In what is maybe the least surprising sports news of the year, the Yankees have formally announced their plans to retire Derek Jeter's jersey number next season.
On Sunday, May 14, prior to a game against the Astros, the Yankees will retire Jeter's No. 2, meaning no Yankee will ever again wear a single-digit number again. The move represents the 21st such number set aside by the organization, which is obviously a staggering amount and a testament to the long-running success of the franchise. Jeter is following in the footsteps of *deep breath* Billy Martin (No. 1), Babe Ruth (No. 3), Lou Gehrig (No. 4), Joe DiMaggio (No. 5), Joe Torre (No. 6), Mickey Mantle (No. 7), Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey (No. 8), Roger Maris (No. 9), Phil Rizzuto (No. 10), Thurman Munson (No. 15), Whitey Ford (No. 16), Jorge Posada (No. 20), Don Mattingly (No. 23), Elston Howard (No. 32), Casey Stengel (No. 37), Mariano Rivera (No. 42), Reggie Jackson (No. 44), Andy Pettitte (No. 46), Ron Guidry (No. 49), and Bernie Williams (No. 51) *passes out*.
In his 20 seasons with the Yankees, Jeter was a 14-time All-Star. His Yankees teams won five World Championships. And on top of those things, Jeter holds franchise records for games, stolen bases, doubles, and at-bats. He currently sits sixth on MLB's all-time list for career hits with 3,465.
In addition to seeing his No. 2 put in the pool of numbers that future Yankees can no longer don, Jeter will also receive a plaque in Monument Park behind Yankee Stadium's center field fence. If you're in the Bronx-area next May, the average ticket price for the game is already $771, so using a New York conversion rate, it's actually a pretty good bargain.
