The short, useful answer you want: the Yankees have officially taken twenty two numbers out of circulation to honour club legends — though depending on how you count league-wide retirements the headline can be worded slightly differently. ⚾
Put another way: the team leads Major League Baseball in honoured jerseys. Some sources describe the tally as twenty one numbers representing twenty two honorees; others present it as twenty two numbers covering twenty three people. The difference is bookkeeping, not drama. I’ll explain why, and then walk you through the full list and the stories behind the big ones.
Why the count can look different
Here’s the practical clarity: teams count either unique numbers that are mounted on the wall, or they count every person honoured. The Yankees have multiple cases where one digit represents more than one person (for example the digit eight honours two catchers), and one digit was retired across all of baseball (number forty two for Jackie Robinson) while also later being retired by the Yankees for Mariano Rivera. Depending on whether you count the league-wide retirement separately, you’ll see slightly different totals on different pages. Both ways are defensible — just pick the lens you prefer.
How the Yankees do retirement differently
Retiring a number is a statement: it freezes a legacy. The Yankees treat it as the highest team honour and display those digits in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. That’s more than a ceremony. It’s an institutional memory — a permanent reminder that some careers shaped not only a team but the game itself. For fans it’s like your most reliable savings account: safe, respected, and rarely touched once set.
The full list at a glance
I’ll keep the table short and readable. The left column is the digit that’s been retired; the middle column shows who the honour recognises; the right column gives the year the honour was made public.
| Number | Honoree(s) | Year retired |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy Martin | 1986 |
| 2 | Derek Jeter | 2017 |
| 3 | Babe Ruth | 1948 |
| 4 | Lou Gehrig | 1940 |
| 5 | Joe DiMaggio | 1952 |
| 6 | Joe Torre | 2014 |
| 7 | Mickey Mantle | 1969 |
| 8 | Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey | 1972 |
| 9 | Roger Maris | 1984 |
| 10 | Phil Rizzuto | 1985 |
| 15 | Thurman Munson | 1979 |
| 16 | Whitey Ford | 1974 |
| 20 | Jorge Posada | 2015 |
| 21 | Paul O’Neill | 2022 |
| 23 | Don Mattingly | 1997 |
| 32 | Elston Howard | 1984 |
| 37 | Casey Stengel | 1970 |
| 42 | Jackie Robinson (league) and Mariano Rivera (team recognition) | 1997 league; 2013 team |
| 44 | Reggie Jackson | 1993 |
| 46 | Andy Pettitte | 2015 |
| 49 | Ron Guidry | 2003 |
| 51 | Bernie Williams | 2015 |
The memorable footnotes
Shared digits — number eight honors two Hall of Fame catchers — are part of what creates confusion. The league-wide retirement of Jackie Robinson’s digit means every team honours forty two; Mariano Rivera kept wearing it under a grandfather clause and the Yankees later gave him his own formal recognition. Those two facts together make forty two both a universal and a team-specific memorial.
Another wrinkle: teams sometimes display plaques, monuments, and retired digits in slightly different places. The Yankees put their digits and plaques in Monument Park. That space has its own rules and traditions, which keep the ceremony consistent and visible to fans visiting the stadium — like a very public version of automatic savings on repeat payment mode.
How the Yankees compare to other teams
Short answer: the Yankees rank at the top of MLB for the number of honoured jersey digits. No other franchise has as many official retirements, which fits the Yankees’ history as the most decorated franchise in baseball. If you care about lists and bragging rights, this one’s theirs.
Can a retired number be reissued?
Technically, a franchise could decide to reissue a number. Practically, it’s rare. Number retirements are cultural commitments. Teams avoid reversing them because fans view such moves as disrespectful. In the rare cases where teams have loosened a retirement it usually sparks debate and headlines.
Why this belongs in a retirement conversation
We write about financial independence, not baseball, but there’s a useful metaphor here: retiring a number is like setting a final destination for a savings goal. It’s permanent, symbolic and judged by later generations. Both money and legacy are built by decisions you make long before you see the payoff.
Quick takeaways you can remember
- The Yankees have twenty two retired numbers in most counts — however some tallies describe twenty one numbers representing multiple honorees.
- Number forty two is special because it was retired across all of baseball for Jackie Robinson, and later honoured by the Yankees for Mariano Rivera.
- Monument Park is where the digits live — a museum-like space at Yankee Stadium.
Stories behind a few digits
Derek Jeter’s two is modern pinstripe royalty — his retirement was a stadium-scale celebration and marked the last single-digit number the team retired. Mariano Rivera’s forty two is a rare cultural overlap: a digit retired by Major League Baseball and then singled out by the Yankees for Rivera’s historic career as well.
Mickey Mantle’s seven, Lou Gehrig’s four, and Babe Ruth’s three are not just numbers — they’re anchors to eras. When a team hangs a digit, they’re dangling decades of memory for future fans to see and argue about. And yes, fans argue about everything.
Want the official confirmation?
Different outlets phrase the count in their own way. If you want the official team phrasing, look up the Yankees’ Monument Park and the club’s retired number pages for the curated list. If you prefer the league-level perspective, check resources that summarise how MLB treats Jackie Robinson’s forty two versus team-specific retirements.
Final note — the human side
This is where nostalgia meets institution. For fans, a retired number is a memory you can point to — proof that some careers mattered enough to be preserved. For the players it’s a family heirloom that lives on forever on a concrete wall. For the curious: yes, the Yankees have more of those heirlooms than any other team. I think that says something about legacy, long-term thinking, and the value of doing something so well that others decide to make it permanent.
Frequently asked questions
How many retired numbers do the Yankees have
Most lists say the Yankees have retired twenty two different numbers to honour club figures. Some official pages will phrase the count as twenty one numbers representing multiple honorees — that comes down to counting a shared digit or the league-wide retirement of a digit in slightly different ways.
Which Yankees numbers are retired
The retired digits include many franchise legends from the early stars to modern icons. The list includes single digits and larger numbers immortalised in Monument Park; see the table above for the full roster and years.
Why do teams retire numbers
Retiring a number recognises extraordinary service and achievement. It removes a digit from future player use and attaches a public memorial to the team’s history. It’s an honour that signals the player’s place in the franchise story.
Who decides if a number gets retired
The franchise — its ownership and front office — usually makes the call, often in consultation with former players, historians, and public relations staff. Fan sentiment and historical impact also play roles.
Is the retirement of a number the same as a Hall of Fame induction
No. They’re different honours. Hall of Fame induction is earned at the league level for career achievement; a team can retire a number even if the player is not in the Hall of Fame. The two often overlap but are not identical.
Has any Yankee had the same number retired for someone else
Yes. Number eight honours both Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra. The Yankees display both names for that digit.
Why is number forty two special for the Yankees
Number forty two is historically Jackie Robinson’s digit, retired across all of Major League Baseball. Mariano Rivera wore forty two by grandfather clause and the Yankees later gave Rivera a team recognition that effectively retired the digit for the club as well.
When was the first number retired by the Yankees
Lou Gehrig’s digit was the first team retirement and one of the first in baseball history; the act dates back to the era around his famous farewell speech and subsequent honour.
Can a retired number be taken out of retirement
It’s possible in theory but very uncommon. Teams avoid reversing retirements because fans view them as permanent tributes. Any decision to reuse a retired digit typically provokes intense reaction.
Do managers and nonplayers get numbers retired
Yes. The Yankees have retired the digits of managers and figures who contributed significantly to the franchise, not only players.
How many single digit numbers have the Yankees retired
The Yankees have retired nearly all single-digit numbers; that’s part of why later players started wearing larger digits more often. The franchise famously exhausted most single digits long ago.
Are retired numbers displayed somewhere special at the stadium
Yes. Monument Park at Yankee Stadium houses the retired digits, plaques and monuments — it’s the curated space where the franchise’s history is on public view.
Do other teams have as many retired numbers as the Yankees
No. The Yankees have more retired digits than any other MLB team; they lead the league in that form of honouring their past.
What happens if a player wants a retired number
Players typically don’t request retired digits. If they did, the team would likely decline unless special circumstances applied — and that would be an unusual, headline-making event.
Have the Yankees ever retired a number for two people at once
Yes. Number eight is the clearest example, honouring two legendary catchers from different eras whose careers both merited the same digit being frozen.
Does the league have any say in team retirements
Generally no — team retirements are franchise decisions. The one notable exception is the league-wide retirement of number forty two for Jackie Robinson, which every team recognised at the same time.
Is number forty two counted twice for the Yankees because of Jackie Robinson and Mariano Rivera
Some sources count the league retirement and the team honour separately; others fold them together. That explains small differences you’ll see in counts depending on the source’s method.
How is Monument Park arranged
Monument Park arranges retired digits, plaques and monuments in spaces that are easy for visiting fans to see. It’s a museum-like corridor of memory embedded in the ballpark.
When was Derek Jeter’s number retired
Derek Jeter’s digit was retired in a major ceremony that marked the end of a landmark career and closed out the group of single-digit retirements for the franchise.
Which retired number was the most recent
The most recent team retirements have honoured players from the Core Four era and later club stalwarts; check the list above and official sources for the latest single-event retirements.
Do retired numbers affect merchandise and jersey sales
Yes. Retired numbers often boost interest in legacy merchandise and create a market for commemorative items tied to the honouree’s legacy.
How do fans react to number retirements
With great emotion. Retirements are major events: ceremonies, video tributes, and permanent plaques that cement a player’s place in fan memory.
Are retired numbers teaching tools for new fans
Absolutely. Monument Park and retired digits are history lessons. New fans can walk through and get a timeline of who mattered to the franchise and why.
Could more Yankees numbers be retired in the future
Yes. As time passes and careers end, future honours will be considered. The team reserves the right to add more names and digits as deserving candidates emerge.
Where can I find an official list of the Yankees’ retired numbers
The team and league maintain pages and articles that list retired digits and the honourees. Those official resources provide the canonical candidates, ceremonies, and dates.