this is the 26th post in a series that shares the cards i have in my retired number mini-collection. you can find the links to the previous posts down at the bottom of this post. if you're eager to learn more right now, you can check out the full list of retired numbers along with what this collection will entail over at my want list site.
without further ado, here are the four people for whom number 26 has been retired, although only three are in my collection:
billy williams (retired by the cubs in 1987) 1972 topps
using williams' 1972 topps in action card is appropriate because not only does it show his number clearly, it also comes from the year that he led the national league with a .333 batting average. williams began wearing number 26 for the cubs in 1961, the same year that he was named the national league's rookie of the year. he never won the mvp award, but did finish as the runner up in both 1970 and 1972.
with the cubs, williams hit 392 home runs and was a six-time all-star. also during his tenure with the cubs, he set the national league record for consecutive games played (1,117) which stood until steve garvey passed him in 1983. he is among the greatest hitters the cubs have ever had, and sits near the top of the team's all-time leader boards in many offensive categories. he was elected to the hall of fame in 1987 in what was his sixth year on the ballot, and the cubs retired his number on august 13, 1987, shortly after he was formally inducted in cooperstown.
oates, who played for tommy lasorda's dodgers (among other managers and teams) managed the orioles for four seasons in the early 1990's, took over the rangers coming out of the players' strike in 1995. he managed the club for six full seasons before giving up the reins early in 2001 after a slow start to the season. he led the rangers to three american league west titles during his tenure which gave them their first postseason berths in franchise history. oates shared the manager of the year award in 1996 with joe torre, whose yankees beat the rangers in the alds that year.
when oates stepped down, he was the second winningest manager in club history behind bobby valentine, but both have since been passed by ron washington. sadly, a few months after ending his managerial career, oates was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in 2004. the rangers retired his number on august 5, 2005 with oates being the last ranger to wear the number on the field. his 2001 topps card doesn't show the number, but my choices are limited for a card to represent oates in this collection.
the red sox retired boggs' number on may 26, 2016, almost 11 years after he was inducted into the hall of fame. boggs began his career with the red sox in 1982, hitting .349 in 103 games. he was even better in 1983, winning the american league batting title with a .361 average. it was the first of five batting titles he would win with boston to go along with six silver slugger awards and eight all-star berths.
i saw a note about ichiro a few weeks ago. it stated that his career average never dipped below .300 after his 10th big league at bat, and it made me curious about boggs, who hit for such a high average as a rookie and finished his career with a .328 average, just a hair better than rod carew. it turns out that boggs hit the .300 mark to stay with a single in his 45th at bat. i can't really argue with his 1992 upper deck card above that identifies him as the "best hitter", although tony gwynn has a case.
i mentioned up top that there are four people for whom number 26 is retired, and the fourth is gene autry. the angels retired number 26 for their owner (their "26th player") on august 3, 1982. there is an angels police card featuring autry that mentions the number retirement on the back, but i am limiting this collection to field personnel only, so the singing cowboy is out.
i am tracking a few things as we go, even though the information is already available elsewhere.
retired numbers by team (through the 25 posts so far):
yankees - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 20, 21, 23, 42
giants - 3, 4, 11, 20, 22, 24, 25, 42
pirates - 1, 4, 8, 9, 11, 20, 21, 42
guardians - 3, 5, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 42, 455
red sox - 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 14, 26, 42
phillies - 1, 14, 15, 20, 42
cardinals - 1, 2, 6, 9, 10, 14, 17, 20, 23, 24, 42, 85
reds - 1, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 24, 42
braves - 3, 6, 10, 21, 25, 42
astros - 5, 7, 24, 25, 42
mets - 14, 16, 17, 18, 24, 42
orioles - 4, 5, 8, 20, 22, 42
dodgers - 1, 2, 4, 14, 19, 20, 24, 42
twins - 3, 6, 7, 10, 14, 42
white sox - 2, 3, 4, 9, 11, 14, 16, 19, 42, 72
brewers - 1, 4, 19, 42
tigers - 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 11, 16, 23, 42
cubs - 10, 14, 23, 26, 42
royals - 5, 10, 20, 42
padres - 6, 19, 42
athletics - 9, 24, 42
angels - 11, 26, 42
expos - 8, 10, 42
rangers - 7, 10, 26, 42
major league baseball - 42
rays - 12, 42, 66
diamondbacks - 20, 42
blue jays - 42
rockies - 17, 42
mariners - 11, 24, 42
nationals - 11, 42
marlins - 42
retired number frequency:
1 - retired by 9 teams
2 - retired by 5 teams
3 - retired by 7 teams
4 - retired by 8 teams
5 - retired by 7 teams
6 - retired by 7 teams
7 - retired by 4 teams
8 - retired by 6 teams (retired by yankees for two players)
9 - retired by 6 teams
10 - retired by 9 teams (retired by expos for two players)
11 - retired by 8 teams
12 - retired by 1 team
13 - retired by 1 team
14 - retired by 10 teams (retired by mets and dodgers for same person)
15 - retired by 2 teams
16 - retired by 4 teams
17 - retired by 3 teams
18 - retired by 3 teams (includes mets who will formally retire the number in 2024)
19 - retired by 5 teams
20 - retired by 11 teams (retired by orioles, reds, and guardians for same person)
21 - retired by 4 teams
22 - retired by 2 teams
23 - retired by 4 teams
24 - retired by 8 teams (retired by giants and mets for same person)
25 - retired by 4 teams
26 - retired by 4 teams
42 - retired by 30 teams (retired by cardinals and yankees for individuals in addition to jackie robinson)
66 - retired by 1 team
72 - retired by 1 team
85 - retired by 1 team
455 - retired by 1 team
unnumbered players - 12 players recognized by 4 teams
running total of unique hall of famers (including those without numbers): 115
running total of non-hall of famers: 44
Back in 87 the Cubs broadcasts would occasionally show short videos on baseball basics (like bunting and fielding), usually during rain delays. Oates was the one who did the catching basics, how to properly block balls in the dirt.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know and wouldn't have guessed that Johnny Oates' number was retired by anyone.
ReplyDeleteThat stat about Ichiro and Boggs is pretty interesting. Makes you wonder if there are any players whose averaged never dipped below .300.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't familiar with Johnny Oates in the least. I can't believe I've never even heard his name before!
ReplyDelete