Retire 29.

Retiring player numbers is a big part of honoring a players legacy with an organization. It builds a teams history by giving current players something to strive for. Although the Rays are one of the younger teams in the MLB I feel there are still plenty of potential players in our history that deserve to have their number retired in the Trop. I think Fred McGriff’s number 29 should be the next player honored by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Don Zimmer’s number 66 was retired on April 6, 2015.

As of 2020 the Rays only have three numbers retired in their history. Wade Boggs number 12 is retired due to the contributions he had on the organization during its early years as well as being the clubs only Hall Of Famer. Every club around the league has retired the number 42 in honor of the great Jackie Robinson. The most recent number retired was that of Don Zimmer, who’s coaching number 66 was retired after his death in 2015 for his 10 year career with the club.

McGriff was just 7 HRs shy of reaching the 500 club.

Retiring McGriff’s number 29 could be a great moment for the club as well as the fans. McGriff is a home town hero, born in Tampa he played 1B for the Devil Rays in their inaugural season playing with the club from 1998-2001. He made one all star game in 2000 and had a career renaissance with the team. The Rays could make it a throwback night with McGriff giving a speech reflecting on his career with the Devil Rays. Other than Wade Boggs the only throwback jerseys the team sells are of McGriff so why not boost that even more by honoring him with a jersey retirement. No word on who or when the next player and number will be retired but it’s been five years since the last inductee. I would definitely wait til the 2021 season when fans are able to pack the Trop and cheer on McGriff like back in the old days.