New addition Galvis caught in numbers game with Jays
DUNEDIN, FLA. — There won’t be a new
No. 19 in the Toronto Blue Jays clubhouse this baseball season after all.
Shortstop Freddy Galvis took the familiar number, made iconic in Toronto by longtime slugger Jose Bautista, after he signed with the team last month. It was a personal homage to one of his favourite players, Marco Scutaro, a fellow Venezuelan, infielder and stalwart defender who wore the number when he played for the Jays in 2008 and ’09.
It wasn’t until a couple of days later that Galvis realized he would be the first person to wear the No. 19 since Bautista and the club parted ways at the end of ’17. He quickly requested a change.
“I think Bautista, he (did) an amazing job with Toronto . ... I respect the guy and I respect what he (did) for Toronto and I just decided not to use that number,” Galvis said, who didn’t talk to Bautista about his decision to swap numbers. “I went to 16. For my part, I have to show some respect to him because he is good player.”
The No. 19 has been worn by a number of notable Jays players in the past, including Fred McGriff and Paul Molitor. Bautista adopted it after Scutaro, who left as a free agent, two seasons into his decade-long stint with Toronto, which included six all-star appearances, a .253 batting average and that memorable celebratory bat flip after a go-ahead t hree-run home run in Game 5 of the
2015 American League Division Series.
Galvis wore No. 13 in each of the first seven years of his career with the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Diego Padres. In Toronto, that number belongs to fellow shortstop Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
“The number doesn’t mean too much, I think it’s more the name on (the front of ) the shirt that means a lot to me,” Galvis said, “so I’m good with whatever number they gave me,” he said. KNOCKED, THEN OUT OF THE PARK: Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez took some heat in the Jays’ first live batting practice of spring, when he was plunked on the left arm by a pitch from Toronto’s most recent Rule 5 draft pick, 18-year-old Elvis Luciano.
“I think just only one guy got hit, that usually happens and he’s fine,” said manager Charlie Montoyo. “After he got hit, he hit a home run, so he’s fine.”