Yankees jersey-retirement history

The New York Yankees have retired 23 jersey numbers — the most of any team in any of the four major American sports. The single-digit retirements happened in this order: #4 Lou Gehrig (1939, the first MLB retirement ever), #3 Babe Ruth (1948), #5 Joe DiMaggio (1952), #7 Mickey Mantle (1969), #8 Yogi Berra (1972) and #8 Bill Dickey (1972, same number for both), #9 Roger Maris (1984), #1 Billy Martin (1986). #6 Joe Torre was retired in 2014 — after Jeter’s #2 retirement window.

When Jeter arrived in May 1995, the only single-digit number not officially retired was #2. The Yankees had been quietly preserving it (no player wore it in the 1990s before Jeter), partly because the team’s culture treats single-digit numbers as historically significant. Jeter was assigned #2 by the equipment manager on his first day; he wore it for his entire 20-year career.

May 14, 2017 — the official retirement

The Yankees retired Jeter’s #2 in a Mother’s Day ceremony at Yankee Stadium in 2017 — three years after his retirement. The number was retired in a 30-minute pre-game ceremony attended by Jeter’s family, former teammates Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Tino Martinez, and Bernie Williams, plus former managers Joe Torre and Joe Girardi.

The Yankees’ Monument Park (their on-stadium retired-number plaza) added a #2 plaque between Joe DiMaggio’s #5 and Mickey Mantle’s #7. The retirement made #2 the final single-digit Yankees number — every digit 1-9 is now officially retired. The Yankees have not since assigned any of those numbers to any player.

Other Jeter-era #2s in baseball

Until Jeter’s retirement, #2 was a relatively common middle-infield number across baseball. The most-known other #2s of the era: Charlie Gehringer (Tigers 1924-42, retired); Bill Mazeroski (Pirates 1956-72); Robin Yount (Brewers 1974-93, retired); Nellie Fox (White Sox 1949-63). After Jeter’s retirement, the number has continued to be used by current players including J.D. Davis, Whit Merrifield, and various utility infielders.

Jeter was the longest-tenured single-team #2 in modern MLB — 20 years (1995-2014). The closest active comparable: Xander Bogaerts (Red Sox 2013-22 in #2, then Padres 2023-present). The Yankees’ decision to retire #2 even after Jeter’s career means no Yankee will ever wear a single-digit number again in the franchise’s history.

Background facts cross-referenced with the Wikipedia article on Derek Jeter and Pro-Football-Reference / Basketball-Reference public records.