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Major League Baseball and its participating clubs have retired various uniform numbers over the course of time, ensuring that those numbers are never worn again and thus will always be associated with particular players or managers of note. The use of numbers on uniforms to better identify one player from another, and hence to boost sales of scorecards, was tried briefly by the Cleveland Indians of 1916. The first team to permanently adopt the practice was the New York Yankees of 1929. By 1932, all 16 major league clubs were issuing numbers, and by 1937, the leagues passed rules requiring it.
Contents
- Former retired numbers
- Retired in honor of multiple players
- Alternative methods of recognition
- Numbers kept out of circulation
- Number retired by Major League Baseball
- Players who pre date uniform numbers
- Broadcasters
- Owners and contributors
- Umpires
- Additional reading
- References
The Yankees' original approach was to simply assign the numbers 1 through 8 to the regular starting lineup in their normal batting order. Hence, Babe Ruth wore number 3 and Lou Gehrig number 4. The first major leaguer whose number was retired was Gehrig, in July 1939, following his retirement due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which became known popularly as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
Since then, over 150 other people have had their numbers retired, some with more than one team. This includes managers and coaches, as Major League Baseball is the only one of the major North American professional leagues in which the coaching staff wear the same uniforms as players. Three numbers have been retired in honor of people not directly involved on the playing field – all three for team executives. Some of the game's early stars, such as Ty Cobb and Christy Mathewson, retired before numbers came into usage. Teams often celebrate their retired numbers and other honored people by hanging banners with the numbers and names. Early stars, as well as honored non-players, will often have numberless banners hanging along with the retired numbers. Because fewer and fewer players stay with one team long enough to warrant their number being retired, some players believe that getting their number retired is a greater honor than going into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ron Santo, upon his number 10 being retired by the Chicago Cubs on the last day of the 2003 regular season, enthusiastically told the Wrigley Field crowd as his #10 flag was hoisted, "This is my Hall of Fame!" However, Santo would be inducted into the Hall of Fame in July 2012, nearly two years after his death, after being voted in by the Veterans Committee.
Former retired numbers
It is very rare for a team to reissue a retired number, and usually requires a special circumstance, such as the person for whom the number was retired returning to the team in a player, coach or manager role. Harold Baines provides one example of this when he returned to the White Sox multiple times. The White Sox also re-issued Luis Aparicio's number 11, with his permission, to fellow countryman Omar Vizquel in 2010–11.
In cases of franchise relocation, the handling of existing retired numbers is at the discretion of team management. The team may decide to continue honoring the retired numbers (as did the San Francisco Giants), or it may choose to make a "fresh start" and reissue the numbers (as the Washington Nationals have done).
The Cincinnati Reds returned Willard Hershberger's number 5 to circulation two years after his death. Cincinnati later re-retired the number to honor Johnny Bench.
When the Florida Marlins moved to their current stadium, Marlins Park, and were rebranded as the Miami Marlins; the number 5, which had been retired for the team's late first president, Carl Barger, was returned to circulation because player Logan Morrison requested permission to wear the number to honor his father.
Retired in honor of multiple players
The following numbers have been retired in honor of multiple players:
Alternative methods of recognition
A number of teams have formal or informal policies of only retiring numbers of players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, although there is no league-wide uniformity and teams sometimes break their own guidelines. As an alternative to retiring numbers, many teams have established other means of honoring former players, such as team-specific Halls of Fame (Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Indians, Mariners, Mets, Orioles, Padres, Rangers, Reds, Red Sox, and Twins) or Walls of Fame (Giants and Phillies) or a Ring of Honor (Nationals). In addition, several teams have kept certain numbers out of circulation since a player left, but have not formally retired them.
Only one team does not currently have any retired jersey numbers (other than Robinson's #42 retired in all of MLB). The Washington Nationals franchise had retired jerseys in honor of four players when known as the Montreal Expos, but un-retired them upon moving to Washington. The Nationals have established a "Ring of Honor" instead, which includes two of those Expos players, Gary Carter and Andre Dawson; the Nationals' first manager, Frank Robinson; players from the original Washington Senators Joe Cronin, Rick Ferrell, Goose Goslin, Bucky Harris, Walter Johnson, Heinie Manush, Sam Rice, Harmon Killebrew, and Early Wynn, as well as owner Clark Griffith; players from the second Senators franchise Frank Howard; and Homestead Grays players Cool Papa Bell, Ray Brown, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Cumberland Posey, and Jud Wilson.
The Miami Marlins had previously retired #5 in honor of their first team president, the late Carl Barger, but un-retired it entering the 2012 season. The Marlins did not have another retired number until September 26, 2016, when #16 was retired following the death of pitcher José Fernández.
Numbers kept out of circulation
Some teams have not formally retired certain numbers, but nonetheless kept them out of circulation. For example, the Los Angeles Dodgers' current policy is only to retire the numbers of longtime club members if they are inducted into the Hall of Fame; the lone exception was longtime Dodger player and coach Jim Gilliam, whose #19 was retired when he died of a cerebral hemorrhage during the Dodgers' 1978 postseason run. Nevertheless, the Dodgers have informally kept Fernando Valenzuela's #34 out of circulation since his retirement. The San Francisco Giants have a similar policy, but have kept Barry Bonds' #25 out of circulation since he departed after the 2007 season, though it is not formally retired.
The Seattle Mariners have kept the following numbers out of circulation since the departure of a popular member of the team who wore it: #14 (Lou Piniella), #19 (Jay Buhner), and #51 (initially for Randy Johnson, and later for Ichiro Suzuki). The Mariners also kept #11 out of circulation for Edgar Martínez from his retirement as a player at the end of the 2004 season until his return to the team as hitting coach in 2015. However, it will be retired on August 12, 2017. Similarly, no one had worn #33 for the Colorado Rockies since the departure of Larry Walker in 2004 until Walker gave his blessing for Justin Morneau, a fellow British Columbia native who had idolized Walker as a boy, to wear it when Morneau was with the team from 2014 to 2015.
On Opening Day of the 2012 season, the New York Mets unveiled a memorial "Kid 8" logo to honor the late Gary Carter. Although no Met has worn the number 8 since Carter's election to the Hall of Fame, it is not retired. Following Willie Mays' retirement in 1973, Mets owner Joan Payson promised him that the team would not reissue his #24; since then, the only Met to wear it has been Rickey Henderson from 1999 to 2000 (with the exception of a minor league call-up named Kelvin Torve, who was inexplicably issued #24 in August 1990 before fan complaints prompted the team to change his number to #39 ten days later).
The New York Yankees have not re-issued Paul O'Neill's #21 since he ended his career, except for a brief period in 2008 when Morgan Ensberg and then LaTroy Hawkins wore #21, before fan complaints led Hawkins to change his number to #22 in April. No Yankee has worn #2 since Derek Jeter retired in 2014; that becomes permanent May 14, 2017, when the Yankees will retire the number for him. The Boston Red Sox have not re-issued uniform numbers 21 (Roger Clemens), 33 (Jason Varitek) and 49 (Tim Wakefield) since those players left the Red Sox or ended their careers.
After Darryl Kile's death in 2002, the teams he played for (Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, and St. Louis Cardinals) took his #57 out of circulation, but have not formally retired the number.
Number retired by Major League Baseball
Normally the individual clubs are responsible for retiring numbers. On April 15, 1997, Major League Baseball took the unusual move of retiring a number for all teams. On the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking the major league color barrier, his number 42 was retired throughout the majors, at the order of Commissioner Bud Selig. This meant that no future player on any major league team could wear number 42, although players wearing #42 at the time were allowed to continue wearing it (Mariano Rivera was the last active player to be grandfathered in, retiring after the 2013 season). Starting in the 2007 season, the 60th anniversary of Robinson's Major League debut, players and coaches have all worn the number 42 as a tribute to Robinson on Jackie Robinson Day, April 15.
There is a lobby to have uniform #21 retired in all of baseball to honor Roberto Clemente.
Players who pre-date uniform numbers
Four teams have honored players who played before the advent of uniform numbers by placing their names among those of players whose numbers have been retired: