Appreciating the retired single-digit numbers of the New York Yankees
The retirement of Derek Jeter’s #2 on Sunday, May 14, means every single digit number is off limits for the Yankees now.
In honor of a 20-year career spent entirely with the New York Yankees, including 14 All-Star seasons, shortstop Derek Jeter will have his day in the limelight on Sunday, May 14. He will have his number two retired and will receive a plaque in Monument Park. Jeter will be the 38th Yankee to be honored with a plaque and the 22nd Yankee to have his number retired. Two years ago, three of Jeter’s longtime teammates—Andy Pettitte, Bernie Williams, and Jorge Posada—had their numbers retired. Jeter, Petttite, Williams, and Posada formed the “Core Four” on the successful Yankees teams that had a great 15-year stretch starting in the mid-1990s.
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The Yankees have more retired numbers than any team in baseball history, which shouldn’t be a surprise because they’ve been the most successful franchise ever. Their 27 World Series championships are more than double the 11 won by the team with the second-most titles, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Yankees also have the most division titles (18), most pennants (40), and highest winning percentage (.569) of any team in baseball history.
All of that success was driving by terrific players and coaches. The Yankees have some of the most revered names who ever stepped on a baseball diamond, including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Yogi Berra. Those five players also have something else in common; they all wore single-digit numbers on their jerseys.
The retired single digit numbers of the New York Yankees have taken on a special mystique over the years. From their very first single-digit retired number, Lou Gehrig’s number four on July 4, 1939, to the most recent, Joe Torre’s number six on August 23, 2014, the single-digit Yankees numbers have an aura of greatness around them. Derek Jeter’s number two is the final single-digit number to be added to the list. Let’s take a look back at all of the Yankees’ single-digit retired numbers.