Major League Baseball (MLB) and its participating clubs haveretired variousuniform 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 ofscorecards, was tried briefly by theCleveland Indians of 1916, but this failed. The first team to permanently adopt the practice was theNew 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 andLou Gehrig number 4. The first major leaguer whose number was retired was Gehrig, in July 1939, following his retirement due toamyotrophic 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 themajor 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 asTy Cobb andChristy 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 theBaseball Hall of Fame.Ron Santo, upon his number 10 being retired by theChicago Cubs on the last day of the 2003 regular season, enthusiastically told theWrigley Field crowd as his #10 flag was hoisted, "This ismy Hall of Fame!"[1] Santo would be inducted into the Hall of Fame in July 2012, nearly two years after his death, afterbeing voted in by theVeterans Committee.
^Team founder and formerMLB Commissioner. Number selected symbolically.
^Aparicio's number was temporarily unretired with his approval for fellow Venezuelan shortstopOmar Vizquel. Vizquel played the 2010 and 2011 seasons with the White Sox.
^Date of formal ceremony; number retirement took effect at the start of the 2016 MLB season. The number was also retired for all Mariners minor league affiliates at that time.
^Team founder. The number represents the "26th man"—At the time of the number's retirement, Major League Baseball rosters were limited to 25 players prior September 1, when rosters expanded to 40.
^Served as president, chairman, or CEO of the Cardinals from the team's purchase byAnheuser-Busch in 1953 until his death in 1989. The number represents his age at the time the number was retired in 1984.
^Number was selected symbolically. The number 455 was retired in honor of the fans after the Cleveland Indians sold out 455 consecutive games.
^Athletics owner Walter A. Haas, Jr. was honored by having his "HAAS displayed in a manner similar to a retired number.
^Rockies president Keli McGregor was honored by having his initials "KSM" displayed in a manner similar to a retired number after his death.
^Christy Mathewson played in the era before uniform numbers were used. He was honored for his tenure with the then-New York Giants with the letters "NY" displayed in a manner similar to a retired number.
^John McGraw played in the era before uniform numbers were used. He was honored for his tenure with the then-New York Giants with the letters "NY" displayed in a manner similar to a retired number.
^Grover Cleveland Alexander only played in the era before uniform numbers were used. Alexander was honored with a Phillies letter "P" logo displayed in a manner similar to a retired number.
^Chuck Klein first played in the era before uniform numbers were used. He later frequently changed his number. Instead of retiring a number, Klein was honored with a Phillies letter "P" logo displayed in a manner similar to a retired number.
^Ed Delahanty only played in the era before uniform numbers were used. Delahanty was honored with a Phillies letter "P" logo displayed in a manner similar to a retired number.
^Billy Hamilton only played in the era before uniform numbers were used. Hamilton was honored with a Phillies letter "P" logo displayed in a manner similar to a retired number.
^Sam Thompson only played in the era before uniform numbers were used. Thompson was honored with a Phillies letter "P" logo displayed in a manner similar to a retired number.
^William Shea was the attorney who was in large part responsible for the creation of the Mets in 1961. The team's second home, Shea Stadium, was named for him. He was honored with the name "SHEA" displayed in a manner similar to a retired number.
^Rogers Hornsby played most of his career in the era before uniform numbers were used. He wore number 4 with the Cardinals late in his career. Hornsby was honored with the letters "SL" displayed in a manner similar to a retired number.
^Broadcaster Jack Buck was honored by the Cardinals with a microphone displayed in a similar manner to a retired number.
^Broadcaster Jaime Jarrín was honored by the Dodgers with a microphone displayed in a similar manner to a retired number.
^Broadcaster Vin Scully was honored by the Dodgers with a microphone displayed in a similar manner to a retired number.
^Broadcaster Russ Hodges was honored by the Giants with a microphone displayed in a similar manner to a retired number.
^Broadcaster Jon Miller was honored by the Giants with a microphone displayed in a similar manner to a retired number.
^Broadcaster Lon Simmons was honored by the Giants with a microphone displayed in a similar manner to a retired number.
^Ralph Kiner was honored by the Mets as a broadcaster with a microphone displayed in a similar manner to a retired number.
^Broadcaster Bob Murphy was honored by the Mets with a microphone displayed in a similar manner to a retired number.
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.[3] The White Sox also re-issuedLuis Aparicio's number 11, with his permission, to fellow countrymanOmar Vizquel in 2010–11.[4]
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 theSan Francisco Giants), or it may choose to make a "fresh start" and reissue the numbers (as theWashington Nationals have done).
When theFlorida 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 presidentCarl Barger, was returned to circulation because playerLogan Morrison requested permission to wear the number to honor his father.[5]
^Placed into circulation in 2012 when the Marlins moved totheir new park and decided to honor Barger instead with a plaque at the stadium. The first player to receive the number wasLogan Morrison. Barger was the team's first president, but died in December 1992, four months before the team's first game. The Marlins chose to retire #5 because it was the number worn by Barger's favorite player, Joe DiMaggio.
^The Reds retired Hershberger's #5 after his death in 1940, but returned it to circulation two years later. Cincinnati later re-retired the number 5 forJohnny Bench.
^abcdTheMontreal Expos retired numbers in honor of four players (Carter #8, Dawson #10, Staub #10, Raines #30). When the franchise relocated to Washington, D.C., after the 2004 season, the newly christenedWashington Nationals chose not to recognize any uniform number retired while in Montreal. On October 18, 2005, theNHL'sMontreal Canadiens honored the departed team by raising an Expos commemorative banner listing the retired numbers to the rafters of Montreal'sBell Centre.
^The Toronto Blue Jays retired Alomar’s #12 on July 31, 2011. However, on April 30, 2021 in light of an investigation of Alomar being in violation of MLB policy after being alleged to have engaged in sexual misconduct in 2014, the Blue Jays removed Alomar's banner and cut ties with him. The number was used again for the first time on July 31, 2023, whenJordan Hicks claimed the number after being traded to the team.[6][7]
Cincinnati Reds, #5: retired in 1940 forWillard Hershberger who had died by suicide during the season; returned to service in 1942; retired in 1984 forJohnny Bench[8]
St. Louis Cardinals, #42: retired in 1997 by all teams in MLB forJackie Robinson; ceremony to honor #42 forBruce Sutter was held in 2006[11]
New York Yankees, #42: retired in 1997 by all teams in MLB forJackie Robinson (players already wearing the number could continue to do so by special arrangement); ceremony to honor #42 forMariano Rivera was held in 2013
The Seattle Mariners retired #51 forIchiro Suzuki on August 9, 2025;[13] an additional ceremony to honor the same number forRandy Johnson will be held in 2026.[14]
A handful of players who had notable careers for multiple teams have had their numbers retired by each team.[15]
Frank Robinson's #20 was retired by the Reds, Orioles and the then-Indians.
Rod Carew's #29 was retired by the Twins and Angels.
Hank Aaron's #44 was retired by the Braves and Brewers.
Reggie Jackson had his #9 retired by the Athletics, and his #44 retired by the Yankees.
Rollie Fingers' #34 was retired by the Athletics and Brewers.
Carlton Fisk had his #27 retired by the Red Sox, and his #72 retired by the White Sox.
Greg Maddux's #31 was retired by the Cubs and Braves.
Nolan Ryan had his #30 retired by the Angels, while his #34 is retired by the Astros and Rangers.
Wade Boggs's #12 was retired by the then-Devil Rays, and his #26 is retired by the Red Sox.
Roy Halladay's #32 was retired by the Blue Jays, and his #34 is retired by the Phillies.
Jackie Robinson’s #42 has been retired by every team in MLB, due to him breaking the color barrier in baseball.
Gil Hodges' #14 was retired by the Mets and Dodgers.
Willie Mays' #24 was retired by the Giants and Mets.
Randy Johnson's #51 has been retired by the Diamondbacks, and will be retired by the Mariners in 2026.
Excluding Jackie Robinson, only Frank Robinson and Nolan Ryan have had their number(s) retired by three teams. ManagersCasey Stengel andSparky 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.[16]
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.[17][18] 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,Guardians,Mariners,Mets,Orioles,Padres,Rangers,Reds,Red Sox, andTwins) or Walls of Fame (Giants andPhillies), 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.[19][20] The Rangers introduced a third means of honoring former players while preparing to open their current home ofGlobe 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.[21]
TheMiami Marlins had previously retired #5 in honor of their first team president, the lateCarl Barger, but returned it to use entering the 2012 season when they relocated to the venue now known asLoanDepot Park. As of 2024, they are the only franchise with no retired numbers (aside from Jackie Robinson's).
In August 2024, theMinnesota 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, theLos 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 coachJim Gilliam, whose #19 was retired when he died of acerebral hemorrhage during the Dodgers' 1978 postseason run. Nevertheless, the Dodgers informally keptFernando Valenzuela's #34 out of circulation since he last played for the team in 1990.[25] In 2023, the Dodgers announced that his number would be officially retired.
TheChicago White Sox have not issued hitting coachCharley Lau's #6 since his death in 1984, except to Lau discipleWalt Hriniak, who was the White Sox hitting coach from 1989-1995. The White Sox have also not issuedOzzie Guillén's #13 since leaving as the team's manager in 2011.
On Opening Day of the 2012 season, theNew York Mets unveiled a memorial "Kid 8" logo to honor the lateGary 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 #48 since the departure ofJacob deGrom.
The Baltimore Orioles have not re-issued numbers 7, 44, and 46 since the passing ofCal Ripken Sr.,Elrod Hendricks, andMike Flanagan respectively. The team has placed a moratorium on the three numbers in their honors.[26] However, in 2024,Craig Kimbrel became the first Oriole to wear 46 since Flanagan's death in 2011, andJackson 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.[27] Varitek later reclaimed #33 upon joining the Red Sox coaching staff.
The St. Louis Cardinals did not reissueAlbert Pujols's #5 from his first departure after the 2011 season until his return to the team in 2022. Since both his andYadier 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.
The Philadelphia Phillies are currently keeping three numbers;Chase Utley's #26,Jimmy Rollins' #11, andRyan Howard's #6, out of circulation.
The Colorado Rockies have not re-issuedCarlos Gonzalez's #5 since he left the team after 2018.
The Tampa Bay Rays have not re-issuedEvan Longoria's #3 since he left the team after 2017.
The Washington Nationals have not issuedMax Scherzer's #31 since his trade from the team in 2021, orStephen Strasburg's #37 since his final appearance in 2022 and then official retirement in 2024.
The Detroit Tigers have not re-issuedJustin Verlander's #35 since his trade to theAstros in 2017. The Tigers also tookMiguel Cabrera's #24 out of circulation following his 2023 retirement.
The Atlanta Braves have not re-issuedFreddie Freeman's #5 since leaving the team after 2021.
The Los Angeles Angels have not re-issuedNick Adenhart's #34, after he was killed in a car accident on April 9, 2009, except forNoah 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-issuedTim Salmon's #15 since his retirement at the end of the 2006 season orTyler 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.
(Left): The number 42 worn by Robinson on a plaque at Monument Park; (right): Mariano Rivera was the last player to wear the 42 on his shirt
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 ofJackie Robinson breaking thebaseball color line, his number 42 was retired throughout the majors, at the order of CommissionerBud 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).[28]
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 onJackie Robinson Day, April 15.
There is a lobby to have uniform #21 retired in all of baseball to honorRoberto Clemente.[29]
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:
Bob Murphy andRalph Kiner –New York Mets; The radio booth at bothShea Stadium andCiti Field are named for Murphy. The television booth atCiti Field is named for Kiner, who continued to broadcast some home games for the Mets until his death in early 2014. In addition, a special memorial logo honoring Kiner, depicting a microphone along with his name and the years 1922–2014, was displayed at Citi Field on the left field wall adjacent to, but not as a part of, the Mets' retired numbers, from 2014 to 2016. In the 2016 Mets yearbook, a sidebar in an article onMike Piazza's upcoming number retirement implies that Kiner has been "retired" a laWilliam A. Shea.[30] This was reinforced when the Mets' retired numbers were moved to the roof facade during the 2016 season to accommodate Mike Piazza's #31; Kiner's "number" was placed adjacent to the Shea and Jackie Robinson numbers, no longer separated from the others.
Jerry Coleman –San Diego Padres; a "star on the wall" in reference to his trademark phrase "You can hang a star on that one!" The star is painted in gold on the front of the press box down the right field line, accompanied by Coleman's name in white. Upon Coleman's death in 2014, the broadcast booth at Petco Park was named in his honor.
Harry Kalas andRichie Ashburn –Philadelphia Phillies; At Citizens Bank Park, the restaurant built into the base of the main scoreboard is named "Harry the K's" in Kalas's honor. After Kalas's death, the Phillies' TV-broadcast booth was renamed "The Harry Kalas Broadcast Booth". It is directly next to the radio-broadcast booth, which is named "The Richie 'Whitey' Ashburn Broadcast Booth". They both also have statues at Citizens Bank Park (though Ashburn is in uniform for his statue).
Ernie Harwell –Detroit Tigers; honored with his name alongside the retired players on the Left-Centerfield Brick wall inComerica Park and a statue & portrait at the stadium's front entrance. Honored with the Media Center named after him also.
Bob Uecker – "50 Years in Baseball" along with Uecker's name is next to the Brewers retired numbers atAmerican Family Field.
Tom Cheek –Toronto Blue Jays; honored with a spot on theRogers Centre's "Level of Excellence" bearing his name and, in place of a jersey number, 4,306 – his streak of consecutive regular-season broadcasts.
Dave Niehaus –Seattle Mariners; the press box atT-Mobile Park was renamed the "Dave Niehaus Media Center" on April 8, 2011, prior to the Mariners' home opener against theCleveland Indians. In addition, a part of First Avenue NW outside the stadium was renamed Dave Niehaus Way, and the wall in deep right-center field also has a microphone with a Dave Niehaus graphic. There is the Dave Niehaus Statue on the Main Concourse at Section 105.[31]
The initials of the lateSan Diego Padres ownerRay Kroc are painted in gold on the front of the pressbox down the right field line, accompanied by his name in white.
Charles Bronfman was inducted into the Expos Hall of Fame as its inaugural member in 1993, and a circular patch placed on the right field wall with his name, the number 83, which he used to wear during spring training, and the words "FONDATEUR / FOUNDER".[33]
On April 8, 2008, the final opening day atShea Stadium, theNew York Mets unveiled a "Shea" logo which was displayed on the left-field fence next to the team's retired numbers. The stadium was named forWilliam Shea, a prominent lawyer who was responsible for the return of National League baseball to New York.
Walter A. Haas Jr., honorary jersey retired (with stylized Old English "A" in place of a number) in 1995, located in right field. Owner of theOakland Athletics from 1980 until 1995. Haas purchased the team fromCharles O. Finley in 1980, saving the team from potentially moving out of the area.
At the start of the 2007 season, theKansas City Royals designated Seat #9 in Section 127, Row C atKauffman Stadium as the "Buck O'Neil Legacy Seat" in honor ofNegro leagues legend and Royals scoutBuck O'Neil. During each home game, the Royals honor a fan who exemplifies O'Neil's spirit of humanitarianism and community service by inviting that fan to sit in the Buck O'Neil Legacy Seat.
^Blair, Jeff (August 15, 1993). "This used to be his playground; Bronfman was always a fan; Original owner steps into Expos Hall of Fame".Montreal Gazette. pp. D.1.
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