Kevin Gausman Is Wearing #34 This Season To Honor Roy Halladay
Love this move by Kevin Gausman. Yesterday he came out and announced he’s changing his number from 39 to 34 to honor the late Roy Halladay. You know the story about Halladay losing his life in a plane crash on November 7th, still a story that is hard to grasp because of how sad it was. For YEARS I saw Halladay own the Orioles. He was a guy who you hated to see on the mound against your guys, but you knew you were going to watch because there was a chance he’d go 8 with 11 Ks. As good as he was on the field, he seemed to be an ever better person off the field. That was echoed within the baseball community in the days following his death. It seems like he is one of those guys who everyone loved and who would give you the shirt off his back.
Like Halladay, Kevin Gausman is a tall righty from Colorado. He grew up idolizing Halladay and soaked in every pitching appearance he got to see him make. Kevin mentioned that less than 100 Major Leaguers have been born in Colorado, so it’s like a brotherhood to them. Changing his number to pay respect to his hero is a great gesture, and I’m sure it won’t be the last time we see a MLB player change his number to honor Halladay.