The SF Giants have made some moves this offseason but none large enough to warrant a big press conference with a jersey reveal the way the team did for players like Willy Adames and Rafael Devers after they were acquired.

Instead, we find out about the uniform numbers of new players from the team’s website and it seems that outfielder Harrison Bader will be rocking the same jersey number as former Giant Brandon Belt who was certainly polarizing amongst fans during his time with the team.

Harrison Bader to wear same number as former SF Giants first baseman Brandon Belt

That’s right, Bader will be wearing No. 9 per the team’s website. Bader will actually be the first Giants player to wear the No. 9 since Belt’s last season in San Francisco which was in 2022. It should be stipulated that Matt Williams wore No. 9 each of the last two seasons as San Francisco’s third base coach which makes sense since that’s the number he wore when he was a player for the Giants.

Bader has never worn No. 9 as he has actually worn a different number on every team he has played for in the big leagues.

Some people may not care all that much about jersey numbers which is fair as they are ultimately pretty insignificant at the end of the day. But if you have a problem like me and get in an elevator and scan the numbers thinking about different Giants players who have worn those numbers over the years, then this sort of stuff gets you going.

Several Giants players have switched up their jersey numbers ahead of 2026 with Drew Gilbert changing from No. 61 to No. 1, Jerar Encarnacion switching from 59 to 19, and Bryce Eldridge switching from 78 to 8.

Even though Bader will be wearing Belt’s number, there probably will not be a controversy about it the same there was last season when Justin Verlander opted to wear the No. 35 even though that is the number Brandon Crawford wore as a Giant.

The Giants are actually set to celebrate Belt in 2026 with his very own day in late April. Knowing Belt, he might have a sarcastic remark or two about how he expects No. 9 to be retired someday in honor of him. Even though he was a great Giant it seems unlikely he will receive that honor.

The Belt Wars were fought with great vigor while the Baby Giraffe was still playing and many good people were lost on both sides. But it seems now that Belt is essentially retired, most Giants fans are able to appreciate just what he was able to do with the franchise across 12 seasons.

Hopefully Bader proves to be an equally worthy wearer of the uniform.