Uniform number (Major League Baseball)

rdf:langString Uniform number (Major League Baseball)

rdf:langString In baseball, the uniform number is a number worn on the uniform of each player and coach. Numbers are used for the purpose of easily identifying each person on the field as no two people from the same team can wear the same number. Although designed for identification purposes only, numbers have become the source of superstition, emotional attachment, and honor (in the form of a number retirement). The number is always on the back of the jersey, often on the front, and occasionally seen on the left leg of the pants or on the uniform sleeve. According to common tradition, single-digit numbers are worn by position players but rarely by pitchers, and numbers 60 and higher are rarely worn at all. Higher numbers are worn during spring training by players whose place on the team is uncertain, and sometimes are worn during the regular season by players recently called up from the minor leagues; however, such players usually change to a more traditional number once it becomes clear that they will stay with the team. However, this tradition is not enforced by any rule, and exceptions are common. Examples include stars Kenley Jansen (74) and Aaron Judge (99). The first notable player to wear a number above 60 was Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk, who wore number 72 with the Chicago White Sox from 1981 to 1993—it was the reverse of the number 27 he wore from 1971 to 1980 with the Boston Red Sox, where he was the 1972 American League Rookie of the Year. In 2018, Blake Snell became the first pitcher wearing a single-digit number (4) to appear in the All-Star Game and the first to win the Cy Young Award.