"Penelope was born with down syndrome" - Jake Burger reveals how jersey number 21 honors his "beautiful" daughter

Texas Rangers infielder Jake Burger wears the No. 21 jersey for a special reason, related to his daughter, Penelope. She was born on October 25, 2024, and is the second child born to Burger's wife, Ashlyn. The duo is also parents to a son named Brooks.

Penelope was born with Down syndrome, also known as Trisomy 21. During his interview with MLB Network, the first baseman talked about his daughter and her condition.

"Yeah, she’s beautiful. You know, she was born with Down syndrome on October 25th of last year, and she’s doing great," Burger said. "She’s growing, doing her thing, and she’s definitely a blessing for all of us. That’s why the number 21 is significant."

Burger started wearing No. 21 on his back after being traded to the Rangers. This included a conversation she had with his wife, as the two of them came up with an idea to wear the number.

"So, trisomy 21 is actually the clinical diagnosis of Down syndrome, and obviously, Penelope has that diagnosis," Burger said. "I got traded, I don’t know, like two weeks after she was born, to Texas, and it was time to pick a new number. "Ashlyn, my wife, was like, ‘Hey, 21 would be really awesome for this community.’ And that’s kind of how I take it. It’s not really my number -- it’s the entire community’s number. And it’s just been really special to get to wear that."

Jake Burger and wife Ashlyn started Burger Family Foundation in honor of Penelope

Jake Burger and his wife, Ashlyn, have been open while talking about Penelope's condition. The Burgers have also started the Burger Family Foundation. With this organization, they aim to support families whose loved one is going through something similar. They have supported the cause by arranging for the events, fundraisers and public appearances.

The couple got to know about Penelope's condition well early in their pregnancy. Talking about it, Ashyln said:

"We got the results, and it said female and 99% trisomy 21. So, I told Jake, 'We're going to have a little girl;' he was so excited, then I googled what trisomy 21 meant, and I said, 'She's going to have Down syndrome.'"

In February, Burger's daughter underwent open-heart surgery at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Penelope is "doing well," according to her parents, as the surgery went smoothly.

Edited by Krutik Jain