List Of Major League Baseball Retired Numbers

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!" 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.

List of all-time retired numbers

†	Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
‡	Ford C. Frick Award winner

No.	Player or other figure	Team	Date
1	Billy Meyer	Pirates	1954
1	Bud Selig^†	Brewers	April 6, 2015
1	Pee Wee Reese^†	Dodgers	July 1, 1984
1	Bobby Doerr^†	Red Sox	May 21, 1988
1	Fred Hutchinson	Reds	October 19, 1964
1	Ozzie Smith^†	Cardinals	September 26, 1996
1	Richie Ashburn^†	Phillies	August 24, 1979
1	Billy Martin	Yankees	August 10, 1986
1	Lou Whitaker	Tigers	August 6, 2022
2	Red Schoendienst^†	Cardinals	May 11, 1996
2	Nellie Fox^†	White Sox	May 1, 1976
2	Tommy Lasorda^†	Dodgers	August 15, 1997
2	Charlie Gehringer^†	Tigers	June 12, 1983
2	Derek Jeter^†	Yankees	May 14, 2017
3	Babe Ruth^†	Yankees	June 13, 1948
3	Earl Averill^†	Guardians	June 8, 1975
3	Bill Terry^†	Giants	April 5, 1983
3	Harmon Killebrew^†	Twins	May 4, 1975
3	Dale Murphy	Braves	June 13, 1994
3	Harold Baines^†	White Sox	August 20, 1989
3	Alan Trammell^†	Tigers	August 26, 2018
4	Luke Appling^†	White Sox	June 7, 1975
4	Earl Weaver^†	Orioles	September 19, 1982
4	Duke Snider^†	Dodgers	July 6, 1980
4	Ralph Kiner^†	Pirates	September 19, 1987
4	Lou Gehrig^†	Yankees	July 4, 1939
4	Paul Molitor^†	Brewers	June 11, 1999
4	Mel Ott^†	Giants	July 17, 1948
4	Joe Cronin^†	Red Sox	1984
5	Brooks Robinson^†	Orioles	April 14, 1978
5	Lou Boudreau^†	Guardians	July 9, 1970
5	George Brett^†	Royals	May 14, 1994
5	Johnny Bench^†	Reds	August 11, 1984
5	Hank Greenberg^†	Tigers	June 12, 1983
5	Joe DiMaggio^†	Yankees	April 18, 1952
5	Jeff Bagwell^†	Astros	August 26, 2007
6	Johnny Pesky	Red Sox	September 28, 2008
6	Steve Garvey	Padres	April 16, 1988
6	Stan Musial^†	Cardinals	September 29, 1963
6	Al Kaline^†	Tigers	August 17, 1980
6	Tony Oliva^†	Twins	July 14, 1991
6	Bobby Cox^†	Braves	August 12, 2011
6	Joe Torre^†	Yankees	August 23, 2014
7	Mickey Mantle^†	Yankees	June 8, 1969
7	Craig Biggio^†	Astros	August 17, 2008
7	Iván Rodríguez^†	Rangers	August 12, 2017
7	Joe Mauer^†	Twins	June 15, 2019
8	Willie Stargell^†	Pirates	September 6, 1982
8	Joe Morgan^†	Reds	June 6, 1998
8	Yogi Berra^†	Yankees	July 22, 1972
8	Bill Dickey^†	Yankees	July 22, 1972
8	Cal Ripken Jr.^†	Orioles	October 6, 2001
8	Carl Yastrzemski^†	Red Sox	August 6, 1989
9	Ted Williams^†	Red Sox	September 1960
9	Reggie Jackson^†	Athletics	May 22, 2004
9	Minnie Miñoso^†	White Sox	May 8, 1983
9	Enos Slaughter^†	Cardinals	September 6, 1996
9	Bill Mazeroski^†	Pirates	August 7, 1987
9	Roger Maris	Yankees	July 21, 1984
10	Sparky Anderson^†	Reds	May 28, 2005
10	Dick Howser	Royals	July 3, 1987
10	Phil Rizzuto^†	Yankees	August 4, 1985
10	Ron Santo^†	Cubs	September 28, 2003
10	Tony La Russa^†	Cardinals	May 11, 2012
10	Tom Kelly	Twins	September 8, 2012
10	Chipper Jones^†	Braves	June 28, 2013
10	Michael Young	Rangers	August 31, 2019
11	Carl Hubbell^†	Giants	1944
11	Jim Fregosi	Angels	August 1, 1998
11	Luis Aparicio^†	White Sox	August 14, 1984
11	Paul Waner^†	Pirates	July 21, 2007
11	Sparky Anderson^†	Tigers	June 26, 2011
11	Barry Larkin^†	Reds	August 25, 2012
11	Edgar Martínez^†	Mariners	August 12, 2017
11	Ryan Zimmerman	Nationals	June 18, 2022
12	Wade Boggs^†	Rays	April 7, 2000
13	Dave Concepción	Reds	August 25, 2007
14	Ernie Banks^†	Cubs	August 22, 1982
14	Kent Hrbek	Twins	August 13, 1995
14	Larry Doby^†	Guardians	July 3, 1994
14	Ken Boyer	Cardinals	May 20, 1984
14	Gil Hodges^†	Mets	June 9, 1973
14	Jim Bunning^†	Phillies	April 16, 2001
14	Jim Rice^†	Red Sox	July 28, 2009
14	Paul Konerko	White Sox	May 23, 2015
14	Pete Rose	Reds	June 26, 2016
14	Gil Hodges^†	Dodgers	June 4, 2022
15	Dick Allen	Phillies	September 3, 2020
15	Thurman Munson	Yankees	August 3, 1979
16	Ted Lyons^†	White Sox	July 25, 1987
16	Whitey Ford^†	Yankees	August 3, 1974
16	Hal Newhouser^†	Tigers	July 27, 1997
16	Dwight Gooden	Mets	April 14, 2024
17	Dizzy Dean^†	Cardinals	September 22, 1974
17	Todd Helton^†	Rockies	August 17, 2014
17	Keith Hernandez	Mets	July 9, 2022
18	Ted Kluszewski	Reds	July 18, 1998
18	Mel Harder	Guardians	July 28, 1990
19	Bob Feller^†	Guardians	December 28, 1956
19	Billy Pierce	White Sox	July 25, 1987
19	Jim Gilliam	Dodgers	October 10, 1978
19	Tony Gwynn^†	Padres	September 4, 2004
19	Robin Yount^†	Brewers	May 29, 1994
20	Luis Gonzalez	Diamondbacks	August 7, 2010
20	Monte Irvin^†	Giants	June 26, 2010
20	Lou Brock^†	Cardinals	September 9, 1979
20	Jorge Posada	Yankees	August 22, 2015
20	Frank Robinson^†	Orioles	March 10, 1972
20	Frank Robinson^†	Reds	May 22, 1998
20	Frank Robinson^†	Guardians	May 27, 2017
20	Pie Traynor^†	Pirates	April 18, 1972
20	Mike Schmidt^†	Phillies	May 26, 1990
20	Don Sutton^†	Dodgers	August 14, 1998
20	Frank White	Royals	May 2, 1995
21	Bob Lemon^†	Guardians	June 20, 1998
21	Warren Spahn^†	Braves	December 11, 1965
21	Roberto Clemente^†	Pirates	April 6, 1973
21	Paul O'Neill	Yankees	August 21, 2022
22	Jim Palmer^†	Orioles	September 1, 1985
22	Will Clark	Giants	July 30, 2022
23	Ryne Sandberg^†	Cubs	August 28, 2005
23	Don Mattingly	Yankees	August 31, 1997
23	Willie Horton	Tigers	July 15, 2000
23	Ted Simmons^†	Cardinals	July 31, 2021
24	Whitey Herzog^†	Cardinals	July 31, 2010
24	Tony Pérez^†	Reds	May 27, 2000
24	Willie Mays^†	Giants	May 12, 1972
24	Walter Alston^†	Dodgers	June 5, 1977
24	Ken Griffey Jr.^†	Mariners	August 6, 2016
24	Jimmy Wynn	Astros	June 25, 2005
24	Rickey Henderson^†	Athletics	August 1, 2009
24	Willie Mays^†	Mets	August 27, 2022
25	José Cruz	Astros	October 3, 1992
25	Barry Bonds	Giants	August 11, 2018
25	Jim Thome^†	Guardians	August 18, 2018
25	Andruw Jones	Braves	September 9, 2023
26	Billy Williams^†	Cubs	August 13, 1987
26	Gene Autry	Angels	August 3, 1982
26	Johnny Oates	Rangers	August 5, 2005
26	Wade Boggs^†	Red Sox	May 26, 2016
27	Carlton Fisk^†	Red Sox	September 4, 2000
27	Catfish Hunter^†	Athletics	June 9, 1991
27	Juan Marichal^†	Giants	July 10, 1983
28	Bert Blyleven^†	Twins	July 16, 2011
29	Rod Carew^†	Angels	August 6, 1991
29	Rod Carew^†	Twins	July 19, 1987
29	John Smoltz^†	Braves	June 8, 2012
29	Adrián Beltré^†	Rangers	June 8, 2019
30	Orlando Cepeda^†	Giants	July 11, 1999
30	Nolan Ryan^†	Angels	June 16, 1992
31	Dave Winfield^†	Padres	April 14, 2001
31	Greg Maddux^†	Cubs	May 3, 2009
31	Greg Maddux^†	Braves	July 17, 2009
31	Ferguson Jenkins^†	Cubs	May 3, 2009
31	Mike Piazza^†	Mets	July 30, 2016
32	Steve Carlton^†	Phillies	July 29, 1989
32	Sandy Koufax^†	Dodgers	June 4, 1972
32	Elston Howard	Yankees	July 21, 1984
32	Jim Umbricht	Astros	April 12, 1965
32	Roy Halladay^†	Blue Jays	March 29, 2018
33	Mike Scott	Astros	October 3, 1992
33	Eddie Murray^†	Orioles	June 7, 1998
33	Honus Wagner^†	Pirates	February 16, 1952
33	Larry Walker^†	Rockies	September 25, 2021
34	Rollie Fingers^†	Brewers	August 9, 1992
34	Rollie Fingers^†	Athletics	July 5, 1993
34	Nolan Ryan^†	Rangers	September 15, 1996
34	Nolan Ryan^†	Astros	September 29, 1996
34	Kirby Puckett^†	Twins	May 25, 1997
34	David Ortiz^†	Red Sox	June 23, 2017
34	Roy Halladay^†	Phillies	August 8, 2021
34	Dave Stewart	Athletics	September 11, 2022
34	Fernando Valenzuela	Dodgers	August 11, 2023
35	Randy Jones	Padres	May 9, 1997
35	Phil Niekro^†	Braves	August 6, 1984
35	Frank Thomas^†	White Sox	August 29, 2010
36	Gaylord Perry^†	Giants	July 23, 2005
36	Robin Roberts^†	Phillies	March 21, 1962
36	Jerry Koosman	Mets	August 28, 2021
36	Jim Kaat^†	Twins	July 16, 2022
37	Casey Stengel^†	Yankees	August 8, 1970
37	Casey Stengel^†	Mets	September 2, 1965
39	Roy Campanella^†	Dodgers	June 4, 1972
40	Don Wilson	Astros	April 13, 1975
40	Danny Murtaugh	Pirates	April 7, 1977
41	Eddie Mathews^†	Braves	July 26, 1969
41	Tom Seaver^†	Mets	June 24, 1988
42	Mariano Rivera^†	Yankees	September 22, 2013
42	Jackie Robinson^†	Dodgers	June 4, 1972
42	Jackie Robinson^†	All MLB	April 15, 1997
42	Bruce Sutter^†	Cardinals	September 17, 2006
43	Dennis Eckersley^†	Athletics	August 13, 2005
44	Hank Aaron^†	Braves	April 15, 1977
44	Hank Aaron^†	Brewers	October 3, 1976
44	Reggie Jackson^†	Yankees	August 14, 1993
44	Willie McCovey^†	Giants	September 21, 1980
45	Bob Gibson^†	Cardinals	September 1, 1975
45	Pedro Martínez^†	Red Sox	July 28, 2015
46	Andy Pettitte	Yankees	August 23, 2015
47	Tom Glavine^†	Braves	August 6, 2010
47	Jack Morris^†	Tigers	August 12, 2018
49	Larry Dierker	Astros	May 19, 2002
49	Ron Guidry	Yankees	August 23, 2003
50	Jimmie Reese	Angels	August 2, 1995
51	Randy Johnson^†	Diamondbacks	August 8, 2015
51	Trevor Hoffman^†	Padres	August 21, 2011
51	Bernie Williams	Yankees	May 24, 2015
53	Don Drysdale^†	Dodgers	July 1, 1984
56	Mark Buehrle	White Sox	June 24, 2017
66	Don Zimmer	Rays	April 6, 2015
72	Carlton Fisk^†	White Sox	September 14, 1997
85	August Busch, Jr.	Cardinals	April 13, 1984
455	Cleveland fans	Guardians	May 29, 2001
KSM	Keli McGregor	Rockies	September 28, 2010
NY	Christy Mathewson^†	Giants	August 17, 1986
NY	John McGraw^†	Giants	August 17, 1986
P	Grover Cleveland Alexander^†	Phillies	2001
P	Chuck Klein^†	Phillies	2001
SHEA	William Shea	Mets	April 8, 2008
SL	Rogers Hornsby^†	Cardinals	1997
	Jack Buck^‡	Cardinals	2002
	Jaime Jarrín^‡	Dodgers	September 21, 2018
	Vin Scully^‡	Dodgers	May 3, 2017
	Ralph Kiner^†	Mets	March 31, 2014
	Bob Murphy^†	Mets	April 5, 2023

List of pending number retirements

No.	Player or other figure	Team	Date
18	Darryl Strawberry	Mets	June 1, 2024

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, 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.

No.	Name	Team	Retirement date
5	Carl Barger	Marlins	April 5, 1993
5	Willard Hershberger	Reds	1940
8	Gary Carter^†	Expos	July 31, 1993
10	Rusty Staub	Expos	May 15, 1993
10	Andre Dawson^†	Expos	July 6, 1997
12	Roberto Alomar^†	Blue Jays	July 31, 2011
30	Tim Raines^†	Expos	June 19, 2004

List Of Major League Baseball Retired Numbers

List of all-time retired numbers

List of pending number retirements

Former retired numbers

Retired in honor of multiple players

Retired by multiple teams

Alternative methods of recognition

Numbers kept out of circulation

Number retired by Major League Baseball

Similar honors

Players who pre-date uniform numbers

Broadcasters

Owners and contributors

Umpires

See also

Notes

References

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