This whole thing is sort of bizarre, although Aparicio is cool with it, and Vizquel is treating it like the honor it is, so I'm not opposed to it.

The White Sox also “unretired” Harold Baines’ No. 3 in 1996 and 2000 when he returned to the team. Baines coaches first base and still wears his jersey number.

No they didn't. You don't have to unretire a guy's number for that guy to be able to wear it.

So it was Baines who "unretired"?

Vizquel always wore 13 to honor Dave Concepcion, who I thought was his inspiration.

If he wants to honor Aparicio now, I guess that's his choice.

Interestingly current Indians' shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera wears #13 to honor both Vizquel and Concepcion.

So Venezuelan solidarity forever, I guess.

So it was Baines who "unretired"?

He hadn't even retired from playing when the Sox retired his number.

He hadn't even retired from playing when the Sox retired his number.

thats weird.

I wonder if they retired it again in between 1996-2000. And how many times did they have number-retiring ceremonies for Baines?

edit: according to bbref, the ChiSox drafted Baines # 1 overall, traded him away twice, signed him as a free agent 3 times, and traded for him once.

The Orioles traded for him twice, signed him as a free agent 4 times, and traded him away twice.

Vizquel always wore 13 to honor Dave Concepcion, who I thought was his inspiration.

If he wants to honor Aparicio now, I guess that's his choice.

He probably would wear #13, if it were available, but fellow Venezuelan Ozzie Guillen already has it.

thats weird.

Yes, it is.

Jerry Reinsdorf was really against trading Harold Baines away to Texas (for Wilson Alvarez and Sammy Sosa), but then-GM Larry Himes talked him into it. But Reinsdorf insisted that Baines's number be retired, so they retired his #3 while Baines was wearing it for the Rangers.

Baines played more MLB games after his number was retired than he did before it was retired.

Matt Wieters will break the MLB record for "most games played after his number was retired".

The Sox didn't tell anyone in advance they were retiring Baines number before the day it happened. Baines himself found out about an hour or two before the ceremony.

It was at least in part a response to a furious fan backlash that the team's perennial all-star had been traded for minor leaguers no one ever heard of named Sammy Sosa and Wilson Alvarez.

Vizquel breaking Venezuelan records is a very big deal.

Another factoid to be ticked off in some writer's "Vizquel for HoF" column of 2015 . . .

It was at least in part a response to a furious fan backlash that the team's perennial all-star had been traded for minor leaguers no one ever heard of named Sammy Sosa and Wilson Alvarez.

I was pretty excited about getting Scott Fletcher back.

I remember Baines's speech at the number retirement ceremony, in its entirety, as "As you all know, I'm a man of few words. Thank you very much."

Baines played more MLB games after his number was retired than he did before it was retired.

Mariano Rivera has played more than nine times as many MLB games after "his" number was retired than he did before it was retired.

In the 1992/93 offseason, Willie Mays agreed to let his godson, Barry Bonds wear #24 for the Giants. I think the team supported it, but there was a negative fan reaction, so Barry moved to #25.

USC athletic director Mike Garrett allowed Darnell Bing to wear Garrett's retired number, but part of the deal was that Bing took a serious pay cut.

Harold Reynolds wrap-up for the day.

He is against the Vizquel uni number thing...and taking pitches.

Mariano Rivera has played more than nine times as many MLB games after "his" number was retired than he did before it was retired.

And yet Jerry Coleman has yet to play another game. I guess it isn't just the jersey.

Other unretired numbers?

The Padres (very quietly) unretired Garvey's 6 when he started making negative headlines, but I think they've since re-retired it.

The Expos retired Jackie Robinson's Montreal Royals #20 in 1996, but unretired it when it later turned out that they'd gotten the number wrong.

The Orioles have unretired a whole bunch of numbers... Earl Weaver's when he returned for a second stint as manager, Frank Robinson's when he became manager, and Jim Palmer's when he made his ill-conceived comeback attempt.

Jordan's number was unretired after his brief #45 stint.

I might be the only one, but it doesn't seem like a number is "unretired" when the player for whom it was retired later wears it again. (like Baines, Weaver, Palmer, Frank Robinson.) It seems like those are different than Vizquel and Barry's plan to wear #24.

Additionally, does anyone remember if it was a big deal when the Yankees gave Jeter #2?

does anyone remember if it was a big deal when the Yankees gave Jeter #2?

I don't remember anything about it, which might suggest that it was no deal at all.

YankeeNumbers.com (what a great, wacky website) notes that the Yankees 2 had been worn by Mark Koenig, Yats Wuestling, Red Rolfe, Lyn Lary, George Stirnweiss, Frankie Crosetti (as a coach, for many years), Jerry Kenney, Matty Alou, Sandy Alomar Sr., Paul Blair, Darryl Jones, Bobby Murcer (in his latter years with the club; Murcer wore many different numbers with NY), Tim Foli, Dale Berra, Wayne Tolleson, Graig Nettles (as a coach), and Mike Gallego.

That would suggest that nobody gave a hoot who wore #2 when Jeter came up.

The Padres (very quietly) unretired Garvey's 6 when he started making negative headlines, but I think they've since re-retired it.

They say that they didn't really "unretire" it (they didn't give the number to anybody), but they took any sign of it down at the old stadium. At some point in the late '90s, after they'd retired a couple more numbers, they acknowledged it again, putting a plaque up in LF where his HR went out, and hanging his jersey.