Josh Jung Wearing Rangers Hall-of-Fame Number
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Josh Jung will have something in common with Texas Rangers Hall of Famer Tom Grieve — they will both wear the same number.
When Jung makes his highly-anticipated debut on Friday against Toronto, he will wear No. 6. Grieve donned that digit for his six years as a Texas player from 1972-77.
The Rangers held a press conference for Jung on Thursday during the team’s day off.
Jung, the Rangers’ No. 1 prospect per MLB.com, was officially called up on Thursday, part of several transactions the Rangers made in advance of Friday's game.
Jung, a 2019 first-round pick, has been tearing up Triple-A pitching since joining the Round Rock Express after a stint at the Arizona Complex League. He is coming off surgery in spring training for a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder.
With Round Rock, he batted .273/.321/.525/.846 with six home runs and 24 RBI in 99 plate appearances. He was recently named the Rangers’ top player of August at Round Rock after hitting .311 with a .998 OPS for the month.
Grieve has been a part of the Rangers organization for nearly its entire existence, joining the team when it was in Washington in 1970. He ended his playing career in 1979 with the St. Louis Cardinals.
He migrated back to Texas, where he started working in the front office and eventually became general manager in 1984. After he was fired in 1994, he moved to the Rangers television booth as an analyst. He is retiring after this season.
Other former Rangers to wear No. 6 include Johnny Grubb, Bob Jones, Cecil Espy, Travis Hafner, Doug Glanville, Esteban German and John Hicks, who wore the number last season, per baseball-almanac.com.
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