[EricH]

It's a complicated question...

Back when FIRST started, teams didn't have numbers. By 1998, numbers were assigned based on sponsor's names, alphabetically. (Team #1 had 3-Dimensional Services as a sponsor.) After 1999, any teams that still competed from 1999 got to keep their numbers permanently, and any new teams got numbers in order of registration (hence Israel having a block of numbers--they like to register at the same time).

But, there are some teams (like 39 and 4) that did not form as rookies. They split from a veteran team. In this situation, FIRST assigns unused numbers from the original team's rookie year.

So, M.O.R.T. got their number due to their sponsors' name in the late 90's and wound up with it locked into 11.

BeachBot is 330, but was originally known as team 82 (in 1998). Then a key sponsor had a name change, and they became 330 in 1999. Then the numbers locked.

At least, that's how I remember the numbering working.