Starting pitcher Walker Buehler inked a one-year, $21.05 million deal with the Boston Red Sox in December.
The 30-year-old righthander discussed his departure from the Los Angeles Dodgers with reporters during a Zoom call on Friday.
Buehler talked about his memories of starting Game 3 of the 2018 World Series against the Red Sox, his decision to head east this winter and choice of No. 0 to be his new jersey in Boston.
The former 24th overall pick opened his big-league career sporting No. 64 in Dodger Blue in 2017 but wore No. 21 for the final seven years of his journey with Los Angeles. Though the Red Sox haven’t officially retired the number, nobody has worn those digits since legendary hurler Roger Clemens, who left the team in 1996.
Buehler Joins an Exclusive List of Red Sox to Wear Unusual Number
Buehler is just the third player in franchise history to wear No. 0, following in the footsteps of second baseman Brandon Phillips (who had a nine-game stint in Boston in 2018) and reliever Adam Ottavino (2021).
“Yeah, 21 was taken, or somewhat taken or however you guys classify it,” Buehler told media members on Friday, per NESN’s Greg Dudek. “I had a few options there at the end. I don’t know, it felt kind of fitting. We battled a lot on double zero or single zero. But I think the smaller number looks a little skinner out there, so I went with the single zero.”
Buehler was limited to 12 starts in 2022 and missed all of the 2023 campaign after undergoing his second Tommy John surgery. The two-time All-Star went just 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA across 16 regular season starts in 2024 but was instrumental in leading the Dodgers to a World Series title in the fall.
Following an uneven start in Game 3 of the NLDS vs. the San Diego Padres where he was tagged with a loss after surrendering six runs on seven hits in five innings, Buehler bounced back in the final two rounds. He hurled 10 scoreless innings over his final three playoff appearances in 2024 as Los Angeles defeated the New York Mets and New York Yankees in the NLCS and World Series, respectively.
Buehler Was on The Mound During Historic 2018 World Series Game vs. Red Sox
Over six years ago, Buehler made his World Series debut in Game 3 of the Fall Classic against the Red Sox.
With Los Angeles facing a 2-0 series deficit and the championship round shifting west, the then-24-year-old stepped up big time for the hosts. Buehler twirled a gem, firing seven scoreless frames while allowing just two hits and no walks to go with seven strikeouts.
The contest wasn’t even half over when he departed, however, as the Dodgers and Red Sox would go on to play in one of the most memorable World Series tilts of all time that night.
“I was scared (expletive), man,” Buehler said on Friday’s Zoom call, according to Dudek. “I was a rookie pitching in the World Series against a really, really talented offensive team. At the time, J.D. (Martinez) was probably the best hitter in the world and the one big thing I remember, (Rick) Honeycutt, our pitching coach at the time, telling me I had to put one by his face every at-bat and I did that and it kind of went OK. I survived. It was a long 10-inning wait, I’ll tell you that. I remember the 16th, 17th inning you’re just kind of in this delirious state, kind of ready to go home, win, lose or draw. But we pulled it out there in the end.”
Despite Nathan Eovaldi’s iconic effort of six-plus innings in relief, Boston dropped the thriller 3-2 when Max Muncy drilled a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 18th, making it the longest game in World Series history.
Because the Red Sox won the title in five games, Buehler never got a chance to pitch at Fenway Park that year. He was on the IL in 2023 when Los Angeles visited “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark,” meaning that his 2025 home debut with the Red Sox will also be his first time pitching in Beantown.
“I think anytime you make a move from playing somewhere for seven years and go somewhere else, I think there’s obviously something behind that and something that hopefully I bring some value this year and get to play the rest of my career in Boston. … But it all kind of starts with me throwing the ball well,” Buehler said, per Dudek. “Different parks have different strengths and weaknesses and emotions and whatever. Having not pitched there, I’m looking forward to it certainly. It was pretty electric when we played there in the World Series and we got our butts handed to us. It was pretty loud in there.”
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