The Baltimore Orioles officially passed the torch on its legacy No. 7 jersey on Wednesday, as the family of Cal Ripken Sr. gave the green light for rookie shortstop Jackson Holliday to wear the legendary number.
Holliday, the top prospect in the MLB and son of former MLB All-Star Matt Holliday, got called up to the majors this week to begin his hotly anticipated career with Baltimore.
Once he takes the field, Holliday will wear the No. 7, which hasn’t been worn by an Orioles player, coach or manager since it was worn by Ripken Sr.’s son, Billy Ripken, after his father was fired as Baltimore’s manager in 1988.
The Ripken family has extremely deep ties to the franchise, as the late Ripken Sr. played, coached and managed the team during his illustrious career and his sons, Cal Ripken Jr. and Billy Ripken, both played for the team.
Ripken Jr., a Baseball Hall of Famer, is perhaps the best player to ever sport an Orioles jersey, shared his support for Holliday sporting his dad’s number on social media.
Our family is thrilled that @J_Holliday7 will be wearing dad's #7 … Excited to watch him play!
— Cal Ripken, Jr. (@CalRipkenJr) April 10, 2024
Billy Ripken also explained on MLB Network why his family was fully on board with Holliday sporting the iconic number.
No. 7 🧡 pic.twitter.com/V5HHEZuB6X
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) April 10, 2024
This is a really cool gesture by the Ripken family as Holliday joins Baltimore on the diamond, as the young MLB player tries to forge his own history with the Orioles like the Ripken family did.
