Saturday, August 02

Welcome to the D-backs Beat newsletter! I’m Steve Gilbert, and I’ve been writing about the D-backs since 1998. Let's get right to it …

Throughout his eight-year big league playing career and during his 40-plus-year coaching career, with rare exception, there has been once constant with Diamondbacks first-base coach Dave McKay -- you could always find him by looking for No. 39 on the field. 

This year, though, for just the third time in his long Major League tenure, McKay will be sporting a different number on his back. 

McKay switched from 39 to 36 so that Diamondbacks right-hander Corbin Burnes could wear No. 39, a number that he has worn since making his debut in the Majors in 2018. 

Here’s how both men wound up wearing No. 39 and why McKay switched to 36: 

'Just give me whatever' 

McKay debuted with the Twins as an outfielder in 1975, and in his two years playing in Minnesota, he wore No. 7. 

After the 1976 season, he was selected by the Blue Jays in the Expansion Draft, and when the equipment manager in Toronto asked him what number he wanted, he said 7. Not a problem, he was told. 

Then Blue Jays manager Roy Hartsfield decided he wanted No. 7, so the equipment guy called McKay back. That’s fine, McKay told him, I’ll just wear No. 6. 

Only problem with that was they then traded for veteran Ron Fairly, who wanted No. 6. 

“I said, you know what, just give me whatever, it’s fine,” McKay said.  

And when he showed up in Spring Training, No. 39 was hanging in his locker. 

That’s been McKay's number ever since, except for a pair of years when he coached in Oakland and 2025 Hall of Fame inductee Dave Parker joined the A’s and asked to wear it. There was also one year in St. Louis when Parker joined McKay on the coaching staff and once again asked if he could have No. 39. 

Burnes originally got No. 39 by chance as well, as it was just what was hanging in his locker when he was called up by the Brewers in 2018. 

“It just stuck with me,” Burnes said. “I’ve had opportunities to switch and just never have.” 

'Can I have his number?' 

The baseball world was caught off guard in December when the Diamondbacks signed Burnes to a six-year, $210 million contract. 

When a team acquires a player, one of the first people the player hears from is the equipment manager, who will ask what number they want to wear. When Arizona’s director of team travel/equipment manager Roger Riley called Burnes, he was well aware that the veteran had been wearing No. 39 for years. 

Riley explained to Burnes that McKay, who joined the Diamondbacks in 2014, had been wearing the number for decades. Burnes asked Riley for McKay’s number and gave him a call. 

“I wanted him to know this wasn’t me calling like, ‘Hey, I’m going to steal your number’ type of thing,” Burnes said. “I just wanted to see how tied he was to the number. I have a lot of respect for him and what he’s done in the game.” 

• Carroll has McKay's metrics to thank for game-saving catch
  

McKay could sense that right away and was moved by the way Burnes approached the whole situation. 

“I may not have given it up to just anybody,” McKay said. “But the fact that he called me? Players don't do that. They usually get someone else to reach out, but he got my number and called to talk to me. The first thing he said was, ‘I realize you’ve had it for a long time, I respect that, and if you want to keep it, I would totally understand.’” 

What number to choose? 

McKay called Riley to let him know that Burnes was going to wear No. 39, and Riley asked what number he was going to switch to. 

“I asked him what numbers were still available,” McKay said. “He went through a few of them and I said, ‘Tell you what, I’ll make it easy on you, let’s just flip the 9 upside down and I’ll go with 36.’” 

It’s typical when a player or coach gives up a number for someone else, they get something in return. This case will be no different. 

“I’m going to do something pretty special for him this year,” Burnes said. “I want to get to know him a little first, get to know what his interests are, so I can get him something that he’ll really like.” 

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