Inside The Orioles

Bill Ripken Reveals Touching Backstory Behind Jackson Holliday's New MLB Number

The Ripkens approve of Jackson Holliday wearing their father's old number.

Tyler Maher

The Ripkens approve of Jackson Holliday wearing their father's old number.
The Ripkens approve of Jackson Holliday wearing their father's old number. / Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports
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Well, that didn't take long.

After only a couple of weeks at Triple-A, the Baltimore Orioles have already decided that Jackson Holliday is ready for the big leagues after all. The sport's No. 1 prospect will make his MLB debut against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday at Fenway Park.

Given Holliday's obvious talent, his promotion was only a matter of time. One surprising element of his call-up involves his new jersey number, however.

Holliday will wear the No. 7, which is a special number in both baseball history and Orioles history. Many baseball fans associate the number with New York Yankees legend Mickey Mantle, who many regard as the greatest switch-hitter of all time.

As for Baltimore, the number has a strong connection to the Ripken family. Cal Ripken Sr. wore it while managing the Orioles in 1987 and 1988, and his son Bill Ripken wore it for the rest of the season after Cal Sr. was fired just six games into the season.

No Baltimore player has worn No. 7 since then, but that's about to change.

The Ripkens have said that they're excited about Holliday inheriting their late father's number (Cal Sr. passed away in 1999). Bill Ripken also appeared on MLB Network during Wednesday's lead-up to Holliday's debut to share a quick story about Holliday getting the number.

According to Ripken, the idea originated from Jackson's father Matt, who played 15 MLB seasons. The Ripken brothers talked it over before ultimately giving their approval.

"If anybody's gonna do it, I think (the Hollidays) are going to honor the fact that (Cal Sr.) was a part of that, and it gives us another opportunity to throw Sr. out there," Bill said.

Based on what the Ripkens and others have said about the Hollidays, it sounds like their father's old number is in good hands.

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Tyler Maher

TYLER MAHER

Tyler grew up in Massachusetts and is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He went to Tufts University and played club baseball for the Jumbos. Since graduating, he has worked for MLB.com, The Game Day, FanDuel and Forbes. When he's not writing about baseball, he enjoys running, traveling, and playing fetch with his golden retriever.