Braves backup gets unexpected lesson in the politics of a number change

LOS ANGELES — Throughout Chadwick Tromp’s baseball career, he’s heard the fans shouting his name, perhaps more than other players of his stature receive. The Atlanta Braves backup catcher has long understood that comes with having the name “Tromp” resting across the back of his jersey. Just one tantalizing vowel away from the name of the polarizing former president of the United States.

While the cheers and jeers have been far from all-consuming, he started to hear a new one this year. Tromp, who is Aruban and says he doesn’t pay attention to American politics, was given jersey No. 45, switching from his old No. 48. Donald Trump, of course, was the 45th president. Now, fans often yell “Tromp 45” in a way they never did for “Tromp 48.”

It wasn’t until Tromp was asked about the number change for this article that he said he even realized why those calls had become different this season.

“They always yell ‘Tromp 45,’ but I never put two and two together,” Tromp said last week. “… I thought it was just, ‘Chadwick Tromp, number 45.’”

Tromp, 29, is in his fifth big league season and has played professionally in the United States since 2013. He’s spent three years in Atlanta after two seasons with the San Francisco Giants. His time in the majors has been sparing, with only 53 games and 136 plate appearances to his ledger. Tromp was called up on March 30, but will likely be sent back down when catcher Sean Murphy (oblique) returns from the injured list in a few weeks.

The question of exactly how he ended up with jersey number 45 remains something of a mystery. Tromp said he asked Braves clubhouse director Calvin Minasian for a number change during the offseason. He wanted No. 14 — he has worn 14 and 60 at points in his career — but that became unavailable when Adam Duvall re-signed with the Braves. Tromp was given 45, which he didn’t select himself.

Minasian declined to comment when approached about the genesis of the selection, saying it was not a story. A Braves spokesperson also declined to comment.

“Since I’ve been playing baseball, when I was with the Giants or anywhere,” Tromp said, “they say ‘Tromp!’ I know that was because he was the president.”

When MLB Jersey Numbers tweeted his number change, the post went viral. Like anything else related to Trump, it divided respondents across ideological lines.

“My eyes may get stuck in the back of my head permanently while giving this the biggest eye roll of all time,” wrote one user.

“Make Atlanta Great Again,” posted another.

The right-leaning sports outlet Outkick posted a story with this headline: “Braves’ Chadwick Tromp Is About To Sell More Jerseys Than Any Backup Catcher Ever”.

Tromp’s No. 45 jersey is available on the website of Fanatics, MLB’s official partner. There is at least one independent team store that is selling Tromp 45 shirts. Fanatics did not respond to a request for comment regarding Tromp jersey sales this year.

The Braves are uniquely positioned geographically in the baseball landscape. In many ways, they are the South’s team. States like Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, both North and South Carolina, and large swaths of Florida could all be considered Braves country. And almost all of those places would be considered political strongholds for the former president.

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