Walker Buehler not only has a new team for the first time in his career, he also has a new jersey number.
“I kind of went through some options, people had them,” he told NESN’s Jahmai Webster on Sunday. “So I was gonna go zero or double-zero, and I thought the zero would make me look a little skinnier.”
Buehler is the third player in franchise history to wear No. 0, following Brandon Phillips in ‘18 and Adam Ottavino in ‘21. Ottavino happens to be back with the Sox on a minor-league deal with an invite to big-league camp; with No. 0 unavailable, he opted for No. 00.
Buehler wore No. 64 in his ‘17 debut with the Dodgers, then switched to No. 21 the following season. The former currently belongs to Cooper Criswell. The latter is apparently off-limits.
“21 is kind of a special number here in Boston,” Buehler said. “They wouldn’t give that one out.”
The Red Sox haven’t officially retired the number, but it’s been off-limits for two decades since Roger Clemens’ last season with the club in ‘96.
Clemens certainly made his case during his 12 seasons in Boston, where he was a five-time All-Star, three-time AL strikeout leader, four-time MLB ERA leader, three-time AL Cy Young award winner, and the 1986 AL MVP. Both of his 20-strikeout games were with the Sox; the first, on April 29, 1986, was the first 20-K nine-inning game in MLB history.
Under previous ownership, club policy dictated that a number would only be eligible for retirement if the player ended his career in Boston and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Clemens doesn’t meet either requirement; after his 13 years in Boston, he pitched another 11 between the Blue Jays, Yankees, and Astros. His final year of BBWAA ballot eligibility for Cooperstown was 2022.
Current ownership, however, considers jersey retirements on a case-by-case basis. No. 6 will forever belong to Johnny Pesky, who was never elected to the Hall but spent over half a century with the club as a player, coach, broadcaster, instructor, and ambassador. Before David Ortiz played his final regular-season game on the last day of the ‘16 season, the Red Sox announced in the pregame ceremony that they would retire his No. 34. They did so the following summer, years before he became a first-ballot Hall of Famer in ‘22.
One Red Sox executive confirmed to the Herald that the club is considering number retirement for beloved former pitchers Tim Wakefield (No. 49) and Luis Tiant (No. 23), who passed away in October ’23 and ’24, respectively. Neither is in the Hall of Fame, and Tiant finished his career with the Angels.
In Clemens’ case, however, there could be other reasons the Sox prefer to keep his number retirement unofficial. Former teammates Jose Canseco and Jason Grimsley alleged that Clemens used PEDs, and Clemens’ name appeared 82 times in the Mitchell Report in 2007.
Clemens testified in front of a congressional committee in 2008, and while under oath, denied using PEDS. A grand jury later indicted him on charges of making false statements, perjury, and obstruction of Congress, but he was found not guilty on all counts. That same year, he was also accused of beginning an adulterous relationship with musician Mindy McCready when she was only 15 years old and he was pitching for the Red Sox. McCready, who passed away in 2013, confirmed the story.