Butch Huskey, Former MLB Player Known for Wearing Jackie Robinson's No. 42, Dies at 54

Butch Huskey, a former Major League Baseball player who was among the final athletes to wear the distinguished No. 42 jersey, has passed away at 54 years old.

A Unique Connection to Jackie Robinson's Number

Huskey initially donned No. 10 during his tenure with the New York Mets. However, he transitioned to No. 42 in 1995. This change occurred two years prior to Major League Baseball's decision to retire the number across the entire league in honor of the legendary Jackie Robinson.

When MLB officially retired No. 42, it implemented a special provision, allowing players who were already wearing the number to continue doing so for the remainder of their careers, regardless of which team they played for. This group included Huskey, along with prominent figures such as Mo Vaughn and Mariano Rivera.

Consequently, Huskey maintained the No. 42 jersey even after departing the Mets, carrying it through his time with the Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins. During his 1999 season with the Boston Red Sox, he opted for No. 44 instead. The Mets organization publicly announced Huskey's passing via social media.

Major League Career Highlights

Huskey made his debut in Major League Baseball in 1993 but didn't secure regular playing time until 1996, the year after he adopted his new number. Primarily playing first base that season, he delivered an impressive performance, achieving a .278 batting average and a .754 OPS. He further elevated his game in 1997, batting .287 with an .822 OPS, hitting a career-best 24 home runs, and driving in 81 runs, also a personal high. His performance saw a decline the following season, leading to his trade to the Mariners during the subsequent offseason.

In the 1999 season, Huskey was traded from Seattle to Boston. That year, the Red Sox secured a postseason berth as a wild card team, though their journey ended with a loss to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. The Yankees went on to claim their second of three consecutive World Series titles.

Huskey's final stint in the major leagues was with the Colorado Rockies, where he wore No. 35.

Notably, Huskey holds the distinction of being the last player to wear No. 42 in the history of the Seattle Mariners. Across all of Major League Baseball, only four players continued to wear the number after him: Mo Vaughn, Mariano Rivera, Michael Jackson, and Jose Lima. The league-wide retirement ceremony for Jackie Robinson's No. 42 took place during one of Huskey's games with the Mets, against Robinson's former team, the Dodgers, who by then had relocated to Los Angeles.