After beginning his career with the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs, Kyle Tucker joined the Los Angeles Dodgers on a four-year, $240 million contract in free agency.
Tucker will be wearing a new number with the Dodgers as he is switching to 23. He had worn the No. 30 since the 2020 season, but that currently belongs to manager Dave Roberts.
Tucker tried to convince Roberts to give up the number, but his efforts were unsuccessful. He then decided it would be a good time to honor a former Astros teammate with his new selection.
“I gave him a call just to give it a shot in the dark,” Tucker said of his conversation with Roberts. “I kind of knew his reasoning behind having No. 30, but I was like, ‘I’m just going to take a shot in the dark here and see what happens.’
“I wasn’t necessarily expecting it. Kind of in the same sense with him with me going to 23. He looked up to Maury Wills and was his mentor coming up, him wanting to wear that for him, kind of the same thing for me with 23.
“Michael Brantley was the guy I hung out a lot with while coming up in Houston. He was a phenomenal ballplayer and one of my closest friends, so that played a big part in my choice of going with that.”
Tucker and Brantley were teammates from 2019-2023, sharing the same outfield and making two All-Star Game appearances together.
Tucker credits Brantley for helping him become the player he is today and the two remain good friends.
Dave Roberts explains why he kept No. 30
Roberts decided to keep the No. 30 out of respect to his longtime friend and mentor Maury Wills. Roberts may also very well be the last Dodger to wear the number when the franchise likely retires it someday in his honor.
“It was a fun conversation that Tuck and I had,” Roberts said. “It was more of, Maury and I had such a great relationship. One of the things he said was, ‘Gosh, when I die, I hope no one else wears that number.’ It’s really near and dear to me.
“So we talked about it, and Tuck’s agent, Jason Romano, had that same relationship with me and Maury.”
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