Danny Duffy gave up his No. 41 to Carlos Santana and had a not-so-simple request
Carlos Santana has worn jersey No. 41 since becoming a professional baseball player in 2005 with the Dodgers, who signed him as a non-drafted free agent.
A trade later sent Santana to the Cleveland Indians, and when he made his big-league debut in 2010, he wore No. 41. Over the next 11 seasons, he would keep that number, even during a one-year stopover with the Phillies.
But when Santana signed a free-agent contract to play first base for the Royals in December, there already was a No. 41 on the roster: left-hander Danny Duffy.
Duffy didn’t hesitate to give up the number when Santana joined the Royals. While some professional players will pay a new teammate for a number, Duffy said he didn’t ask for anything for himself in return.
But he did hope Santana would have a huge year with the Royals.
“Oh man, just give me 30 bombs and a huge on base percentage and play his position, be a good teammate, and I know he’s a good dude,” Duffy said.
“We’ve had some back-and-forths across the diamond when I’m in the dugout in Cleveland and he’s playing first, we’re messing with each other. He’s a good dude. ... I’m excited to get with him, man. He seems like a genuine guy. Everybody who talks about him, just talks with high regard, and I’m excited to have him on my team.”
Santana has hit 30 or more home runs twice in his 11 seasons in the major leagues, so he’s capable of hitting that many “bombs,” even it’s not an easy thing to do.
Duffy is switching to No. 30 this season to pay tribute to the late Yordano Ventura, who died in January 2017.
Santana said he appreciated that Duffy gave up No. 41 to him.
“Forty-one, this is my number for a long time, (even) when I played in the minor leagues,” Santana said. “He was happy to give me that.
“He explained why he gave it to me. Everybody knows he’s using No. 30 (to honor) Yordano Ventura, he was the best friend on the team. So this year is something special for him, for me, and for everybody here. I talked to Duffy and he’s happy to give me the number.”
Duffy isn’t the only Royals player to switch jersey numbers ahead of the 2021 season. Here are others from the Royals’ website:
Pitcher Jakob Junis switched from No. 65 to No. 24.
Left fielder Andrew Benintendi will wear No. 16, which was Kelvin Gutierrez’s number. He changed to No. 19.
Reliever Wade Davis, who returned to the Royals on a minor-league contract, couldn’t get his usual No. 17, because that’s third baseman Hunter Dozier’s number. So Davis will wear No. 71.
Center fielder Michael Taylor will wear No. 2, which was last used by Humberto Arteaga in 2019.
Left-hander Mike Minor will be No. 23. He wore No. 26 with the Royals in 2017.
This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 9:06 AM.
