If you bought a loved one a Nick Gonzales jersey for the holidays, you might want to hold off.
Earlier this week, the Pirates released an updated roster with Gonzales officially switching to No. 3, changing his number to honor franchise legend and Pirates Hall of Fame outfielder Dave Parker.
Gonzales wore No. 39 for the first three years of his career, but spoke this summer about its importance and representation with Parker.
“The Cobra” was posthumously inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame
in August after passing away on June 28. Parker was 74.
Gonzales said he was in the process of changing his number during the season and felt an obligation to change it out of respect for the former Bucco Works Series Champion.
“If you’re in the Hall of Fame, I shouldn’t be wearing your number,” Gonzales told MLB.com in July. “I won’t be wearing it anymore, so nobody else will.”
Parker played 11 seasons in Pittsburgh from 1973-1983. He hit .305 with 296 doubles, 166 home runs, 768 RBIs, and 123 steals in 1,301 games. Parker won three Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers, two batting titles, and the 1978 NL MVP award, batting .334 with 30 home runs and 117 RBIs.
Could the Pirates retire Parker’s number? It doesn’t seem fully out of the question for the Pirates and MLB Hall of Famer to be forever cemented in Pittsburgh sports history, with no one wearing No. 39 ever again.
The change is confirmed on the Pirates’ MLB.com site and app. Gonzales, rakes over No. 3 from Ji Hwan Bae, who was let go at the start of the offseason after two disappointing years in Pittsburgh.
