It was his favorite number. He even had a tattoo inscribed on his left arm. However, Miguel Rojas (36, LA Dodgers) gave up No. 11 to rookie Sasaki Rocky (24).안전놀이터
The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on the 21st (Korea Standard Time) that infielder Rojas changed his uniform number from 11 to 72.
He had a strong affection for the number with tattoos on his forearm, but the world of professionals is so cold-hearted. Rojas has returned to the 72nd position he played with when he was a rookie.
This number is expected to be given to Sasaki. Rojas is a veteran infield utility resource of the Dodgers. He played in 1,182 games and played 103 games last season, moving between shortstop and second baseman, contributing to his team's World Series victory by posting a batting average of 0.283.
However, Rojas suddenly changed his jersey number. "He liked the number 11 so much that he tattooed it on his left arm, but it seems that he handed it over to Sasaki after more than 20 teams competed fiercely to recruit him," said Sports Hochi, a Japanese media outlet.
Rojas spread the news on his social networking site. He said, "Back to the Roots," leaving a hint about the change.
Rojas, who wore No. 19 when he was with the Miami Marlins, played with No. 11 instead of No. 19 when Jim Gilliam was permanently absent from the Dodgers. He expressed satisfaction with the number, but he gave it to Sasaki, a "special rookie."
Sasaki played in Japan with numbers 17 and 14, but she couldn't see the number 17 because it was Shohei Ohtani's number. The number 14 was also Gil Hodges' permanent number, so she had to choose from another number.
However, he will be able to wear the number 11, which he wore on the national team and was also the number of his idol, Darvish Yu. According to Sports Hochi, this is the number that Sasaki played in the U-18 baseball World Cup in September 2019.
It is unusual. "It is often the case that a player starts with a high number in the Major League and then changes his position to a low number," the Dodgers Blue said. "Such is the case with some players including Clayton Kershaw, who started his career as No. 54, and Rojas, who debuted as No. 72 in the Dodgers."
Ohtani overlaps. Ohtani, who traded with Dodgers for an astronomical sum of 700 million U.S. dollars for 10 years last year, presented a luxury sedan Porsche as a token of gratitude to Joe Kelly, who gave up No. 17.
Of course, Ohtani and Sasaki have different contract sizes. Sasaki was forced to sign a minor league contract as a player under the age of 25, and according to The Athletic, the down payment is only 6.5 million dollars (9.3 billion won) and 760,000 dollars (1.1 billion won) in annual salary. Rojas plans to receive 6 million dollars (8.6 billion won) in salary in 2025.
Dodgers Blue said, "It's unclear if Rojas was offered compensation for his number, but Kelly handed over his number and gave Porsche in appreciation
"We may be able to get compensation like last year," he said.