David Price will honor a former mentor whenever he takes the mound for his new team.
The Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher revealed Wednesday in an interview with MLB Network he chose wear the No. 33 Dodgers jersey to honor former teammate James Shields. Price and Shields were teammates with the Tampa Bay Rays between 2008 and 2012, and the former offers plenty of credit to the latter for his ascent into a stardom as a Major League Baseball pitcher.
“It was a guy that really took care of me whenever I got to the big leagues,” Price said. “His name is James Shields, Cali guy. I didn’t tell him that I picked No. 33. I haven’t even spoken to him in the past couple of weeks.
“He was a guy that took me under his wing. He’d do anything for me or for any of his other teammates. He’s one of my favorite teammates of all time.
“He showed me the right way to go about my work in the weight room, (and) away from the field, just being a husband, being a father. For me, he was the first teammate that I had in the big leagues that I looked at as a role model.
“… I know whenever he finds out, he’s going to be calling me. He’s probably going to shed a couple tears, have a couple funny things to say. I did it for him. I love him a lot. He means a lot to me.”
Price joined the Dodgers from the Boston Red Sox earlier this week as part of the blockbuster trade, which sent him and Mookie Betts to Los Angeles in exchange for Alex Verdugo, Connor Wong and Jeter Downs.
Price wore the No. 24 Red Sox jersey between 2016 and 2018. He switched to No. 10 in the 2019 season because he wants Boston to retire No. 24 at Fenway Park in honor of former Red Sox outfielder Dwight Evans.
