How Verlander joining the Giants causes jersey number conundrum originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
with his Alleged incorporation of Justin Verlander.The Giants face an interesting dilemma as a franchise.
The veteran ace has worn No. 35 for virtually his entire baseball career, dating back to his days at Old Dominion University. It’s a tribute to one of its heroes, Frank Thomas, but San Francisco already has its own legend who wore No. 35: two-time World Series champion shortstop Brandon Crawford.
Crawford officially retired of baseball in late November after spending the final season of his 14-year MLB career with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2024. He played his first 13 seasons for the Giants, the team he grew up playing, and became the best shortstop in franchise history as a local star.
He did it all wearing No. 35, playing a franchise-record 1,654 games for his hometown team with 147 career home runs, four Gold Gloves and three MLB All-Star nods. And Crawford, of course, was a key part of the Giants’ 2012 and 2014 World Series title runs.
So soon after Crawford’s departure, will the Giants allow another MLB legend to wear the same number in the orange and black uniform? Many would say the former shortstop deserves to have his No. 35 jersey retired in San Francisco. Meanwhile, the Giants will celebrate Crawford at Oracle Park on April 26.
Verlander, the other No. 35, agrees with the Giants on a one-year, $15 million contract for the 2025 season, ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers reported Tuesday, citing sources.
Perhaps Verlander could make a change: he hasn’t worn No. 35 in recent years. complete race, to be fair. Verlander recorded the first strikeout of his MLB career wearing a different number when he made his first start in 2005. Forced to accept what the Detroit Tigers gave him on short notice, Verlander wore number 59 for his first two starts.
Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey won two of his three championships playing alongside Crawford, so he knows how important the shortstop and his number are to San Francisco fans.
But for now, we’ll have to wait and see what happens with number 35 in the Bay.
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