Red Sox ace David Price: What will be his uniform number?

What number will new Red Sox ace David Price choose since his No. 14 is retired in Boston?

In recent days, when David Price was linked to the Red Sox and they seemed to be the frontrunner, it seemed like almost a foregone conclusion that it was going to happen. If you can remember the Red Sox courtship of Mark Teixeira, what looks like a slam dunk isn’t always the case. Price, though, made many predictions come true by signing with the Red Sox yesterday.

It was thought that the St. Louis Cardinals were in the mix and even the Chicago Cubs. The Cardinals are in the region of Price’s hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. Price’s former manager in Tampa Bay, Joe Maddon, is now the Cubs manager. Would Price want to switch leagues for a new challenge since he had always pitched in the American League? Now that Price answered that question by agreeing to terms in Boston despite his simmering feud with David Ortiz, a new question about Price can be considered. When the Red Sox introduce Price to the media and an excited Red Sox Nation on Friday, what number will they give him?

Price has worn the number 14 his entire professional career, in all three of his previous stops. When you are talking about the money that the Red Sox offered Price compared to others (in the neighborhood of $190 million by the Cardinals) a uniform number isn’t going to stop you from signing somewhere. In Boston, Jim Rice was the last man to wear the No. 14, so Price will have to choose a new number in Boston. It seems that this writer is not the first person to consider this number issue

Some numbers suggested by responses to this tweet were 41 (the reverse of 14 and my thought as well) and 19 (just because). This writer would favor 41, as it was worn by New York Mets Hall of Famer (and Red Sox player in his final season) Tom Seaver. It is possible that the team could give him a generic No. 1 or a uniform without a number on it yet. Perhaps Price will need more time to decide what his number would be in Boston. This is certainly not a case of a player joining a new team and offering a player on his new team some kind of gift or cash to give up his number for him, though Price could certainly make a compelling offer with all the money coming his way.

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The New York Yankees retired No. 8 in honor of Bill Dickey and Yogi Berra in 1972. The Cubs retired No. 31 for Ferguson Jenkins and Greg Maddux in 2009. In both these cases, however, the first player’s number was not retired when the second player started wearing it. Price is unlikely to buck this tradition and wear a number that is already retired, which would be unheard of.

Leave a comment below to let us know how you feel about what number Price should wear in Boston. Should Rice let Price continue to wear 14?