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Major League Baseball (MLB) 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, but this failed. 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.
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 popularly known in the United States 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 MLB 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!"[1] 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.
† | Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame |
‡ | Ford C. Frick Award winner |
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.[2] The White Sox also re-issued Luis Aparicio's number 11, with his permission, to fellow countryman Omar Vizquel in 2010–11.[3]
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, LoanDepot 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.[4]
No. | Name | Team | Retirement date |
---|---|---|---|
5 | Carl Barger[Notes 1] | Marlins | April 5, 1993 |
5 | Willard Hershberger[Notes 2] | Reds | 1940 |
8 | Gary Carter†[Notes 3] | Expos | July 31, 1993 |
10 | Rusty Staub[Notes 3] | Expos | May 15, 1993 |
10 | Andre Dawson†[Notes 3] | Expos | July 6, 1997 |
12 | Roberto Alomar†[Notes 4] | Blue Jays | July 31, 2011 |
30 | Tim Raines†[Notes 3] | Expos | June 19, 2004 |
The following numbers have been retired in honor of multiple players:
A handful of players who had notable careers for multiple teams have had their numbers retired by each team.[12]
Excluding Jackie Robinson, only Frank Robinson and Nolan Ryan have had their number(s) retired by three teams. Managers Casey Stengel and Sparky Anderson have also had numbers retired by two teams. Stengel's #37 was retired by the Yankees and Mets. Anderson's #10 was retired by the Reds, and his #11 was retired by the Tigers.[13]
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.[14][15] As an alternative to retiring numbers, many teams have established other means of honoring former players, such as team-specific Halls of Fame (Angels, Astros, Athletics, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Indians, Mariners, Mets, Orioles, Padres, Rangers, Reds, Red Sox, and Twins) or Walls of Fame (Giants and Phillies), a Ring of Honor (Nationals) or Level of Excellence (Blue Jays). In addition, several teams have kept certain numbers out of circulation since a player left, but have not formally retired them.[16][17] The Rangers introduced a third means of honoring former players while preparing to open their current home of Globe Life Field in 2020. In December 2019, a few months before the park's opening, the team announced that all of its retired numbers would be incorporated into the park's posted dimensions.[18]
The Montreal Expos franchise retired jerseys in honor of four players, but returned the numbers to use upon moving to Washington, D.C., to begin play as the Washington Nationals in 2005, becoming the only MLB team with no retired numbers other than Jackie Robinson's No. 42. In 2010, the Nationals established a "Ring of Honor" which as of 2022 includes three of those Expos players (Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, and Tim Raines), along with the Expos' last and Nationals' first manager, Frank Robinson; Nationals players Iván Rodríguez, Jayson Werth, and Ryan Zimmerman; original Washington Senators (1901–1960) players 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; expansion Washington Senators (1961–1971) player Frank Howard; and Homestead Grays players Cool Papa Bell, Ray Brown, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Cumberland Posey, and Jud Wilson.[19][20][21] The Nationals retired their first number, Ryan Zimmerman's No. 11, on June 18, 2022.
The Miami Marlins had previously retired #5 in honor of their first team president, the late Carl Barger, but returned it to use entering the 2012 season when they relocated to the venue now known as LoanDepot Park. As of 2024, they are the only franchise with no retired numbers (aside from Jackie Robinson's).
In August 2024, the Minnesota Twins retired the letter W as a tribute to their origin as the Washington Senators during the 100-year anniversary of the Senators' World Series-winning team.
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 informally kept Fernando Valenzuela's #34 out of circulation since he last played for the team in 1990.[22] In 2023, the Dodgers announced that his number would be officially retired.
The San Francisco Giants are currently keeping three numbers; Tim Lincecum's #55, Buster Posey's #28, and former manager Bruce Bochy's #15, out of circulation.[17]
The New York Yankees have not issued CC Sabathia's #52 since he retired in 2019.
The Cincinnati Reds took Joey Votto's #19 out of circulation after his departure from the team in 2023 and official retirement in 2024.
The Miami Marlins have not issued José Fernández’s #16 since his death in September 2016.
The Milwaukee Brewers have not issued Jim Gantner’s #17 or Ryan Braun's #8 since their retirements.
The Toronto Blue Jays have not issued Jose Bautista's #19 since his departure from the team in 2017, except in 2019 when Alen Hanson briefly wore the number.
The Chicago Cubs have not issued Anthony Rizzo's #44 since his trade from the team in 2021.
The Kansas City Royals have not issued Alex Gordon's #4 since his retirement in 2020.
The Seattle Mariners have kept the following numbers out of circulation since the departure of a popular member of the team who wore it: #19 (Jay Buhner), and #51 (initially for Randy Johnson, later for Ichiro Suzuki).
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. The Mets have also not issued #5 since the retirement of David Wright or #48 since the departure of Jacob deGrom.
The Baltimore Orioles have not re-issued numbers 7, 44, and 46 since the passing of Cal Ripken Sr., Elrod Hendricks, and Mike Flanagan respectively. The team has placed a moratorium on the three numbers in their honors. [23] However, in 2024, Craig Kimbrel became the first Oriole to wear 46 since Flanagan's death in 2011, and Jackson Holliday was given permission by the Ripken family to wear #7 ahead of his major league debut in April.
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.[24] Varitek later reclaimed #33 upon joining the Red Sox coaching staff.
The St. Louis Cardinals did not reissue Albert Pujols's #5 from his first departure after the 2011 season until his return to the team in 2022. Since both his and Yadier Molina's retirements at the end of that season, the Cardinals have again kept the number out of circulation. Adam Wainwright's #50 was also taken out of circulation after his 2023 retirement.
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.[16] The Cardinals first re-issued the number in 2021 Spring Training, to pitcher Zack Thompson. Fan favorite Willie McGee has not had his #51 issued since he retired in 1999 except for when Bud Smith wore the number in 2001.
The Philadelphia Phillies are currently keeping three numbers; Chase Utley's #26, Jimmy Rollins' #11, and Ryan Howard's #6, out of circulation.
The Colorado Rockies have not re-issued Carlos Gonzalez's #5 since he left the team after 2018.
The Tampa Bay Rays have not re-issued Evan Longoria's #3 since he left the team after 2017.
The Washington Nationals have not issued Max Scherzer's #31 since his trade from the team in 2021, or Stephen Strasburg's #37 since his final appearance in 2022 and then official retirement in 2024.
The Detroit Tigers have not re-issued Justin Verlander's #35 since his trade to the Astros in 2017. The Tigers also took Miguel Cabrera's #24 out of circulation following his 2023 retirement.
The Los Angeles Angels have not re-issued Nick Adenhart's #34, after he was killed in a car accident on April 9, 2009, except for Noah Syndergaard, who requested and received the number when he joined the team in 2022. He stated that he wanted to wear his old Mets’ number as a tribute to Adenhart. The Angels have also not re-issued Tim Salmon's #15 since his retirement at the end of the 2006 season or Tyler Skaggs #45 since he died on July 1, 2019, although it is not in use anymore. For the remainder of the 2019 season, they put 45 on the mound instead of the sponsor.
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 breaking the baseball color line, 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).[25]
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.[26]
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:
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