Gonzales plans to give up No. 39 to honor Parker

PITTSBURGH -- They say greatness can be thrust upon you. For Nick Gonzales, that came via a jersey number.

The Pirates’ second baseman hasn’t been too picky with numbers in his career. He didn’t know if he was going to see the field as a freshman walk-on in college, so he just took whatever number was available. When he was called up to the Majors in June 2023, he saw his name right above the number 39 and just rolled with it.

“At the time, I didn’t know the importance of that number,” Gonzales said. “At the time, I’m just excited to debut. I’m not really thinking about what number I am.”

Gonzales has worn that 39 jersey for all three of his seasons in the big leagues, but that is likely coming to an end. In Pittsburgh, that number is best associated with Dave Parker, the MVP and Hall of Famer who will be inducted into Cooperstown this weekend.

Parker passed away on June 28 after a long and public battle with Parkinson’s disease. After the game that day, Gonzales commented that he should get a new number.

Roughly a month later, he feels the same way.

“I definitely feel that if a number is available, then I’ll change it,” Gonzales said Friday while wearing the ‘If you hear any noise, it’s just me and boys boppin’ T-shirt.

“Logistically, I don’t know if I can change that in the middle of a season. But I’m definitely in the process of trying to make that happen.”

Gonzales has a couple numbers in mind that are currently held by other players on the 40-man roster, so a swap isn’t that easy. He can’t switch to his old number from New Mexico State either. He wore 21 in college, which is very much out of commission in Pittsburgh.

But whether it’s at some point this year or in 2026, Gonzales is planning on suiting up with a new number.

“It’s not that the number isn’t retired because of me,” Gonzales said. “But I won’t be wearing it anymore, so nobody else will.”

The Pirates do not have any immediate plans to retire Parker’s number, but they are paying homage to the Cobra. On Friday, every Pirates jersey adorned a patch in honor of Parker, which will stay through the rest of the season. The same Cobra logo as the patch was displayed on the right field video wall and was painted on the field behind home plate. A fan messaging wall is on display this weekend to write messages to the Parker family. On Sunday, a new permanent baseball display will be added to the riverwalk outside of the stadium, alongside 23 other Hall of Famers with Pittsburgh baseball ties.

Gonzales is hardly the first player to wear No. 39 for the Pirates since Parker played either. He wasn’t even the first Pirate to wear that number in his debut season in 2023 (that was Drew Maggi). Parker’s last season with the Pirates was in 1983, and 39 was back in circulation by 1984, being worn by outfielder Mitchell Page. Other notable players who have worn 39 in Pittsburgh for multiple seasons include Jason Grilli, Chad Kuhl and John Grabow.

But even if the number isn’t retired, Gonzales can choose to change his number to pay tribute to the man.

“If you’re in the Hall of Fame, I shouldn’t be wearing your number,” Gonzales said. “... What a ballplayer, and what he means to the Pittsburgh community is pretty cool. He did a lot of cool things when he was here. I wear his number and have a lot of pride, a lot of honor to get to do that.”