Overview
A retired number permanently removes a uniform number from use to honor a player's extraordinary contributions. NPB has over 20 retired numbers across 12 teams as of 2024. The most iconic are the Giants' 3 (Shigeo Nagashima) and 1 (Sadaharu Oh), permanently enshrined as symbols of Japanese baseball. Retirement criteria vary by team but generally require historically dominant achievements. Retired numbers strengthen organizational identity and fan belonging, though they create practical constraints as available symbolic numbers diminish, making it increasingly difficult to assign meaningful numbers to new franchise players.