this is the 30th 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 three people for whom number 30 has been retired:
nolan ryan (retired by the angels in 1992) 1978 topps
after being traded by the mets, ryan led the american league in strikeouts in all but one of his eight seasons with the angels. he set a major league record for strikeouts in a season (383) while with the team, and had three seasons with them in which he finished in the top 3 in cy young award voting. he remains their all-time franchise leader in shutouts and complete games, and, of course, strikeouts. he tallied 2,416 k's as an angel - averaging over 300 per year!
the angels were the first team to retire a number for nolan ryan, doing so on june 16, 1992 while ryan was still an active player. chad curtis had been wearing the number that season, and so became the last angel to do so. ryan was in town with the rangers when the ceremony took place, and wound up throwing a complete game against the halos the next night, although unfortunately for ryan it was of the eight inning variety. perhaps the angels thought 1992 would be ryan's final season, so it made sense to have the ceremony at that time. we know now, however, that he pitched again in 1993 and actually made the penultimate start of his career at the big a with his number 30 placard on display.
not surprisingly, ryan was a first ballot hall of famer in 1999. his 1978 topps card (which shows his number 30 very nicely) is near and dear to me as it is the first ryan card i owned, although i now have a complete topps run of his cards thanks to my dad and his collecting habits in the early 1980s.
the giants retired number 30 for cepeda on july 11, 1999 which was just before he was inducted into the baseball hall of fame as his 2005 upper deck hall of fame card indicates. that card uses a photo that has shown up on other cepeda cards through the years, but i decided to go with the fancier of the bunch. it is one of just a couple of numbered cards in this collection. while cepeda was the first san francisco giant to wear number 30, he wasn't the last. dante powell had most recently worn the number in 1998, becoming the last giant to have the honor.
cepeda began his career with the giants, and got off to a hot start. he was the 1958 national league rookie of the year leading the league in doubles while also hitting .312 over 148 games. cepeda also led the league in home runs and rbi in 1961 while finishing second in the mvp voting to frank robinson of the reds.
in all, cepeda spent seven full seasons playing in san francisco, along with parts of two seasons cut short by injury and a trade to st. louis. he hit 226 home runs as a giant, which is still sixth on the franchise's all-time list. that's not too bad when you consider that this franchise was home to willie mays, willie mccovey, mel ott, and barry bonds.
raines was not elected to the hall of fame until 2017, but he left his mark on the expo franchise as a player worthy of enshrinement. in 13 seasons covering two stints with the team, raines hit .301 and stole 635 bases. he led the league in runs twice, stolen bases four times, and batting average once during his expos tenure, and his 49.1 war is second in franchise history to gary carter, placing him ahead of andre dawson. all three are hall of famers who had their numbers retired by the club.
i am tracking a few things as we go, even though the information is already available elsewhere.
retired numbers by team (through the 30 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, 27, 30, 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, 27, 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, 28, 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, 27, 42
angels - 11, 26, 30, 42
expos - 8, 10, 30, 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
27 - retired by 3 teams
28 - retired by 1 team
29 - retired by 4 teams (retired by twins and angels for same person)
30 - retired by 3 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): 125
running total of non-hall of famers: 44
I didn't realize Ryan wore #30. Remember him for wearing #34 for the Rangers. Anyways... that 1978 Topps card of his is awesome. I've been thinking of starting a small graded collection (maybe ten cards) of 1970's cards featuring the Oakland Coliseum in the background. This might be the inaugural card.
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