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Jordan Hicks will not have to change his number after being traded from the Cardinals to the Blue Jays, as Toronto has un-retired #12 and assigned it to their newest reliever, according to Mitch Bannon of SI.com. Hicks wore #49 when he was first called up to St. Louis, but switched to #12 in 2021, taking the number from coach Stubby Clapp.
Jordan Hicks will wear #12 with the #BlueJays. Expect him to be activated for tonight’s game and be available out of the ‘pen.
— Mitch Bannon (@MitchBannon) July 31, 2023
Hicks will become the first Toronto pitcher to ever wear #12. In fact, of all the numbers worn by three or more Blue Jays players, the only numbers that have never been worn by a regular Jays pitcher (position players pitching excepted) are #3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 15.
The latest Jays player to don that number was Edwin Encarnación, who wore #7 when he was first acquired then switched to the #12 in 2010. When Roberto Alomar was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Blue Jays retired the number—exactly 12 years ago on July 31, 2011 (Encarnación had already switched to his more familiar #10 at the beginning of the 2011 season). Since that time, Alomar had subsequently been excommunicated from the Blue Jays and banned from baseball due to credible sexual harassment allegations. In 2021, his name was removed from the Rogers Centre’s Level of Excellence, and the banner with his then-retired #12 was also removed.
The Blue Jays still have #32 retired for pitcher Roy Halladay and #42 for Jackie Robinson.
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