Tampa Bay opened its doors to Major League Baseball in 1998 as the expansion Tampa Bay "Devil Rays," and the franchise had a retired number in place before ever playing a game.
That's because Jackie Robinson's number had already been retired by every team in baseball. In recognition of his legacy, Robinson's number was retired "in perpetuity" on April 15, 1997, never to be worn again in the Major Leagues.
Since then, only three numbers worn by Tampa Bay personnel have been retired by the franchise -- and only one belonged to a player who spent a substantial part of his career with the Rays.
The Rays do not have defined criteria that must be met for a number to be retired. Suffice it to say, if the organization sees fit to retire a player's or a coach's number, that player or coach has made a special contribution to the team.
Evan Longoria, 3B: No. 3
Number retired: July 12, 2026
Longoria is the greatest player in franchise history, and he has the representation in Tampa Bay’s record books to back it up. He remains the club’s all-time leader in wins above replacement, games played, home runs, runs scored, RBIs, extra-base hits, total bases and much more. He was at the center of the team’s worst-to-first turnaround in 2008, when the Rays reached the World Series for the first time, and he was responsible for arguably the greatest individual moment in franchise history: the walk-off home run that sent Tampa Bay back to the postseason in Game 162 in 2011. The Rays never handed out his number after he was dealt to the Giants in 2018, and they made the retirement of his No. 3 official during “Longo’s Legacy Weekend” in 2026, when he was also inducted into the Rays Hall of Fame.
Wade Boggs, 3B: No. 12
Number retired: April 7, 2000
Boggs has an outstanding .328 career batting average and he won five batting titles during his 18-year Major League career that included stints with the Red Sox, Yankees and Devil Rays. On Aug. 7, 1999, he became a member of the elite 3,000-hit club when he homered off Cleveland's Chris Haney at Tropicana Field. Boggs retired as a Devil Ray in 1999 and served as the team's hitting coach through the 2001 season. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005 and became Tampa Bay’s first former player inducted into the Rays Hall of Fame on July 9, 2023.
Jackie Robinson: No. 42
Number retired: 1997
In 1947, Robinson broke baseball's color barrier by integrating the sport. He overcame numerous obstacles off the field, and he helped lead the Brooklyn Dodgers to six pennants and one World Series championship. The six-time All-Star was National League Rookie of the Year in 1947 and NL Most Valuable Player in 1949. In 1997, the 50th anniversary of his debut, every team in baseball retired his number. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962.
Don Zimmer, Coach: No. 66
Number retired: April 6, 2015
Zimmer spent 65 years in professional baseball, 56 of those in the Major Leagues as a player, coach and manager. He reached the postseason 19 times, won six World Series rings, and spent the last 11 years of his life as the Rays' senior baseball advisor -- his longest tenure with any of the 14 clubs that employed him. "Zim" and his wife, Soot, called the Tampa Bay area home since the late 1950s. Tampa Bay retired his number in 2015 and made him the first inductee in the Rays Hall of Fame’s inaugural class on April 2, 2023.