Young Dodgers aren’t in a rush to change high uniform numbers
Los Angeles, CA - March 26: Alex Freeland ,left, Ben Casparius, Emmet Sheehan and Jack Dreyer of the Los Angeles Dodgers diring the festivities prior to an opening day baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Thursday, March 26, 2026. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images) | MediaNews Group via Getty Images LOS ANGELES — Last season all the way through the World Series, the Dodgers got major contributions from rookies and young players, and that carried over into the opening series of 2026 at Dodger Stadium. Alex Freeland made his major league debut last season, and beat out Hyeseong Kim for a spot on the opening day roster , sharing time at second base.
He started once against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and made it count, with a home run, a double that led to the winning run, and was part of two relay plays, throwing out runners at home plate and third base on Friday . Big swing, Alex Freeland! pic.
twitter. com/8f4ijfzR6p — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 28, 2026 You might have noticed in any of those highlights that Freeland wears number 76. He’s not alone among young Dodgers wearing high uniform numbers.
A question I see a lot in the comments section or in my social media mentions is when are these young Dodgers going to get real numbers, or something to that effect. So I asked them. “I’d like to change it, but maybe when I get a little more service time,” Freeland said, though he admitted he wasn’t really sure how he would go about doing so.
Two years ago, in the second week of May 2024, three young Dodgers switched uniform numbers , going from their first-issued numbers to lower, more traditional numbers. Andy Pages, just a month into his time in the majors, switched from 84 to 44, Gavin Stone went from 71 to 35, and Michael Grove switched from 78 to 29. Stone at the time had 69 major league innings under his belt, while Grove was at 119 1/3 innings and in his third season.
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