ST. LOUIS — Play ball! Here is a guide to the uniform numbers of the St. Louis Cardinals active roster as of opening day 2023.
3 Dylan Carlson (RF)
7 Andrew Knizner (C)
11 Paul DeJong (SS)*
12 Jordan Hicks (P)
16 Nolan Gorman (2B)
18 Jordan Walker (OF)
19 Tommy Edman (2B)
21 Lars Nootbaar (RF)
22 Jack Flaherty (P)
27 Tyler O'Neill (LF)
28 Nolan Arenado (3B)
30 Chris Stratton (P)
32 Steven Matz (P)
33 Brendan Donovan (2B)
34 Drew VerHagen (P)
39 Miles Mikolas (P)
40 Willson Contreras (C)
41 Alec Burleson (RF)
44 Jake Woodford (P)
46 Paul Goldschmidt (1B)
47 Jordan Montgomery (P)
50 Adam Wainwright (P)*
53 Andre Pallante (P)
55 Taylor Motter (3B)
56 Ryan Helsley (P)
57 Zack Thompson (P)
58 Wilking Rodriguez (P)*
65 Giovanny Gallegos (P)
70 Packy Naughton (P)
*Starting the season on the Injured List
There are no hard and fast rules for assigning team numbers, but there are some conventions that players and teams generally follow.
The Cardinals retired 13 numbers for players, owners and managers who have made the organization what it is:
- 1 Ozzie Smith
- 2 Red Schoendienst
- 6 Stan Musial
- 9 Enos Slaughter
- 10 Tony La Russa
- 14 Ken Boyer
- 17 Dizzy Dean
- 20 Lou Brock
- 23 Ted Simmons
- 24 Whitey Herzog
- 42 Jackie Robinson and Bruce Sutter
- 45 Bob Gibson
- 85 August Busch
The number 42 was retired by the MLB in 1997 in honor of Jackie Robinson. The number cannot be assigned to any new players. All players, coaches and umpires wear number 42 on April 15 every year to honor the anniversary of the day Robinson broke the color barrier in MLB in 1947.
Pitchers generally wear higher numbers and avoid single digits. Knuckleballers try to grab number 49.
Numbers over 60 are becoming more common in MLB, but are frequently used in spring training for players trying to make the team.
Eddie Gaedel, the shortest person to ever play in a Major League game, played for the St. Louis Browns in 1951. Gaedel came out to play wearing number 1/8, the uniform that actually belonged to Bill DeWill Jr. as a bat boy for the St. Louis Browns. Gaedel, standing 3-foot-7, pinch-hit and walked in the stunt.