List of Major League Baseball retired numbers

Major League baseball has retired various uniform numbers in its history, ensuring that they will always be associated with one player of note. The numbers came into use by|1929, when the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians began using them so fans and scorekeepers could tell who was who on the field. By 1937, each league demanded that all teams participate in the use of uniform numbers. The practice of retiring a number came with Lou Gehrig's retirement on January 6, 1940; his number 4 would never again be used by a Yankee player. Since then, over 120 other people have had their numbers retired.

On April 15, 1997, Jackie Robinson's #42 was retired by Major League Baseball, meaning that no future player on any major league team could wear it, though players wearing #42 at the time were allowed to continue wearing it (see below). Some have advocated giving Roberto Clemente's number 21 a similar treatment. They feel that Clemente's impact on the Hispanic community is equal to that of Robinson's on the black community. The target goal for the retirement was in time for the 2006 MLB All-Star Game in Pittsburgh, where Clemente played. RetireClemente21.com collected over 70,000 signatures for the effort.

Some teams do not retire jersey numbers, and instead celebrate their stars in other ways. The Toronto Blue Jays have a 'Level of Excellence,' where notable individuals in club history have their names posted under the fifth deck of the Rogers Centre.

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.

Listing by number

*1
**Billy Meyer - Pirates
**Pee Wee Reese - Dodgers
**Bobby Doerr - Red Sox
**Fred Hutchinson - Reds (manager)
**Ozzie Smith - Cardinals
**Richie Ashburn - Phillies
**Billy Martin - Yankees
*2
**Red Schoendienst - Cardinals
**Nellie Fox - White Sox
**Tommy Lasorda - Dodgers (manager)
**Charlie Gehringer - Tigers
*3
**Babe Ruth - Yankees
**Earl Averill - Indians
**Bill Terry - Giants
**Harmon Killebrew - Twins
**Dale Murphy - Braves
**Harold Baines - White Sox
*4
**Luke Appling - White Sox
**Earl Weaver - Orioles (manager)
**Duke Snider - Dodgers
**Ralph Kiner - Pirates
**Lou Gehrig - Yankees
**Paul Molitor - Brewers
**Mel Ott - Giants
**Joe Cronin - Red Sox
*5
**Brooks Robinson - Orioles
**Carl Barger - Marlins (club president)
**Lou Boudreau - Indians
**George Brett - Royals
**Johnny Bench - Reds
**Willard Hershberger - Reds (1940 - 1941)
**Hank Greenberg - Tigers
**Joe DiMaggio - Yankees
**Jeff Bagwell - Astros
*6
**Johnny Pesky - Red Sox
**Steve Garvey - Padres
**Stan Musial - Cardinals
**Al Kaline - Tigers
**Tony Oliva - Twins
*7
**Mickey Mantle - Yankees
**Craig Biggio - Astros
*8
**Willie Stargell - Pirates
**Joe Morgan - Reds
**Yogi Berra - Yankees
**Gary Carter - Expos (no longer retired)
**Cal Ripken, Jr. - Orioles
**Bill Dickey - Yankees
**Carl Yastrzemski - Red Sox
*9
**Ted Williams - Red Sox
**Reggie Jackson - Athletics
**Minnie Miñoso - White Sox
**Enos Slaughter - Cardinals
**Bill Mazeroski - Pirates
**Roger Maris - Yankees
*10
**Sparky Anderson - Reds (manager)
**Dick Howser - Royals (manager)
**Phil Rizzuto - Yankees
**Andre Dawson - Expos (no longer retired)
**Rusty Staub - Expos (no longer retired)
**Ron Santo - Cubs
*11
**Carl Hubbell - Giants
**Jim Fregosi - Angels
**Luis Aparicio - White Sox
**Paul Waner - Pirates
*12
**Wade Boggs - Rays
**Roberto Alomar - Blue Jays
*13
**Dave Concepción - Reds
*14
**Ernie Banks - Cubs
**Kent Hrbek - Twins
**Larry Doby - Indians
**Ken Boyer - Cardinals
**Gil Hodges - Mets
**Jim Bunning - Phillies
*15
**Thurman Munson - Yankees
*16
**Hal Newhouser - Tigers
**Ted Lyons - White Sox
**Whitey Ford - Yankees
*17
**Dizzy Dean - Cardinals
*18
**Ted Kluszewski - Reds
**Mel Harder - Indians
*19
**Bob Feller - Indians
**Billy Pierce - White Sox
**Jim Gilliam - Dodgers
**Tony Gwynn - Padres
**Robin Yount - Brewers
*20
**Lou Brock - Cardinals
**Frank Robinson - Orioles & Reds
**Pie Traynor - Pirates
**Mike Schmidt - Phillies
**Don Sutton - Dodgers
**Frank White - Royals
*21
**Bob Lemon - Indians
**Warren Spahn - Braves
**Roberto Clemente - Pirates
*22
**Jim Palmer - Orioles
*23
**Ryne Sandberg - Cubs
**Don Mattingly - Yankees
**Willie Horton - Tigers
*24
**Tony Perez - Reds
**Willie Mays - Giants
**Walter Alston - Dodgers (manager)
**Jimmy Wynn - Astros
*25
**José Cruz - Astros
*26
**Billy Williams - Cubs
**Gene Autry - Angels (owner)
**Johnny Oates - Rangers (manager)
*27
**Carlton Fisk - Red Sox
**Jim Hunter - Athletics
**Juan Marichal - Giants
*29
**Rod Carew - Angels & Twins
*30
**Orlando Cepeda - Giants
**Nolan Ryan - Angels
**Tim Raines - Expos (no longer retired)
*31
**Dave Winfield - Padres
*32
**Steve Carlton - Phillies
**Sandy Koufax - Dodgers
**Elston Howard - Yankees
**Jim Umbricht - Astros
*33
**Mike Scott - Astros
**Eddie Murray - Orioles
**Honus Wagner - Pirates
*34
**Rollie Fingers - Athletics & Brewers
**Nolan Ryan - Rangers & Astros
**Kirby Puckett - Twins
*35
**Randy Jones - Padres
**Phil Niekro - Braves
*36
**Robin Roberts - Phillies
**Gaylord Perry - Giants
*37
**Casey Stengel - Yankees & Mets (manager)
*39
**Roy Campanella - Dodgers
*40
**Don Wilson - Astros
**Danny Murtaugh - Pirates (manager)
*41
**Eddie Mathews - Braves
**Tom Seaver - Mets
*42
**Jackie Robinson - Dodgers, later retired throughout MLB
**Bruce Sutter - Cardinals
*43
**Dennis Eckersley - Athletics
*44
**Henry Aaron - Braves & Brewers
**Reggie Jackson - Yankees
**Willie McCovey - Giants
*45
**Bob Gibson - Cardinals
*49
**Larry Dierker - Astros
**Ron Guidry - Yankees
*50
**Jimmie Reese - Angels (coach)
*53
**Don Drysdale - Dodgers
*72
**Carlton Fisk - White Sox
*85
**August Busch, Jr. - Cardinals (owner)
***This represents his age at the time the number was retired in 1984.

Retired uniforms

Six players who played before the advent of uniform numbers have had their uniforms retired. They are:
*Ty Cobb, Tigers
*Pete Alexander, Phillies
*Chuck Klein, Phillies (Klein had various numbers in the later years of his career, but he did not wear a consistent number and the Phillies chose to honor him with a 'P' on his jersey)
*Christy Mathewson, Giants, denoted with "NY" and his name at AT&T Park
*John McGraw, Giants, denoted with "NY" and his name at AT&T Park
*Rogers Hornsby, Cardinals , denoted with a "STL" and his name at Busch Stadium

Retired twice

The only numbers to be retired twice by the same team are 8 of the New York Yankees, 10 of the Montreal Expos, and 42 of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Yankees retired the number 8 in 1972 for Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra, both catchers. Berra took number 8 in 1948 after Dickey stopped playing but before he was a coach. The Cardinals have retired number 42 for both Bruce Sutter and Jackie Robinson. Number 10 was retired by the Expos for Andre Dawson and Rusty Staub. A similar case occurred with #5 of the Cincinnati Reds. After catcher Willard Hershberger committed suicide during the season of 1940, the Reds decided pay tribute to him by retiring his number '5'. It was later 'unretired' in 1942. It is retired for Johnny Bench.

Listing by Team

*Note that the number 42 is retired (League-wide) for Jackie Robinson

=American League - East Division=

Baltimore Orioles

*Earl Weaver - 4 (manager)
*Brooks Robinson - 5
*Cal Ripken, Jr. - 8
*Frank Robinson - 20
*Jim Palmer - 22
*Eddie Murray - 33

Boston Red Sox

*Bobby Doerr - 1
*Joe Cronin - 4
*Johnny Pesky - 6
*Carl Yastrzemski - 8
*Ted Williams - 9
*Carlton Fisk - 27

The following numbers are unofficially retired, pending election to the Baseball Hall of Fame:
*Jim Rice - 14
*Roger Clemens - 21
*Pedro Martínez - 45

New York Yankees

*Billy Martin - 1
*Babe Ruth - 3
*Lou Gehrig - 4
*Joe DiMaggio - 5
*Mickey Mantle - 7
*Yogi Berra - 8
*Bill Dickey - 8
*Roger Maris - 9
*Phil Rizzuto - 10
*Thurman Munson - 15
*Whitey Ford - 16
*Don Mattingly - 23
*Elston Howard - 32
*Casey Stengel - 37 (manager)
*Reggie Jackson - 44
*Ron Guidry - 49

Tampa Bay Rays

*Wade Boggs - 12

Toronto Blue Jays

While Toronto has never formally retired a number (aside from Robinson), the following Blue Jays have been inducted into the team's "Level of Excellence":
*Tony Fernández - 1
*George Bell - 11
*Roberto Alomar - 12
*Joe Carter - 29
*Dave Stieb - 37
*Cito Gaston - 43
*Tom Cheek (Broadcaster) - 4,306
*Paul Beeston (VP, Exec VP, President, COO, CEO)
*Pat Gillick (General Manager)

=American League - Central Division=

Chicago White Sox

*Nellie Fox - 2
*Harold Baines - 3
*Luke Appling - 4
*Minnie Miñoso - 9
*Luis Aparicio - 11
*Ted Lyons - 16
*Billy Pierce - 19
*Carlton Fisk - 72

Cleveland Indians

*Earl Averill - 3
*Lou Boudreau - 5
*Larry Doby - 14
*Mel Harder - 18
*Bob Feller - 19
*Bob Lemon - 21
*The Fans - 455 '

Detroit Tigers

*Charlie Gehringer - 2
*Hank Greenberg - 5
*Al Kaline - 6
*Hal Newhouser - 16
*Willie Horton - 23
*Ty Cobb - pre-number era retired uniform

Kansas City Royals

*George Brett - 5
*Dick Howser - 10 (manager)
*Frank White - 20

Minnesota Twins

*Harmon Killebrew - 3
*Tony Oliva - 6
*Kent Hrbek - 14
*Rod Carew - 29
*Kirby Puckett - 34

=American League - West Division=

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

*Jim Fregosi - 11
*Gene Autry - 26 (owner)
*Rod Carew - 29
*Nolan Ryan - 30
*Jimmie Reese - 50 (coach)

Oakland Athletics

*Reggie Jackson - 9
*Catfish Hunter - 27
*Rollie Fingers - 34
*Dennis Eckersley - 43

=Texas Rangers=

*Johnny Oates - 26 (manager)
*Nolan Ryan - 34

Seattle Mariners

*None

=National League - East Division=

Atlanta Braves

*Dale Murphy - 3
*Warren Spahn - 21
*Phil Niekro - 35
*Eddie Mathews - 41
*Henry Aaron - 44

Florida Marlins

*Carl Barger - 5 (club president)

Philadelphia Phillies

*Richie Ashburn - 1
*Jim Bunning - 14
*Mike Schmidt - 20
*Steve Carlton - 32
*Robin Roberts - 36
*Pete Alexander - pre-number era retired uniform. The Phillies selected the block letter "P" worn during Alexander's era as his symbol.
*Chuck Klein - The Phillies honored him on the outfield wall of Veterans Stadium with his name and an Old English letter "P" (worn during part of Klein's tenure) where a retired uniform number would go. The Phillies began using numbers in 1932, and in that season and 1933, Klein wore number 3. He was then traded to the Chicago Cubs, and when he returned to the Phils in 1936, he wore 32 (later retired by the Phillies for Steve Carlton), and soon switched to 36 (later retired by the Phils for Robin Roberts) for that season and 1937. In 1938 he wore number 1 (later retired by the Phils for Richie Ashburn), wore 26 (worn by Chase Utley in by|2008) and then 14 (later retired by the Phils for Jim Bunning) in 1939, wore 29 in 1940 and 1941, 3 again in 1942, 8 in 1943 (worn by Shane Victorino in by|2008) and 26 again in 1944, his last major league season. Rather than choose one of these numbers, the Phils simply retired a "P" for him, as they did for pre-numbers legend Grover Cleveland Alexander.

New York Mets

*Gil Hodges - 14
*Casey Stengel - 37 (manager)
*Tom Seaver - 41
* William Shea - "Shea"

:On April 8, 2008, the final opening day at Shea Stadium, the Mets unveiled a "Shea" logo which was displayed on the left-field fence next to the team's other retired numbers. The stadium is named for William Shea, a prominent lawyer who was responsible for the return of National League Baseball to New York.

Below are numbers that are unofficially retired:

*Gary Carter - 8

*John Franco and Mike Piazza - 31

:Franco changed his number to 45 when Piazza joined the Mets.

*Willie Mays - 24. When Mays retired following the 1973 season, Joan Whitney Payson, the founding owner of the Mets, (who had great admiration for Mays) promised Mays that number 24 would not be issued to another player. Since Mays's retirement, number 24 has been issued only twice: to 1B-OF Kelvin Torve (by mistake) (1990); and to OF Rickey Henderson, as a player (1999-2000) and as a coach (2007) (Source: [http://mbtn.net Mets by the Numbers] ).

Washington Nationals

*None

=National League - Central Division=

Chicago Cubs

*Ron Santo - 10
*Ernie Banks - 14
*Ryne Sandberg - 23
*Billy Williams - 26

Below are numbers that are unofficially retired.
*Fergie Jenkins and Greg Maddux - 31

Cincinnati Reds

*Fred Hutchinson - 1 (manager)
*Johnny Bench - 5
*Willard Hershberger - 5 (1940 - 1941)
*Joe Morgan - 8
*Sparky Anderson - 10 (manager)
*Dave Concepción - 13
*Ted Kluszewski - 18
*Frank Robinson - 20
*Tony Perez - 24
*Marty Brennaman- Honored with microphone by broadcast booth
*Waite Hoyt - Honored with microphone by broadcast booth
*Joe Nuxhall - Honored with microphone by broadcast booth

:Nuxhall's #41 hung from the left field wall in the bullpen in 2008, although it is not retired.

Below are numbers that are unofficially retired.

Barry Larkin - 11

Pete Rose - 14

Houston Astros

*Jeff Bagwell - 5
*Craig Biggio - 7
*Jimmy Wynn - 24
*José Cruz - 25
*Jim Umbricht - 32
*Mike Scott - 33
*Nolan Ryan - 34
*Don Wilson - 40
*Larry Dierker - 49

Below are numbers that are unofficially retired as no player has been reissued the number since:

*Darryl Kile - 57 - honored with a circular logo bearing his initials and number that hangs along the left field wall at Minute Maid Park under the 1997 Central Division Championship banner.

Milwaukee Brewers

*Paul Molitor - 4
*Robin Yount - 19
*Rollie Fingers - 34
*Henry Aaron - 44

Pittsburgh Pirates

*Billy Meyer - 1
*Ralph Kiner - 4
*Willie Stargell - 8
*Bill Mazeroski - 9
*Paul Waner - 11
*Pie Traynor - 20
*Roberto Clemente - 21
*Honus Wagner - 33
*Danny Murtaugh - 40 (manager)

St. Louis Cardinals

*Ozzie Smith - 1
*Red Schoendienst - 2
*Stan Musial - 6
*Enos Slaughter - 9
*Ken Boyer - 14
*Dizzy Dean - 17
*Lou Brock - 20
*Bruce Sutter - 42
*Bob Gibson - 45
*August Busch, Jr. - 85 (owner)
*Rogers Hornsby - pre-number era retired uniform
*Jack Buck - with a drawing of a microphone on the wall with the retired numbers.

Below are numbers that are unofficially retired as no player has been reissued the number since worn by:

*Mark McGwire - 25
*Willie McGee - 51 - Bud Smith wore the number for three games in 2001, to the dismay of many fans. No Cardinal has worn it since.
*Darryl Kile - 57 - honored with a circular logo bearing his initials and number on the wall of the Cardinal bullpen.
*Josh Hancock - 32 - honored with a circular logo bearing his initials and number on the wall of the Cardinal bullpen.

=National League - West Division=

Arizona Diamondbacks

*None

Colorado Rockies

*None

Los Angeles Dodgers

*Pee Wee Reese - 1
*Tommy Lasorda - 2 (manager)
*Duke Snider - 4
*Jim Gilliam - 19
*Don Sutton - 20
*Walter Alston - 24 (manager)
*Sandy Koufax - 32
*Roy Campanella - 39
*Jackie Robinson - 42 (later retired throughout MLB)
*Don Drysdale - 53

Below are numbers that are unofficially retired as no player has been reissued the number since worn by:

*Fernando Valenzuela - 34 (when Manny Ramirez signed with the Dodgers in 2008, he initially wanted 24, which he has worn since he started in the MLB. 24 is retired as it was Walter Alston's number, and so he opted for 34. The Dodger office told him "that's Fernando's number," and thus 99 was issued.) [^ a b Gurnick, Ken (2008-08-01). "No joke: Manny ready for 'new chapter'", Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2008-08-01.]

San Diego Padres

*Steve Garvey - 6
*Tony Gwynn - 19
*Dave Winfield - 31
*Randy Jones - 35

San Francisco Giants

*Bill Terry - 3
*Mel Ott - 4
*Carl Hubbell - 11
*Willie Mays - 24
*Juan Marichal - 27
*Orlando Cepeda - 30
*Gaylord Perry - 36
*Willie McCovey - 44
*Christy Mathewson - pre-number era retired uniform denoted with "NY" and his name at AT&T Park
*John McGraw - pre-number era retired uniform denoted with "NY" and his name at AT&T Park

Former Teams

Montreal Expos

*Gary Carter - 8
*Andre Dawson - 10
*Rusty Staub - 10
*Jackie Robinson - 20 (the Expos retired the number 20 he wore for the minor league Montreal Royals before his number 42 was retired league-wide)
*Tim Raines - 30
*Charles Bronfman - 83 (owner; the number 83 recognises the brand of Seagram whisky, a company that is owned by his family)

The Washington Nationals did not keep these numbers retired after the Expos relocated in 2004. On October 18, 2005, the NHL's Montreal Canadiens honored the departed team by raising an Expos commemorative banner listing the retired numbers to the rafters of Montreal's Bell Centre.

Major League Players with Numbers Retired from More Than One Team

To date, only eight players have had their uniform number retired by more than one Major League Baseball team. This honor makes their number unwearable for any player on the respective team from the date of retirement into the future.

Major League Players with Numbers Retired Throughout the League

Only one player has had his uniform number retired by Major League Baseball making it unwearable by any player on any team, Jackie Robinson. Players wearing #42 in 1997, when it was retired, were allowed to continue wearing it, thereby grandfathering the number's retirement. Those nine players were:

*Butch Huskey - Mets
*Mike Jackson - Indians
*Scott Karl - Brewers
*Jose Lima - Astros
*Mariano Rivera - Yankees (the only remaining active player, as of 2008, to wear the number)
*Mo Vaughn - Red Sox
*Lenny Webster - Orioles
*Tom Goodwin - Royals
*Marc Sagmoen - Rangers (the last new player to be issued the number)

The only player of these still in the Major Leagues is Mariano Rivera.

External links

* [http://www.all-baseball.com/ref/retired.html A team-by-team list]