothing more than a formality. According to Katy Feeney of the National League office, the club simply changes the number in the league computer system.

“But something like this is a different case,” Feeney said.

You see, no one in the history of the Padre franchise has ever worn No. 00. And according to the National and American league offices, Leonard is the only other player who has ever worn the number.

Clark not only had to receive permission by the Padres to wear 00, he had to petition the league and receive approval from NL President Bill White.

“I remember we had to do the same thing when Jeffrey changed his number,” said Robin Carr of the Giant office. “He had it changed after the ’86 season because he just had surgery, and he wanted to start with a clean slate.

“I wonder why it’s always ex-Giants that do this, anyway?”

Said Clark: “Well, I left a good number for somebody, and I don’t think anyone’s ever going to want this one. I’m going to keep it . . . you know, for a while at least.”

Padre Notes

Padre starter Eric Show has been irritated since Wednesday with Padre Manager Jack McKeon and pitching coach Pat Dobson for leaving him out of the rotation for the Chicago series, instead moving him back to Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. “I’ve never known of another example of them turning on someone quicker,” said Show, who is 0-3 with a 4.87 ERA. McKeon and Dobson said the reason for the move simply was because the Padres had two off days this week and that Show has not liked pitching in Chicago since the July, 1987, beaning incident of Cub right fielder Andre Dawson. Show, in fact, is 0-2 with a 7.00 ERA since the incident. “I don’t understand his reaction to this,” Dobson said. “When I talked to him last Tuesday about it, he said it was fine. Now he’s popping off about it. He’s just missing one start, no one said anything about him going to the bullpen permanently.” . . . If the Padres sweep the doubleheader today, it will be their first sweep of the Cubs since the 1984 playoff. The Padres have won just one game at Wrigley Field the past two seasons, going 1-11. . . . The pitching matchups for today: Andy Benes (2-2) vs. Greg Maddux (3-1) in the first game, and Dennis Rasmussen (1-1) vs. Jose Nunez (1-2) in the second. . . . The Padre television telecast on Channel 51 will begin with the first game in progress at 12:30 (PDT).