This coming season, the Seattle Mariners are retiring Ichiro Suzuki’s No. 51, the Houston Astros are retiring Billy Wagner’s No. 13 and the New York Mets are retiring No. 5 for David Wright.
While the gesture is certainly to honor the player, first and foremost, it also includes fans. There’s a ceremony and fans get to look fondly back on the career of, presumably, one of their favorite players. Seeing the number featured in the ballpark with the rest of the retired numbers is cool and it’s always an opportunity to remember a franchise’s history and most important figures.
Some teams hand out the honor perhaps too liberally, others too strictly. I’m generally in favor of more retired numbers, as a big fan of history, but we could all agree that at some point there are too many for a team, to the point that it could start to look preposterous.
We aren’t going to get into all that right now. No, we’re running through every team to see if we can figure out what number will be retired next.
As a reminder, Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 is retired league-wide and this exercise excludes any number in the future that might possibly be retired across the league (such as Roberto Clemente’s No. 21).
Retired numbers: 11 (Jim Fregosi), 26 (Gene Autry), 29 (Rod Carew), 50 (Jimmie Reese)
The big task here is to figure out if someone is going to beat Mike Trout (27) to the punch. It’s hard to envision a realistic scenario in which his number isn’t retired by the Angels, so that’s our starting point.
A championship is always a good place to start and the Angels won it all in 2002. That’s the only time they were even in the World Series, so it’s a revered team in club history. Interestingly, it was more a “sum of the parts” team with the best players being Darin Erstad, Garret Anderson, David Eckstein and Troy Glaus (the World Series MVP). Troy Percival got the final out of the World Series and was a strong closer. Jarrod Washburn was the best starting pitcher. Tim Salmon was an important member of the team and played all of his 14 years for the Angels.
It feels odd the Angels haven’t retired a single number since 1998, doesn’t it?
I’ll say someone beats Trout to the punch. Tim Salmon’s 15 could be in the mix, but let’s go with Garret Anderson. He was a key player on the 2002 championship team — again, the only one in franchise history — a three-time All-Star, finished as high as fourth in MVP voting and even won a Home Run Derby. He leads the franchise in games, hits, doubles, total, bases and RBI. He’s second to Trout in runs and is third in home runs.
What are you waiting for, Angels? Retire Mr. Anderson’s No. 16, pronto.
Retired numbers: 5 (Jeff Bagwell), 7 (Craig Biggio), 24 (Jimmy Wynn), 25 (Jose Cruz), 32 (Jim Umbricht), 33 (Mike Scott), 34 (Nolan Ryan), 40 (Don Wilson), 49 (Larry Dierker)
Obviously, Wagner is next he’s already been officially announced, so let’s go to the next one.
This one boils down, I think, to Lance Berkman or the new guard. Specifically, will it be Berkman or someone from the current run that started with the 2017 World Series championship? There’s an easy and obvious number retirement coming for Jose Altuve, eventually, but I think Justin Verlander comes first because he’ll surely retire several years before Altuve does.
With the Astros, Verlander’s resume is similar enough to that of Mike Scott and Nolan Ryan, who both have their numbers retired, but Verlander has two championship rings, the only two the Houston Astros have.
That means, by process of elimination, we are deciding if the Astros find a reason to retire Berkman’s jersey before Verlander’s. Bagwell and Biggio saw their numbers retired very quickly after retirement, though Berkman is a step below them. There’s also different ownership.
As things stand, the current Astros’ decision-makers only want to retire numbers of players who make the Hall of Fame, though.
The pick here is Verlander’s 35.
Retired numbers: 9 (Reggie Jackson), 24 (Rickey Henderson), 27 (Catfish Hunter), 34 (Rollie Fingers and Dave Stewart), 43 (Dennis Eckersley)
Here’s a potentially tricky one, as the A’s are now in Sacramento and are trying to move to Las Vegas before the end of this decade. It seems that current ownership wants to distance itself from Oakland, at least in the short-term. So should we eliminate all Oakland A’s, such as Vida Blue or Mark McGwire (or even Jose Canseco if they’d go there)?
I’m not sure anyone with the current bunch looks good enough or, perhaps most importantly, would be guaranteed to stay long enough with the A’s to be a retired number.
That means I’m going way back. Way, way, way back.
Jimmie Foxx won two MVPs and two World Series with the Philadelphia A’s and remains one of the greatest sluggers in MLB history. Lefty Grove won an MVP and was on those two same A’s World Series winners. He won five ERA titles with the A’s.
Foxx would be No. 3 and Grove No. 10.
If the A’s decide to act like they are embracing history but avoid Oakland when moving to Las Vegas, they could unveil statues for Foxx and Grove while retiring both of their numbers. I’ll say they do both at once.
Retired numbers: 32 (Roy Halladay)
I mentioned in the intro that some teams should maybe retire more numbers and here we are. The Jays won back-to-back titles in the early ’90s and have only retired one number from a player who came later. They did retire Roberto Alomar’s number, but have since put it back in circulation following allegations of sexual misconduct.
Dave Stieb is the career Blue Jays leader in WAR and if we took out Halladay (who is second), no one else is even close. José Bautista and Carlos Delgado are all-time great sluggers in franchise history. Tony Fernandez, Jesse Barfield and Jimmy Key were also greats. Fred McGriff is a Hall of Famer who did a lot of work with the Jays. The championship teams had Devon White, John Olerud and Juan Guzman as key components.
What about Joe Carter, though? If the Blue Jays ever think they don’t have enough numbers retired, Stieb (37) and Carter (29) would be a nice place to start. Carter was the top power hitter and RBI guy on the World Series winners and hit one of the most famous home runs in baseball history. He’s fifth in the franchise in both home runs and RBI.
If the Jays don’t want to expand and instead want to look more contemporary, it’s probably Bautista (19). He’s my pick, though I urge the Blue Jays to loosen the strings a little here and start with Carter.
Retired numbers: 3 (Dale Murphy), 6 (Bobby Cox), 10 (Chipper Jones), 21 (Warren Spahn), 25 (Andruw Jones), 29 (John Smoltz), 31 (Greg Maddux), 35 (Phil Niekro), 41 (Eddie Mathews), 44 (Hank Aaron), 47 (Tom Glavine)
A bit more crowded here, huh? Hey, the Braves franchise has had a ton of success both on a team level and in terms of having all-time greats.
Guess who has the highest remaining WAR among players who don’t have a retired number (and actually wore a number, as in Kid Nichols’ days there weren’t numbers)? Freddie Freeman.
There isn’t really anyone glaring from the past, so this appears to be a race between Freeman and Ronald Acuña Jr. Freeman will obviously retire multiple years before Acuña, barring something unforeseen. The question will then be if the Braves are ready to retire Freeman’s number shortly after he retires from a Dodgers team that might be building a dynasty and has been a thorn in the Braves’ side.
I think they’ll get over it quick enough. Freeman’s No. 5 is the pick.
Retired numbers: 1 (Bud Selig), 4 (Paul Molitor), 19 (Robin Yount), 34 (Rollie Fingers), 44 (Hank Aaron)
My hunch is that Christian Yelich is headed that way. If they dipped back into the past a little bit, maybe Cecil Cooper would work. From the most recent era, Ryan Braun screams exactly the type of player to have his number retired, given what he meant to the franchise.
The Brewers are one of those teams, however, that seems to lean heavily on whether or not the player makes the Hall of Fame.
Will they stick to this? If so, Braun won’t make it and I’m not sure on Yelich. Maybe they don’t have one with the franchise, currently, or maybe Jackson Chourio gets all the way there.
I’ll hold out hope they see value in being a little less strict. If that’s the case, it’s Braun’s 8.
Retired numbers: 1 (Ozzie Smith), 2 (Red Schoendienst), 6 (Stan Musial), 9 (Enos Slaughter), 10 (Tony La Russa), 14 (Ken Boyer), 17 (Dizzy Dean), 20 (Lou Brock), 23 (Ted Simmons), 24 (Whitey Herzog), 42 (Bruce Sutter), 45 (Bob Gibson), 85 (August Busch)
This is a pretty crowded field. The Hall of Fame isn’t a requirement, as Boyer never made it. Simmons recently made the Hall of Fame and then had his number retired, though, so it’s a major component. It seems from the most recent title team maybe Chris Carpenter falls short and going back a little so do Ray Lankford, Jim Edmonds and Willie McGee. Maybe Adam Wainwright eventually sees his number retired, but I think it’s going to be a two-horse race here.
Will Albert Pujols (5) and Yadier Molina (4) have their numbers retired together?
We don’t really even need to dive into the cases of any of the players here. Pujols and Molina will obviously have their numbers retired by the Cardinals. It’s just a matter of when. There’s merit to a joint ceremony, but there’s also an argument that each player deserves his own ceremony. Both come on the Hall of Fame ballot in the same year and my guess is they both make it right away. So they could go together but the Cardinals could simply honor each on different homestands.
I’ll go with a total guess that they do Molina first, just on the basis that he stuck with the Cardinals his whole career.
Retired numbers: 10 (Ron Santo), 14 (Ernie Banks), 23 (Ryne Sandberg), 26 (Billy Williams), 31 (Greg Maddux and Fergie Jenkins)
The eyes initially go to the 2016 World Series title team. Did Kris Bryant or Anthony Rizzo do enough with the team to justify it? Most of the other really important players did not. I think you could make an argument that Jon Lester’s signing was enough of a signifier for the Cubs to turn the corner and loop that in with his on-field impact to justify retiring his 34. I think Rizzo could also be justified, but Lester would come first due to age.
Will anyone beat Lester there?
Andre Dawson and Lee Smith are both Hall of Famers with significant Cubs contributions.
An interesting wrinkle is the return of Sammy Sosa to team functions. He’d long been treated as a pariah by ownership, but this year came back to Cubs Convention in January. There is certainly a segment of Cubs fandom that doesn’t care for him these days, but overall he’s wildly popular. He got a huge ovation at the convention. Maybe the Cubs continue to dip their toes in the pool with him this summer and have him throw out a first pitch to see how a much larger crowd reacts.
Regardless, he’s my pick. I have a hunch at least Lester and Rizzo get their numbers retired from 2016 (and maybe manager Joe Maddon as well), but I think Sosa’s 21 is next and it might be pretty soon.
Retired numbers: 20 (Luis Gonzalez), 51 (Randy Johnson)
There were four expansion teams in the ’90s, which means with a history so short, it’s very likely they haven’t had the chance to find too many deserving players to have numbers retired. Of course, getting one of the greatest lefties in MLB history helped and so did Gonzalez’s monster 2001 season along with the clutch walk-off hit in the World Series.
What’s next, though? Two of the top four in WAR are Johnson and Gonzalez along with Paul Goldschmidt and Brandon Webb. In looking at that 2001 team, Curt Schilling could also be a fit. Would they retire the number for any of these three players or would they wait for another wave with someone like Ketel Marte, Zac Gallen and/or Corbin Carroll?
I’ll go with Goldschmidt’s 44. He didn’t even leave the team voluntarily, as they traded him.
Dodgers
Retired numbers: 1 (Pee Wee Reese), 2 (Tommy Lasorda), 4 (Duke Snider), 14 (Gil Hodges), 19 (Jim Gilliam), 20 (Don Sutton), 24 (Walter Alston), 32 (Sandy Koufax), 34 (Fernando Valenzuela), 39 (Roy Campanella), 42 (Jackie Robinson), 53 (Don Drysdale)
With recent retirements for Hodges and Valenzuela, the Dodgers have shown they don’t mind dipping a bit into the past. That means it’s possible someone like Maury Wells or Steve Garvey would be considered. Perhaps Don Newcombe.
Personally, though, I think they’ll put everything on hold until Clayton Kershaw’s 22 is immortalized. He might have one year left until he retires and then I don’t think it’s even a sure thing they’ll wait until he’s inducted into the Hall of Fame. He’s that obvious.
Retired numbers: 3 (Bill Terry), 4 (Mel Ott), 11 (Carl Hubbell), 20 (Monte Irvin), 22 (Will Clark), 24 (Willie Mays), 25 (Barry Bonds), 27 (Juan Marichal), 30 (Orlando Cepeda), 36 (Gaylord Perry), 44 (Willie McCovey)
We’ve already discussed how much of an impact World Series titles should matter and the Giants won them in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner lead the pack with those teams and Posey is going to be a Hall of Famer, in all likelihood, in 2027. I think it’s a pretty great bet the Giants retire Posey’s number 28 that summer.
He’s the easy pick, then, right?
Not so fast!
Is it possible Bruce Bochy retires from managing the Rangers before then and gets his No. 15 retired by the Giants before Posey? Bochy is only signed through 2025 and it’s possible he gets an extension, but he could also elect to step back. He’ll be 70 in April.
I think I’m gonna stick with Posey, but it’s possible Bochy proves me wrong. Maybe both go in during the same summer.
Retired numbers: 3 (Earl Averill), 5 (Lou Boudreau), 14 (Larry Doby), 18 (Mel Harder), 19 (Bob Feller), 20 (Frank Robinson), 21 (Bob Lemon), 25 (Jim Thome)
CC Sabathia is going into the Hall of Fame this summer, but he’s doing so as a Yankee and spent more seasons with them. My guess is picking him wouldn’t be all too popular in Cleveland, so we’ll move on. Likewise, Manny Ramirez spent as many seasons with the Red Sox as in Cleveland and he has that PED stain keeping him from the Hall of Fame. The allegations against Omar Vizquel also likely hurt his chances greatly.
Kenny Lofton remains criminally underrated in Hall of Fame discussions and might be my top pick from the past. He spent parts of 10 seasons with Cleveland and not more than one season elsewhere. Retiring his No. 7 would be a nice move, though there isn’t really any sign of the Guardians’ brass thinking about this.
If it’s none of the above names, I think we need to look at the last World Series team and the superstars there were Corey Kluber, Francisco Lindor and José Ramírez. It seems possible Kluber gets his number retired, thanks in large part to the two Cy Youngs. Lindor’s going to spend more time with the Mets, though.
Given that it looks like he might be a career Clevelander, let’s with with J-Ram and his No. 11. Like I’ve said above, part of the equation is the fanfare around retiring a number and the Cleveland fans absolutely adore Ramírez.
Mariners
Retired numbers: 11 (Edgar Martínez), 24 (Ken Griffey Jr.)
We already know Ichiro’s 51 is coming this summer, so he doesn’t count.
I don’t think the next one is far behind, though.
There is a question on No. 51 and if the Mariners would eventually loop Randy Johnson in with Ichiro. It’s possible he gets there or maybe they just don’t want to do that and wish to leave it alone for Ichiro.
The Mariners have criteria for retiring numbers that says a player must have been voted on for the Hall of Fame and must “come close” to induction while having spent a “substantial portion of his career” with the Mariners.
Perhaps that’s where Johnson falls short.
Regardless, Félix Hernández is a Mariners legend, spent his entire MLB career with the club and got more than 20% of the Hall of Fame vote this cycle in his first try on the ballot.
King Felix’s No. 34 comes next after Ichiro.
Retired numbers: None
Hey, how about that?! We have a clean slate!
The circumstances behind the death of José Fernández to this point have been reason enough for the Marlins to avoid officially retiring his number.
Giancarlo Stanton won an MVP and hit 267 homers in parts of eight seasons with the Marlins, but he’ll end up with more seasons on the Yankees before he retires. He signed a monster extension to stay with Miami and the team decided to trade him. It isn’t like he spurned the team. I also think once he reaches 500 home runs it’s paves the way to possibly making the Hall of Fame. If that all happens, the Marlins having a ceremony to honor him the following summer would be a nice draw.
What about Miguel Cabrera, though, who is almost certainly going to get into the Hall of Fame in his first ballot in 2029? He only played five years for the Marlins, but became one of the best offensive players in baseball there and won a World Series in 2003.
I’ll say it’s Stanton’s 27, but I wouldn’t count out Cabrera.
Mets
Retired numbers: 14 (Gil Hodges), 16 (Dwight Gooden), 17 (Keith Hernandez), 18 (Darryl Strawberry), 24 (Willie Mays), 31 (Mike Piazza), 36 (Jerry Koosman), 37 (Casey Stengel), 41 (Tom Seaver)
Much like with the Mariners, we know the actual answer is coming this summer. It’s Wright. Let’s find the next after him, though.
Will anyone beat Juan Soto there?
It seems likely. The Mets aren’t quite as stingy as some other franchises due to a big run in recent years (and new ownership) and Soto is a long way away from retiring.
Among deceased players, Gary Carter has the best case. He only spent five years with the Mets, but that run included the 1986 World Series title and he finished third in MVP voting that season.
Among living retired players, there’s Carlos Beltrán. It looks like he’ll get into the Hall of Fame next summer, which would make for a nice time for a Mets ceremony. The sign-stealing scandal while he was with the Astros ended up costing Beltrán the Mets managerial job, but he is with the organization as an adviser, though.
Among active players, Jacob deGrom’s on-field performance measures up with the standard set, as he’s nearly with Gooden in Mets WAR and is ahead of Koosman. That isn’t the only measure, obviously, but he won two Cy Youngs and was an important member of a pennant-winning team. Does leaving for the Rangers in free agency hurt him?
Then there’s Francisco Lindor. He sure seems headed that way after his monster season in 2024 with the Mets looking to stay relevant for the long haul here.
It’s a tough one.
I’ll say they go with Beltrán next year due to his Hall of Fame induction.
Retired numbers: 8 (Gary Carter), 10 (Rusty Staub and Andre Dawson), 11 (Ryan Zimmerman), 30 (Tim Raines)
Obviously, the Nationals have the Montreal Expos history included here as well. Zimmerman is the only Nationals player with his number retired and also a nice illustration that the franchise is willing to dip below the Hall of Fame standard to do so.
An easy starting point for who is next is the 2019 World Series championship. Interestingly, though, some of the best players have departed, such as Juan Soto, Trea Turner, Anthony Rendon and Max Scherzer. Bryce Harper signed elsewhere the year before the title. The highest WAR among Nationals-only players is Scherzer with Zimmerman second. Next up? Stephen Strasburg.
I don’t think it’s impossible that Scherzer’s number will one day be retired, but he’s still active. I do think Strasburg is the easy answer here.
Strasburg was the first overall pick in the 2009 MLB draft and helped turn the Nats around from a bottom-dwelling franchise in the standings. He was the first major draw to the Nats in D.C. and it was appointment viewing. He one World Series MVP in 2019 and was 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA throughout those 2019 playoffs. He finished in the top five of Cy Young voting twice and while we could dive more into the numbers, we don’t really need to.
The Nationals will likely retire Strasburg’s 37 soon.
Retired numbers: 4 (Earl Weaver), 5 (Brooks Robinson), 8 (Cal Ripken), 20 (Frank Robinson), 22 (Jim Palmer), 33 (Eddie Murray)
The Orioles have new ownership, but it’s possible the tradition continues with only retiring the number of Hall of Famers, as all six individuals listed above are enshrined in Cooperstown.
Both Harold Baines and Mike Mussina have been voted into the Hall of Fame and played for the Orioles. Baines had multiple tenures with the Orioles across parts of seven seasons. He hit .301 for the O’s and was great in the 1997 playoffs for those eight games. Mussina spent the first 10 years of his career with the Orioles, going 147-81 and finishing in the top five of Cy Young voting five times (he came in sixth place two other seasons). Whatever hard feelings there were at the time that he signed in free agency with the Yankees should have dissipated by now.
Mussina’s 35 should be next and I’ll say it is.
Retired numbers: 6 (Steve Garvey), 19 (Tony Gwynn), 31 (Dave Winfield), 35 (Randy Jones), 51 (Trevor Hoffman)
The Jones retirement shows the Padres don’t require a player to be a Hall of Famer and Garvey — also not a Hall of Famer — is there on the strength of a monster home run that helped win the 1984 pennant. The Padres still don’t have a World Series title and they haven’t won a pennant since 1998.
After Gwynn and Winfield, Jake Peavy ranks third in career WAR for the Padres. He won a Cy Young and two ERA titles with the Padres, playing for them for eight seasons, two of which were playoff years. He hasn’t played for the Padres since 2009 and won two rings elsewhere, but most of his career value happened in San Diego and he retired after 2016. He’s a logical choice and it’s possible his 44 joins the above group of retired numbers somewhat soon.
If the Padres elect to not retire Peavy’s number, there will be a long wait before their next number retirement. The two main candidates on the team at present would be Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr.
Machado is several years older than Tatis, so the opportunity to retire Machado’s number will come first. He’s signed through 2033.
I’ll say the Padres decide to retire Peavy’s number well before then. He’s the pick.
Retired numbers: 1 (Richie Ashburn), 14 (Jim Bunning), 15 (Dick Allen), 20 (Mike Schmidt), 32 (Steve Carlton), 34 (Roy Halladay), 36 (Robin Roberts)
The Phillies have had a policy that players had to get into the Hall of Fame and have a Phillies logo on the plaque in order to retire the number, but Halladay’s plaque doesn’t have the logo. Perhaps this clears the way for Scott Rolen, who spent the first six and a half years of his Hall of Fame career with the Phillies.
It should also be noted that Dick Allen’s number was retired before he made the Hall of Fame, so there’s a little leeway here.
And if it’s not Rolen, let’s zero in on the 2008 World Series championship. The trio of cornerstones on offense in Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins are still wildly popular among the fan base and only Utley seems to have a real chance at making the Hall of Fame. Cole Hamels might not make the Hall either, but he won NLCS and World Series MVPs in 2008.
Given that the Phillies only have two World Series titles, it sure seems like the 2008 group should be represented. It also seems pretty tough to separate out anyone from the Howard/Utley/Rollins group and, boy, it sure feels like Hamels should be in there with them.
Retiring four numbers at once feels a bit ludicrous, but how do you decide between the four?
I do think Utley is going to make the Hall of Fame two cycles from now, so that would be the summer of 2027. I’ll say he gets his No. 26 retired first but it also sets off a cascade of number retirements with Rollins (11), Howard (6) and Hamels (35).
Retired numbers: 1 (Billy Meyer), 4 (Ralph Kiner), 8 (Willie Stargell), 9 (Bill Mazeroski), 11 (Paul Waner), 20 (Pie Traynor), 21 (Roberto Clemente), 33 (Honus Wagner), 40 (Danny Murtaugh)
The Pirates have only retired one number since 1987 and that was Waner’s in 2007. The Hall of Famer with more than 3,000 hits and a .333 career batting average had been dead since 1965, so while there are plenty of numbers listed there, the bar is pretty high.
What about Dave Parker?
The Cobra was elected to the Hall of Fame this past December. He spent 11 years in Pittsburgh and accumulated 34.8 of his career 40.1 WAR with the Pirates. He won NL MVP in 1978 and was the best player on the 1979 World Series champion Pirates. Now that he’s headed to Cooperstown, it would make a lot of sense to honor Parker at PNC Park.
If not Parker, it could take a while. I don’t think the Pirates are going to retire Barry Bonds’ number and Andrew McCutchen is still active. Another one to watch is manager Chuck Tanner, who won 711 games in his nine Pirates seasons, which included the ’79 title. The Pirates haven’t won it all since.
I’ll say it’s Parker’s 39 and that it happens pretty soon, though, in light of his Hall of Fame induction.
Rangers
Retired numbers: 7 (Ivan Rodríguez), 10 (Michael Young), 26 (Johnny Oates), 29 (Adrian Beltré), 34 (Nolan Ryan)
The Rangers have said they like players to have had a Hall of Fame-caliber career in order to retire their number, but while Young had an incredibly impactful career with the Rangers, he never reached enshrinement. Oates was a manager who was at the helm for their first three division titles.
It’s very tough to find someone right now that merits inclusion in that group listed above.
If we went the manager route, Ron Washington won the Rangers’ first two pennants, so maybe that would be enough to get him in there with Oates. Bruce Bochy helmed the first-ever Rangers World Series championship, so maybe that gets him points despite a possibly very short tenure as skipper.
On the player side, in looking at the 2010-11 pennant winners, did Ian Kinsler or Elvis Andrus impact the franchise enough to be players with retired numbers like Young? I think it would be reasonable to argue for either or both.
Or we could leap forward to the 2023 World Series championship. Both Marcus Semien and Corey Seager jump out. They each signed free-agent deals with the Rangers when they were a lackluster team and were the leaders and most important players for the champs. If you looked at simply the value they have provided the Rangers so far, it might not seem like enough, but Semien is signed through 2028 and Seager is signed through 2031.
I’ll go with Seager’s No. 5. He’s more than three years older than Semien and signed for several more years. That’s plenty of time to build an all-time Rangers legacy, starting with winning the World Series MVP for the first Rangers championship ever.
Retired numbers: 12 (Wade Boggs), 66 (Don Zimmer)
Boggs only played two years for the then-Devil Rays and collected his 3,000th career hit (a home run) while on the team. It’s a bit of a gimmicky number retirement. Zimmer was an advisor.
Manager Joe Maddon could make sense next, as he took over managing the team when it was a laughingstock and had a big hand in turning things around and making them a true playoff contender.
It’s getting to be close to time for the Rays to retire the number of a player, though, who was greatly impactful for the franchise on the field. There are three very strong candidates in Evan Longoria, Ben Zobrist and Carl Crawford.
I think it has to be Longoria’s No. 3. He debuted early in 2008 and signed a club-friendly contract extension very early in his career. He won Rookie of the Year while the Rays won a pennant. He’s the franchise leader in WAR, games, runs, total bases, doubles, home runs, RBI, walks, extra-base hits and a few other categories. He’s second in hits to Crawford by nine.
Red Sox
Retired numbers: 1 (Bobby Doerr), 4 (Joe Cronin), 6 (Johnny Pesky), 8 (Carl Yastrzemski), 9 (Ted Williams), 14 (Jim Rice), 26 (Wade Boggs), 27 (Carlton Fisk), 34 (David Ortiz), 45 (Pedro Martinez)
Luis Tiant died this past October and has long been close to the Hall of Fame, having been on six committee ballots after falling off the BBWAA ballot after a 15-year run during which he topped out at 30.9% of the vote. He’s very highly regarded among Red Sox fans and it’s possible the team retires his No. 23. Maybe it happens within the next year or two.
If it isn’t Tiant, three players from a bit more recent times come to mind: Dwight “Dewey” Evans, Roger Clemens and Dustin Pedroia.
Despite departing in free agency after his age-33 season, Clemens still logged 13 years with the Red Sox, winning three Cy Youngs and an MVP and trails only Williams and Yaz in career WAR for the Red Sox. Time heals all wounds and Clemens was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2014. He’s a logical choice.
Evans played 19 years with the Red Sox and ranks sixth in franchise history in WAR. I do wonder if Pedroia leapfrogged him in the pecking order for possible number retirement, though. He won a Rookie of the Year and MVP and was a major part of two World Series champion Red Sox teams. In fact, he was one of the leaders and one could argue a “heart and soul” type.
I think they’re going to do Tiant soon, though. I’ll pick him. If I’m wrong, I’ll go with Pedroia next.
Retired numbers: 1 (Fred Hutchinson), 5 (Johnny Bench), 8 (Joe Morgan), 10 (Sparky Anderson), 11 (Barry Larkin), 13 (Dave Concepcion), 14 (Pete Rose), 18 (Ted Kluszewski), 20 (Frank Robinson), 24 (Tony Perez)
As can be seen from a few of the names listed above, the Reds don’t have that pesky “must be a Hall of Famer” rule like some other teams and that has my full support here. It also firmly cements my prediction.
It’s possible Joey Votto makes the Hall of Fame pretty quickly. I think he will make it, even if it takes a few ballots. Even if not, he’s still very, very likely the next player to be honored in this fashion by the Reds. He spent his entire 17-year MLB career with the Reds, hitting .294/.409/.511 (144 OPS+) with an MVP and four playoff appearances.
Retired numbers: 17 (Todd Helton), 33 (Larry Walker)
This should be easy, right? Will they retire anyone’s number before Nolan Arenado’s 28?
The other candidates would be from the group that includes Troy Tulowitzki, Charlie Blackmon and Carlos González and those just don’t feel like “retire his number” players.
Arenado might be headed to the Hall of Fame someday to join Helton and Walker and it seems like he’ll be in a Rockies cap on his plaque, should this all come to fruition. He’s only 33, though, and has a contract that runs through 2027.
This is to say that while I’m pretty confident Arenado is the winner here, it’s going to be several years until it happens.
Retired numbers: 5 (George Brett), 10 (Dick Howser), 20 (Frank White)
The Royals have won two World Series and their two most iconic players and manager from the first team have their numbers retired. That’s it. The second World Series was, of course, 2015. I’m not sure Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas or Lorenzo Cain are going to have their numbers retired, but I think there are two players where it’s possible.
What about the 2015 manager, Ned Yost? If you compare Yost to Howser, it looks like a no-brainer. Yost is the franchise record holder in manager wins and has 342 more than Howser. He also won two pennants to Howser’s one while they each won one World Series. If Howser has his number retired, it sure seems that Yost should, too.
As for the players, Alex Gordon could make sense. He was a career Royal and a franchise centerpiece leading up to the two deep playoff runs. It’ll be interesting to see if the Royals retire his number or not. I’m not confident in this one.
If Gordon doesn’t have his number retired, the next player will absolutely be Salvador Perez. He was the backstop for two pennant winners and so far has nine All-Star Games, five Gold Gloves and five Silver Sluggers. He won the 2015 World Series MVP and has also won a Roberto Clemente Award. He’s long been considered a leader and is a fan favorite. His 13 will be retired, it’s just a matter of when.
I’ll say Yost’s 3 comes first, though.
Retired numbers: 1 (Lou Whitaker), 2 (Charlie Gehringer), 3 (Alan Trammell), 5 (Hank Greenberg), 6 (Al Kaline), 10 (Jim Leyland), 11 (Sparky Anderson), 16 (Hal Newhouser), 23 (Willie Horton), 47 (Jack Morris)
We don’t need to spend much time here. It’ll be Miguel Cabrera’s 24. Will they wait until he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2029?
Retired numbers: 3 (Harmon Killebrew), 6 (Tony Oliva), 7 (Joe Mauer), 10 (Tom Kelly), 14 (Kent Hrbek), 28 (Bert Blyleven), 29 (Rod Carew), 34 (Kirby Puckett), 36 (Jim Kaat)
This is actually pretty tough since they wasted no time in retiring Mauer’s. If we sorted by WAR, the next Twins players in line would be Brad Radke and Chuck Knoblauch. They don’t feel big enough in stature, do they? Torii Hunter remains on the Hall of Fame ballot, though he only avoided falling off by one vote this time around and he’s not going to make it in. Someone who should’ve lasted longer on the ballot and might someday get a chance via an Era Committee is Johan Santana.
Santana won two Cy Youngs, two ERA titles and three strikeout titles with the Twins. He was widely considered the best pitcher in baseball for about four years while on the Twins. His career was cut short by injury, but the bulk of his Hall of Fame case came from his time with the Twins.
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say Santana gets a fair shake via committee down the road and makes the Hall of Fame, then has his No. 57 retired by the Twins. If I’m wrong, it really might be a long time. I’m talking multiple decades.
Retired numbers: 2 (Nellie Fox), 3 (Harold Baines), 4 (Luke Appling), 9 (Minnie Miñoso), 11 (Luis Aparicio), 14 (Paul Konerko), 16 (Ted Lyons), 19 (Billy Pierce), 35 (Frank Thomas), 56 (Mark Buehrle), 72 (Carlton Fisk)
The 2005 championship is pretty well covered here with Buehrle and Konerko along with all-time great Thomas. There aren’t any other greats who have come through the franchise since, so that makes this a pretty tall order. The current crop of White Sox aren’t exactly awe-inspiring.
Unless the White Sox wanted to go with Robin Ventura or honor Jose Abreu and/or Chris Sale whenever they officially retired, they are pretty well tapped out on players.
That is, unless we loop in managerial credentials. Ozzie Guillén won a Rookie of the Year, a Gold Glove and was a three-time All-Star as a player for the White Sox. He then went on to manage the team to its first World Series title since the Black Sox scandal. He was immensely popular in doing so.
I’ll pick Guillén’s No. 13 here. Otherwise, I have no clue.
Yankees
Retired numbers: 1 (Billy Martin), 2 (Derek Jeter), 3 (Babe Ruth), 4 (Lou Gehrig), 5 (Joe DiMaggio), 6 (Joe Torre), 7 (Mickey Mantle), 8 (Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey), 9 (Roger Maris), 10 (Phil Rizzuto), 15 (Thurman Munson), 16 (Whitey Ford), 20 (Jorge Posada), 21 (Paul O’Neill), 23 (Don Mattingly), 32 (Elston Howard), 37 (Casey Stengel), 42 (Mariano Rivera), 44 (Reggie Jackson), 46 (Andy Pettitte), 49 (Ron Guidry), 51 (Bernie Williams)
We close with the most storied franchise which is also the least shy about retiring numbers, even those who don’t make the Hall of Fame. More power to them. The history should be celebrated.
Among the current players, I’m pretty sure Aaron Judge’s 99 is going to be retired someday, it just won’t happen for a while. Maybe Gerrit Cole gets there. Among retired players, it remains possible that Alex Rodríguez’s 13 gets retired.
I think, though, that with his recent election to the Hall of Fame, all roads lead to CC Sabathia having his 52 retired very soon. I’d say as early as this summer with an announcement coming soon or perhaps next year, but Sabathia is going to be the answer here and I’m pretty confident about it.
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