my retired number collection - 53

this is the 49th 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.

no team has retired number 52, although i wonder if the yankees might do so for cc sabathia once he is enshrined in cooperstown (they have kept the number out of circulation since he retired). that could happen as soon as next season.

and now, without further ado, here is the one person for whom number 53 has been retired:

don drysdale (retired by the dodgers in 1984) 2001 upper deck sp legendary cuts

i know the 2001 upper deck sp legendary cuts card that i chose shows drysdale as a brooklyn dodger, and that is is the los angeles dodgers who retired his number, but the card shows his 53 so well that i decided to use it anyway. it took drysdale a while to make it to the hall of fame - he was elected on his 10th ballot which came in 1984 - but the dodgers took quick action to formally retire the number once he was voted in, holding a ceremony on july 1, 1984 for both him and fellow inductee pee wee reese.

big d spent his entire career with the dodgers, winning 209 games and striking out 2,486 batters between 1956 and 1969. he was the national league's cy young award winner in 1962, and in 1968 he threw six consecutive shutouts and set a then record of 58.2 consecutive scoreless innings pitched. given his longevity with the dodgers, drysdale remains high on the franchise's all-time leader board in many categories. he is third all-time in wins and strikeouts, and first (no surprise) in hit batsmen.

according to baseball reference, drysdale's number was issued to tom paciorek in 1970, but he switched to 17 for the 1971 season. if not for paciorek wearing the number for his "cup of coffee" experience in the 1970 season, drysdale would have been the only dodger to ever wear number 53.

i am tracking a few things as we go, even though the information is already available elsewhere.

retired numbers by team (through the 49 posts so far):

yankees - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 20, 21, 23, 32, 37, 42, 44, 46, 49, 51

giants - 3, 4, 11, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 30, 36, 42

pirates - 1, 4, 8, 9, 11, 20, 21, 33, 40, 42, 44

guardians - 3, 5, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 42, 455

red sox - 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 14, 26, 27, 34, 42, 45

phillies - 1, 14, 15, 20, 32, 34, 36, 42

cardinals - 1, 2, 6, 9, 10, 14, 17, 20, 23, 24, 42, 45, 85

reds - 1, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 24, 42

braves - 3, 6, 10, 21, 25, 31, 35, 41, 42, 44, 47

astros - 5, 7, 24, 25, 32, 33, 34, 40, 42, 49

mets - 14, 16, 17, 18, 24, 31, 36, 37, 41, 42

orioles - 4, 5, 8, 20, 22, 33, 42

dodgers - 1, 2, 4, 14, 19, 20, 24, 32, 34, 39, 42, 53

twins - 3, 6, 7, 10, 14, 28, 34, 36, 42

white sox - 2, 3, 4, 9, 11, 14, 16, 19, 35, 42, 72

brewers - 1, 4, 19, 34, 42, 44

tigers - 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 16, 23, 42, 47

cubs - 10, 14, 23, 26, 31, 42

royals - 5, 10, 20, 42

padres - 6, 19, 31, 35, 42, 51

athletics - 9, 24, 27, 34, 42. 43

angels - 11, 26, 30, 42, 50

expos - 8, 10, 30, 42

rangers - 7, 10, 26, 34, 42

major league baseball - 42

rays - 12, 42, 66

diamondbacks - 20, 42, 51

blue jays - 32, 42

rockies - 17, 33, 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 10 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

31 - retired by 4 teams (retired by cubs and braves for same person; retired by cubs for two players)

32 - retired by 5 teams

33 - retired by 4 teams

34 - retired by 8 teams (retired by astros and rangers for same person; retired by brewers and a's for same person; retired by a's for two players)

35 - retired by 3 teams

36 - retired by 4 teams

37 - retired by 2 teams (retired by mets and yankees for same person)

39 - retired by 1 team

40 - retired by 2 teams

41 - retired by 2 teams

42 - retired by 30 teams (retired by cardinals and yankees for individuals in addition to jackie robinson)

43 - retired by 1 team

44 - retired by 4 teams (retired by brewers and braves for same person)

45 - retired by 2 teams

46 - retired by 1 team

47 - retired by 2 teams

49 - retired by 2 teams

50 - retired by 1 team

51 - retired by 3 teams

53 - retired by 1 team

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): 161

running total of non-hall of famers: 58

my retired number collection - this post goes to 11

this is the 12th 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 eight people for whom the number 11 has been retired:

carl hubbell (retired by the giants in 1944) 1999 upper deck century legends

i am a big fan of the 1999 upper deck century legends set, and am very happy that they photo used for hubbell's card in that set shows his number clearly, especially since he pitched for a few years before numbers were a thing. when the giants did first distribute numbers to players, carl hubbell was assigned number 10. the following year, 1933, hubbell took number 11 and wore it for the remainder of his career. his teammate freddie fitzsimmons had worn 11 in 1932 but switched to number 12 in 1933. it turns out that those two were the only ones who would ever wear the number for the giants.

hubbell is a two-time national league mvp (one of only three pitchers with multiple mvp awards) and was a key part of the giants' 1930 world series championship team. hubbell is second to christy mathewson in terms of all-time franchise wins and war for pitchers. while not a strikeout pitcher per se, hubbell famously used his screwball to strike out five consecutive hall of famers - babe ruth, lou gehrig, jimmie foxx, al simmons, and joe cronin - in the 1934 all-star game.

when hubbell's number was retired in 1944 following his retirement at the end of the previous season, he became only the second player in major league history to be so honored, and the first national leaguer. he was voted in to the hall of fame in 1947.

luis aparicio (retired by the white sox in 1984) 2023 topps allen & ginter

this is the newest card in my collection (it replaced a 2002 topps tribute card), and it is the best example i could find showing aparicio's number worn while with the white sox. he played in chicago for the first seven years of his career, winning the 1956 american league rookie of the year award, and then returned to the white sox for three years later in his career.

aparacio was a seven time gold glove winner in his ten seasons with the white sox, and was the runner up to teammate nellie fox in the 1959 mvp voting. he was voted in to the hall of fame as part of the 1984 class, and the white sox retired his number on august 14 of that same year, just a couple of days following the induction ceremony in cooperstown. rudy law had to switch to number 23 to accommodate the retirement of the number, but aparacio allowed fellow venezuelan omar vizquel to wear the number in the 2010 and 2011 seasons, making vizquel the last white sox player to wear 11.

jim fregosi (retired by the angels in 1998) 1989 smokey bear california angels all-stars

this card shows just a very small amount of fregosi's number 11, but it was the best standard card i could find after his 1971 topps card of which i did not have a duplicate. that card shows about the same amount of his number, but there is an oddball card that shows the number fully - it's a 1969 nabisco team flakes card - but i am sticking to standard sized cards for the collection. i suppose i could use the angels' team card from 1979 that shows fregosi in the team photo with his number 11 fully visible, but for now the team issue card gets the slot.

he is probably best remembered as the main player traded by the angels to get nolan ryan from the mets after the 1971 season, but before that, fregosi had established himself as a team leader and face of the los angeles/california angel franchise. fregosi made his debut at the age of 19 in the angels' inaugural season of 1961, and wore number 17 (which shows up on his 1963 topps card). he received mvp votes every year from 1963 through 1970, and was a six-time all-star for the halos during that same stretch. angel owner gene autry convinced fregosi to retire as a player (he was with the pirates at the time) during the 1978 season and made him the team's manager a few days later. in his first full season as the angels' manager, fregosi led the club to their first postseason berth, winning the american league west by three games.

fregosi reclaimed number 11 when he returned as manager, and the team reissued immediately after he was relieved of his duties during the 1981 season. it wasn't retired until august 1, 1998, making justin baughman, who debuted in may of 1998, the last angel player to wear the number.

paul waner (retired by the pirates in 2007) 2001 upper deck sp legendary cuts

like hubbell, waner (big poison to brother lloyd's little poison) was well in to his career when the pirates began wearing numbers. he was the first pirate to wear number 11, which he wore from 1933 through 1939, and he was also the first to wear number 9, which he donned for his final year in pittsburgh - 1940. while 9 is also retired (for bill mazeroski), the pirates later retired number 11 for waner on july 21, 2007. the number was not necessarily revered, however, as humberto cota was wearing that number up until memorial day of that same season.

as a pirate, waner had 2,868 hits, three batting titles, and was the 1927 national league mvp. he hit .333 in the world series that season, but the pirates were up against the yankees' murderers row and lost in four games. i find it interesting that paul waner's number 11 is retired by the pirates, but his brother's number 10 is not. both are in the hall of fame - paul was elected in 1952 and lloyd in 1967. maybe someday. 

sparky anderson (retired by the tigers in 2011) 2017 topps tribute

i was happy to find this 2017 topps tribute card as i think it is the only one out there that shows sparky's number 11 that he wore with the tigers (he wore 10 with the reds, which is also retired). sparky spent 17 years as the manager in detroit, leading the team to two division titles, one pennant, and one world series title.

that title, of course, came in the 1984 season when the tigers led their division from wire to wire, winning a total of 104 games before steamrolling steve garvey and the padres in the fall classic. in total, he won 1,331 games in detroit, and was voted in to the hall of fame in 2000.

longtime tiger fans may associate number 11 with bill freehan, but it was sparky's from the time he joined the tigers in 1979 and was never worn by anyone else. it is worth noting that number 10 was being worn by rusty staub when sparky arrived in detroit, but he was dealt to the expos a few weeks later. i guess sparky decided to stick with number 11, and as a result he is one of just a few people to have different numbers retired by different teams.

barry larkin (retired by the reds in 2012) 1998 topps minted in cooperstown

i like this 1998 topps card of larkin as it shows not only his number 11, but also his captain "c" and the jackie robinson patch worn during the 1997 season. the minted in cooperstown stamp is just a gimmick, but it's the first version of the card i came across in my monster boxes of non-dodger, non-mini collection cards in my basement.

larkin was the first round pick of the reds in 1985 and he made his debut for the club the following season. 19 seasons later, he had put up a hall of fame career despite never having led the league in any major category. he was the 1995 national league mvp and a three time gold glove winner, and was a big part of the reds' surprising 1990 world championship club.  no red wore number 11 after larkin retired following the 2004 season, and the club formally retired it on august 25, 2012 following his induction in to the hall of fame.

edgar martinez (retired by the mariners in 2017) 2016 topps archives

like larkin, martinez's number 11 was held out of rotation by the mariners after martinez retired following the 2004 season, but it was formally retired on august 12, 2017 - a couple of years before martinez was inducted in cooperstown. this 2016 topps archives card features an early career photo of martinez, with his number fully visible.

martinez didn't become a full-time player until his age 27 season in 1990, but from that point through the end of his career, he hit .313 with 500 doubles and over 300 home runs. primarily a designated hitter, martinez won two batting titles and led the league in rbi in 2000. he was a big part of the dominant 2001 mariner team, but is probably best remembered for his walk-off double ("the" double) in the 1995 american league division series that sent the mariners on to the alcs for the fist time in their history.

ryan zimmerman (retired by the nationals in 2022) 2015 topps

you can't miss the number 11 on this 2015 topps card, making it a solid choice for the collection. since the nationals do not recognize the expos' retired numbers, zimmerman's number retirement on june 8, 2022 became the franchise's first for one of their players. he retired after the 2021 season, and so was the last national to wear the number.

zimmerman was a lifelong national. he was their first ever draft pick, taken in the first round of the 2005 draft. in all, he played for them in 16 seasons over 17 years (he sat out the 2020 season) and helped the team to the 2019 world series championship. given his longevity, zimmerman is atop the nationals' all-time leader board in many offensive categories and was considered the face of the franchise later in his career.

it is worth noting that the nationals do have a way of recognizing expo greats and nationals players of note, along with players from the first two iterations of the washington senators and the homestead grays. certain notable players from these teams are recognized in the nationals' "ring of honor".

there was a time when i thought that the dodgers would retire number 11 in honor of manny mota given his lengthy tenure with the club as a player and a coach, but they returned his number to the pool pretty much immediately after he finally retired. he did get a spot in the "legends of dodger baseball", so at least he has that going for him.

i am tracking a few things as we go, even though the information is already available elsewhere.

retired numbers by team (through the 12 posts so far):

yankees - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

giants - 3, 4, 11

pirates - 1, 4, 8, 9, 11

guardians - 3, 5

red sox - 1, 4, 6, 8, 9

phillies - 1

cardinals - 1, 2, 6, 9, 10

reds - 1, 5, 8, 10, 11

braves - 3, 6, 10

astros - 5, 7

mets

orioles - 4, 5, 8

dodgers - 1, 2, 4

twins - 3, 6, 7, 10

white sox - 2, 3, 4, 9, 11

brewers - 1, 4

tigers - 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 11

cubs - 10

royals - 5, 10

padres - 6

athletics - 9

angels - 11

expos - 8, 10

rangers - 7, 10

major league baseball

rays

diamondbacks

blue jays

rockies

mariners - 11

nationals - 11

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

unnumbered players - 12 players recognized by 4 teams

running total of unique hall of famers (including those without numbers): 75

running total of non-hall of famers: 15

my retired number collection - crazy 8s

this is the ninth 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 seven people for whom the number 8 has been retired:

yogi berra (retired by the yankees in 1972) 2021 topps stadium club chrome

and bill dickey (retired by the yankees in 1972) 2001 upper deck sp legendary cuts

the yankees retired number 8 on july 22, 1972, and honored both berra and dickey at the same time. this is the first, but not last, instance of a franchise retiring a number for two players.  dickey was the second yankee to wear the number, and berra was the last, and if it weren't for dickey's two years of military service in 1945 and 1946, there would have only been three yankees total to ever wear the number.

i was happy to find the card for berra showing the number as i could not find any dickey cards showing his back. both players are in the hall of fame, with dickey being voted in in 1954, and berra joining him in 1972 - his induction was a couple of weeks after the number retirement ceremony. yogi, of course, was managing the mets at the time.

dickey was a lifelong yankee and catcher - he never moved to a different position - and had three seasons where he was in the top-five for mvp votes to go along with his eight world series rings. berra on the other hand played one season for the mets after 18 with the yankees, and he played a bit of left field towards the end of his career. he had three mvp awards and ten world series rings as a player.

willie stargell (retired by the pirates in 1982) 1982 topps

here we have some sleeve number representation thanks to pops' 1982 topps card! stargell had his number retired by the pirates on september 6, 1982 which was about a month before his career came to an end. he was obviously the last pirate to wear the number as a result.

stargell's career accomplishments included an mvp award, two world series titles, 475 home runs and 1,540 rbi. he was voted in to the hall of fame in 1988 on his first ballot.

carl yastrzemski (retired by the red sox in 1989) 2009 topps tribute

the red sox retired number 8 for yaz on august 6, 1989; a couple of weeks after he was inducted in to the hall of fame. yaz was the last person to wear the number for boston, and it was the only number he wore over the course of his 23 year career.

yaz was the 1967 american league mvp thanks to his triple crown win, but he had two other batting titles to boot. he finished his career with 3,419 hits and 452 home runs. only pete rose played in more major league baseball games than yaz, who made 3,308 appearances for the red sox.

gary carter (retired by the expos in 1993) 1984 fleer

i really liked the expos uniform with the rare right side front number! carter's number 8 was the first number to be retired by the expo franchise. it was retired on july 31, 1993, the summer after carter retired as a player. he began and finished his career in montreal, where he was a 7-time all-star in his 11-plus seasons with the club. carter led the expos to their first and only postseason berth in 1981, and hit well over .400 in both the nlds against the phillies and the nlcs against the dodgers.

carter, who went in to the hall of fame in 2003, was the last expo to wear the number 8, but the washington nationals put it in to circulation in their second season. since then, seven players have worn the number (most recently carter kieboom). i am keeping carter (and the other expo retired numbers) in this collection even though the nationals don't recognize them as being retired. this is a different case than, say, the marlins retiring number 5 for executive carl barger and then putting it in to circulation a few years later.

joe morgan (retired by the reds in 1998) 2003 fleer flair

sporting the more traditional left side front number, joe morgan's 2003 fleer flair card gives us a good look at his number 8 which was retired by the reds on june 6, 1998. i am not sure why it took the club so long to retire the number, as morgan entered the hall of fame in 1990. maybe because morgan left the reds and played his last few seasons elsewhere had something to do with it? the reds did redistribute his number, and it was last worn by damon berryhill in 1995.

as a player, morgan led the reds to back-to-back titles in 1975 and 1976 as one of the key cogs in the big red machine. he won the national league mvp award both of those seasons as well. between his 2,517 hits and 1,865 walks, morgan was on base over 4,200 times in his career. he scored 1,650 runs and also stole 689 bases. these days, he may be best remembered as a broadcaster whose takes inspired the great website "fire joe morgan". one of the guys behind that website went on to work on "the office" and co-create "parks and recreation". i believe he was "ken tremendous", and somewhere i have an email from him about a comment i made on the site. good times.

cal ripken jr. (retired by the orioles in 2001) 1984 topps

one more front jersey number! the iron man had his number retired by the orioles on october 6, 2001 which was also the final day of ripken's playing career. it was fitting that the lifelong oriole be the last to wear the number, and that the retirement not be delayed.

ripken's career was remarkable for his durability, but he was also a rookie of the year and two-time american league mvp. he led the orioles to the 1983 pennant and won his only ring as they beat the phillies that year. he tallied 3,184 hits and 431 home runs during his career, and was one of the most popular players of his era as evidenced by his 19 all-star game appearances. 

i am tracking a few things as we go, even though the information is already available elsewhere.

retired numbers by team (through the five posts so far):

yankees - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

giants - 3, 4

pirates - 1, 4, 8

guardians - 3, 5

red sox - 1, 4, 6, 8

phillies - 1

cardinals - 1, 2, 6

reds - 1, 5, 8

braves - 3, 6

astros - 5, 7

mets

orioles - 4, 5, 8

dodgers - 1, 2, 4

twins - 3, 6, 7

white sox - 2, 3, 4

brewers - 1, 4

tigers - 1, 2, 3, 5, 6

cubs

royals - 5

padres - 6

athletics

angels

expos - 8

rangers - 7

major league baseball

rays

diamondbacks

blue jays

rockies

mariners

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)

unnumbered players - 12 players recognized by 4 teams

running total of unique hall of famers (including those without numbers): 59

running total of non-hall of famers: 7

my retired number collection - gimme 5!

this is the sixth 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 seven people for whom the number 5 has been retired:

5 joe dimaggio (retired by the yankees in 1952) 2001 upper deck pinstripe exclusives

joltin' joe was the third yankee to have his number retired when the club honored him on april 18, 1952 - their first home opener following his retirement from the game. dimaggio, of course, is best remembered by casual baseball fans for his 56-game hit streak but he was one of the best all-around players of his generation. he played in only 13 seasons (three years were spent in military service) but appeared in 10 world series, winning nine. he retired with a .325 lifetime batting average, and only hit below .300 twice. three times he was the american league's most valuable player, and he finished second twice. he was a teammate of both lou gehrig and mickey mantle, which kind of blows my mind.

i think the card that i chose to represent dimaggio in this collection is a great choice, with the number 5 centered as he completes his swing. i just now learned that dimaggio was given number 9 when he first came up with the yankees, but switched to 5 starting in his sophomore year. the last yankee to wear that number, he was also a first ballot hall of famer, entering the hall in 1955. 

5 lou boudreau (retired by the guardians in 1970) 2001 upper deck sp legendary cuts

boudreau was a shortstop who played most of his career in cleveland, beginning in 1938. he finished his playing career with two seasons with the red sox in 1951 and 1952. in between, he also managed cleveland as a player manager from 1942 through 1950. in 1948, he was named the american league's most valuable player while guiding the club to the pennant and the world series championship. he was elected to the hall of fame as a player in 1970, which was ten years after his managerial career ended.

number 5 was retired by the indians franchise on july 9 of that same year. the 2001 sp legendary cuts care above was the best one i could find showing boudreau's number.

5 brooks robinson (retired by the orioles in  1978) 2002 fleer greats of the game

there's no problem seeing robinson's number on that 2002 fleer greats of the game card, that's for sure! the orioles retired the number on april 14, 1978 which, as it was with the yankees and dimaggio, was the first home opener for the orioles following robinson's retirement. robinson had played for the orioles for 23 years, including partial seasons in 1955 and 1977, and led the club to four pennants and two world series championships.

he was best known for his glove, winning the gold glove a record 16 consecutive seasons - a feat that jim kaat matched a couple of years after robinson had achieved it. he was also the 1964 american league mvp and the mvp of the world series in 1970. he entered the hall of fame in 1983 on the first ballot with 92% of the vote and was obviously the last oriole to wear number 5.

5 hank greenberg (retired by the tigers in 1983) 2002 topps tribute

i am thankful for the photographer who took this photo of greenberg and also to topps for using it on that 2002 topps tribute card. most photos of greenberg in uniform show him from the front, and so his number is not visible at all. anyway, the tigers were late to the number retirement game and didn't get to greenberg's number 5 until june 12, 1983. by that time, greenberg had been retired for almost 36 years, and had been in the hall of fame for 30.

like dimaggio, greenberg spent three years in the military which reduced his career to just 13 years although it was really only nine full seasons. during that time, he led the american league in home runs four times (hitting 58 in 1938 to tie jimmie foxx for the most (at that time) by a right-handed hitter) and rbi four times as well, maxing out at 184 in 1937 which was one short of lou gehrig's league record. he won two american league mvp awards, and two world series titles with detroit, but was nowhere near the last tiger to wear number 5. that honor goes to howard johnson who wore it in 1982. as i said, the tigers were late to the number retirement game.

5 johnny bench (retired by the reds in 1984) 1982 donruss

1982 donruss is not the fanciest of sets, but i had a dupe and it shows bench's number 5 pretty well so here we are. the reds had at one time retired number 5 for willard hershberger, a player who committed suicide while with the team in 1940. they eventually put the number back in circulation, and bench became the last red to wear it prior to its final retirement on august 11, 1984.

bench was the 1968 rookie of the year in the national league, and a two-time most valuable player. he was part of the "big red machine" in the 1970's, leading the team to back-to-back world series titles in 1975 and 1976, the latter of which he was named mvp. he is considered by many to be the greatest catcher in baseball history, and his first ballot induction in to the hall of fame in 1989 with 96.4% of the vote is a good indication of that widely held opinion. i just watched the yogi berra documentary on netflix and recognize that berra also has a claim to that title, and i will let historians who are better suited for the debate to hash it out.

5 george brett (retired by the royals in  1994) 1986 fleer all-star team

one of the first insert sets i ever found in packs, this 1986 fleer all-star team card of george brett is bold and i like it very much. it gives a great look at his number, too. the royals retired number 5 for brett on may 14, 1994 following his retirement at the end of the 1993 season. while not the first number retired by the franchise, he was the first player to be honored in that way by royals. over the course of his 20-plus year career, brett amassed 3,154 hits, three batting titles, an mvp award, and led the club to the first two pennants and first world series championship in club history.

brett was the fifth and last royal to wear number 5, and in 1999 he was inducted in to the hall of fame on the first ballot.

5 jeff bagwell (retired by the astros in 2007) 2002 upper deck diamond connection

bagwell was around for three different uniforms worn by the astros, and the 2002 upper deck diamond connection card i am using for this collection shows the third iteration. it's a largely forgettable uniform, but the card shows the number 5 displayed well. as you might expect, bagwell was the last astro to wear the number.

bagwell was the 1991 national league rookie of the year - the last non-dodger to win that award until 1997. he was also the 1994 national league mvp and an offensive force for pretty much the entirety of his career. he hit 449 home runs, drove in 1,529 runs, and scored 1,517 times. he also stole 202 bases which puts him in a small group of players to have over 400 homers and 200 steals. he is also a two-time member of the 30/30 club which sort of blows my mind since i think of him as more of a slugger.

injuries impacted his career over the last couple of seasons, but he was able to help the astros get to the world series in 2005 where he made the final appearance of his career. bagwell didn't formally retire, however, until after the 2006 season, and the club retired his number 5 on august 26, 2007 - about ten years before he was inducted in to the hall of fame.

[edit - the mets retired number 5 for david wright in 2025. this retirement is not reflected in the tracking below]

i should have noted that the marlins had retired number 5 in 1993 for their executive carl barger (joe d was his favorite player) who passed away before the team's inaugural season. they unretired it in 2012 and it is currently worn by jon berti.

i am tracking a few things as we go, even though the information is already available elsewhere.

retired numbers by team (through the five posts so far):

yankees - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

giants - 3, 4

pirates - 1, 4

guardians - 3, 5

red sox - 1, 4

phillies - 1

cardinals - 1, 2

reds - 1, 5

braves - 3

astros - 5

mets

orioles - 4, 5

dodgers - 1, 2, 4

twins - 3

white sox - 2, 3, 4

brewers - 1, 4

tigers - 1, 2, 3, 5

cubs

royals - 5

padres

athletics

angels

expos

rangers

major league baseball

rays

diamondbacks

blue jays

rockies

mariners

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

unnumbered players - 12 players recognized by 4 teams

running total of unique hall of famers (including those without numbers): 43

running total of non-hall of famers: 5

my retired number collection - 3 is a magic number

this is the fifth 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 seven people for whom the number 3 has been retired:

3 babe ruth (retired by the yankees in 1948) 2009 topps legends variation

the babe's number 3 was the second number retired by the yankees after lou gehrig's number 4. it was retired on june 13, 1948 during the babe's final visit to yankee stadium. there is a famous image from that day that has shown up on cardboard before that would have worked here as well, but i have one already in my name/number on the back mini-collection. i've had that legend variation rattling around in a monster box since 2009 so it's nice to be able to place it in a meaningful spot in my collection.

ruth retired as baseball's all-time home run leader and was one of the hall of fame's inaugural class voted in by the writers in 1936. he was a seven-time world series champion, and led the american league in key offensive categories numerous times. he is still atop or near the top of the all-time leader board in most meaningful offensive categories today. strangely enough, the yankees put ruth's number 3 back in circulation in 1935 following his departure from the club, and kept it in use even after they created the idea of retired numbers in 1939. the last yankee to wear number 3 was cliff mapes, who switched to number 7 (another iconic yankee number) after ruth was honored.

3 harmon killebrew (retired by the twins in 1975) 1974 topps

the twins retired number 3 for killebrew on may 4, 1975 prior to a game against killebrew's royals. it sounds like the event was fairly poorly executed, but killebrew, who had played for the senators/twins for the first 21 years of his career, hit a home run in front of his former hometown fans. killebrew retired following the 1975 season with 573 home runs, good for fifth all-time, and he was inducted in to the hall of fame in 1984. because he was with the team when they were still the senators, and the twins did not reissue his number after he signed with the royals, killebrew is the only twin to ever wear number 3.

that 1974 topps card is one that i have owned since 1979 or so. it has been with me through countless moves, but it was in too poor condition for me to use it in my 1974 set build. i think it looks great here in this collection.

3 earl averill (retired by cleveland in 1975) 2001 topps tribute

averill played from 1929 to 1941, spending most of his career in cleveland. he was a six time all-star and finished in the top five of the mvp voting three times. he amassed some pretty good stats - a .318 lifetime batting average, 2,000 hits, 1,200 runs scored, and 1,100 runs driven in - but his first ten seasons were quite strong as he now shows to have finished in the top ten of the american league in offensive war eight of those ten years, 

averill's number was retired on june 8, 1975, a few months after he was voted in to the hall of fame by the veteran's committee and a couple of months before he was inducted. averill used his speech at the induction ceremony to call for the hall to induct joe sewell, another top player of his era that had been overlooked for many years. two years later, sewell joined averill in the hall. as for the number 3, woodie held was the last active player to wear the number for cleveland, back in 1962 even though his 1964 topps card still shows the number on his sleeve.

3 bill terry (retired by the giants in 1983) 2001 upper deck sp legendary cuts

former giant player, player/manager, and manager bill terry had his numbered retired by the team on april 6, 1983 in a ceremony at candlestick park. as a player, terry could hit. he had a .401 batting average in 1930 to lead the league, and his career average was .341. he became the club's player/manager in 1932 and promptly led them to a world series championship the following year. he won another pennant in 1936 which was his final season as a player, and then led the giants to the world series the following year as a full-time manager.

even though terry stayed on as the team's manager following his retirement as a player, the number was redistributed starting in 1937. it remained in use pretty much through the 1940's and then didn't show up again until 1969 when ozzie virgil wore it. in between there, in 1954 in fact, terry was elected to the hall of fame by the baseball writers. mike sadek took the number over from virgil and wore it until 1981. john rabb and jeff ransom both wore the number for the giants in 1982, with rabb having the distinction of being the last giants' player to do so. 

3 harold baines (retired by the white sox in 1989) 1997 upper deck

baines is considered by many to be at or near the low bar of the hall of fame. elected by the today's game committee in 2019, his counting stats are pretty good. he compares closest to tony perez which makes some sense to me. still, baines has many wondering (myself included) about some other "hall of very good" players who may yet have a shot at cooperstown.

the white sox retired baines' number 3 on august 20, 1989 while baines was very much still an active player. they had traded him to the rangers a few weeks prior, and in his first return to comiskey they held a surprise ceremony to honor him. of course, he made two more stops in chicago before his career was over, so he (like billy martin and earl weaver) got to wear the number after it had been retired as he is doing on the 1997 upper deck card above. however, even before his two return stops with the chisox, he was the last white sox player to wear the number.

3 dale murphy (retired by the braves in 1994) 1979 topps

murphy is one of those "hall of very good" players that could benefit from baines' induction. he won two mvp awards and to this young fan who followed his career in real time, was a shoo-in for the hall. he transitioned from catcher to first base early in his career (as shown on that 1979 topps card above) and hit his stride offensively at the same time that he moved to the outfield. he was a seven time all-star and won five gold gloves as a centerfielder in the 80's, but his production tailed off at the end of the decade and he finished out his career with some forgettable stints with the phillies and rockies.

the braves retired murphy's number on june 13, 1994 - about a year after he had played his final big league game. at that time, he was atop the leaderboard in many offensive categories for the atlanta iteration of the braves, including home runs, rbi, runs scored, and games played. he was the last brave to wear number 3.

3 alan trammell (retired by the tigers in 2018) 1995 pinnacle

trammell entered the hall of fame in 2018 after being voted in by the modern baseball era committee, and on august 26 of that same year, the tigers retired his number making ian kinsler the last tiger player to wear the number.

trammell was a four time gold glove winner at shortstop, was the 1984 world series mvp, and finished as high as 2nd in the 1987 mvp voting. trammell compares pretty closely to barry larkin in terms of stats, which is probably a pretty good comp in my opinion. measuring his value using modern metrics such as war, trammell sits ahead of larkin (just barely) and other hall of fame shortstops, and is even higher on the list when peak war is considered.

i am tracking a few things as we go, even though the information is already available elsewhere.

retired numbers by team (through the five posts so far):

yankees - 1, 2, 3, 4

giants - 3, 4

pirates - 1, 4

guardians - 3

red sox - 1, 4

phillies - 1

cardinals - 1, 2

reds - 1

braves - 3

astros

mets

orioles - 4

dodgers - 1, 2, 4

twins - 3

white sox - 2, 3, 4

brewers - 1, 4

tigers - 1, 2, 3

cubs

royals

padres

athletics

angels

expos

rangers

major league baseball

rays

diamondbacks

blue jays

rockies

mariners

retired number frequency:

1 - retired by 9 teams

2 - retired by 5 teams

3 - retired by 7 teams

4 - retired by 8 teams

unnumbered players - 12 players recognized by 4 teams

running total of unique hall of famers (including those without numbers): 36

running total of non-hall of famers: 5

shoeless joe jackson is in my hall of famer collection

say it is so, joe! joe jackson is in my hall of famer collection with this card as his entry:

that is a 2001 upper deck sp legendary cuts sp legendary debut bat card. here's the back:

this card was a huge deal when it was released, and i certainly never anticipated that i would own it. however, most of the jackson relics i have seen are unlicensed, so i went for it about a year ago and bought this card. i love it, although it is a shame that they destroyed one of his bats (if in fact they did so) to create these cards.

jackson was one of those players who, like babe ruth and ty cobb, i have no memory of not being aware of who they were. very early on in my baseball fandom, i learned about the black sox scandal and jackson's banishment from the game. there is much speculation about jackson's role in the black sox scandal - if he was in on it why did he hit .375 with a homer and six rbi and make no fielding errors in the series? - but the end result is he accepted $5,000 from a teammate and was banned from the game by kenesaw mountain landis, the new commissioner of baseball. over the years, there have been movements and appeals to the commissioner's office to reinstate jackson, but all to no avail.

my other primary thought of shoeless joe is my recollection of being perplexed by 1979 topps and their batting average all-time record holders card that correctly listed jackson as third on the all-time career list with a .356 lifetime average, but did not include him in the list of players with the highest seasonal averages even though his .408 average in 1911 was higher than many of the averages shown on the back of that card. i later came to realize that topps was only showing the highest averages that led the league(s), and since jackson had the misfortune to hit .408 in the same season that cobb hit .419 (or .420 depending on the date of the source for this information), he was left off of the list.

i have not read nor seen "eight men out", but i have watched the segment on jackson in ken burns' "baseball" many times. the story that is told regarding ty cobb's visit to jackson's south carolina liquor store in the 1930's is a sad one - jackson serves cobb with no indication that he recognizes him. finally, cobb asks "don't you know me joe?" and jackson replies "sure, i know you ty, but i wasn't sure you wanted to know me." brutal. at any rate, jackson was one of the greatest hitters to play the game. it's a shame that many people these days think he was a right-handed batter thanks to ray liotta's portrayal in "field of dreams".

here's my hall of famer collection as its been documented so far:

babe ruth - 2003 topps tribute world series edition world series tribute relic 351/425

honus wagner - 2001 topps tribute relic

nap lajoie - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

tris speaker - 2011 topps tribute dual relic green parallel 53/75

eddie collins - 2002 topps tribute milestone materials relic

george sisler - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

rogers hornsby - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

jimmie foxx - 2013 topps tribute retired remnants relic 91/99

mel ott - 2011 topps tribute quad relic 15/99

dizzy dean - 2001 topps tribute relic

hank greenberg - 2004 topps tribute hall of fame tribute relic

bob feller - 2001 topps archives certified autograph

jackie robinson - 2004 topps clubhouse collection clubhouse relic

ted williams - 1992 upper deck baseball heroes autograph 1067/2000

roy campanella - 2001 topps tribute relic

stan musial - 2002 topps team topps legends autograph

yogi berra - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1640/2000

sandy koufax - 1998 donruss signatures significant signatures 1707/2000

roberto clemente - 2005 donruss greats hall of fame souvenirs relic

warren spahn - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

mickey mantle - 2000 upper deck legends legendary game jerseys relic

ernie banks - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

eddie mathews - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph

willie mays - 1997 topps willie mays reprints certified autograph

al kaline - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

duke snider - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 144/250

bob gibson - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

hank aaron - 2004 topps originals 1979 topps all-time record holders rbi 03/32

frank robinson - 1995 upper deck autograph

brooks robinson - 2001 topps golden anniversary great autograph

don drysdale - 1993 nabisco all-star autographs

harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

pee wee reese - 2001 topps tribute relic

lou brock - 2018 topps archives signature series 1989 buyback 53/61

willie mccovey - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 46/50

ray dandridge - 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts a place in history cut autograph 31/43

jim hunter - 1998 donruss signature series significant signatures 0736/2000

willie stargell - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures 

johnny bench - 2019 topps definitive collection legendary autograph 09/25

red schoendienst - 2012 panini cooperstown signatures 038/549

carl yastrzemski - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

joe morgan - 2001 upper deck hall of famers cooperstown collection signature jersey

jim palmer - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

rod carew - 2004 topps retired signature autograph

fergie jenkins - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 154/333

gaylord perry - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph

rollie fingers - 2018 topps archives signature series 1978 topps buyback 1/3

hal newhouser - 1993 front row premium all-time greats autograph

tom seaver - 2013 topps five star baseball autograph 44/50

reggie jackson - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autograph 19/60

steve carlton - 2018 topps five star career year autograph 43/45

mike schmidt - 2002 topps archives autoproof 1980 topps buyback 048/147

phil niekro - 2017 panini donruss recollection collection 1983 donruss buyback autograph 13/33

don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

george brett - 2001 topps finest finest moments autograph

robin yount - 2001 upper deck ultimate collection ultimate signatures 112/150

carlton fisk - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

tony perez - 2004 fleer national pastime 2002 fleer greats authentic autograph buyback 30/59

kirby puckett - 1998 upper deck retro sign of the times autograph

dave winfield - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 121/350

ozzie smith - 2019 topps finest finest origins autograph

gary carter - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph collection

eddie murray - 2004 upper deck sp legendary cuts legendary sigs 45/50 

dennis eckersley - 2017 topps archives signature series 1984 topps buyback 47/99

paul molitor - 2016 topps museum collection archival autographs 021/125

wade boggs - 2005 upper deck baseball heroes autograph red parallel 30/49

ryne sandberg - 2016 topps five star autographs gold parallel 17/50

bruce sutter - 2003 topps all-time fan favorites certified autograph

tony gwynn - 1997 donruss signature series millennium marks autograph 0702/1000

cal ripken jr - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 32/75

goose gossage - 2003 topps finest finest moments autograph

rickey henderson - 2016 topps tribute certified foundations of greatness autograph 49/50

jim rice - 2005 upper deck past time pennants past time signatures

andre dawson - 2000 fleer greats of the game autograph

roberto alomar - 2015 topps high tek pattern 1 grass/waves gold rainbow autograph 50/50

bert blyleven - 2004 upper deck legends timeless teams autograph

ron santo - 2004 topps retired signature autograph

tom glavine - 2019 topps tribute autograph 18/90

greg maddux - 2018 topps luminaries masters of the mound autograph 13/15

frank thomas - 2019 topps tier one autographs 42/70

pedro martinez - 2018 topps high tek portraitek autograph 09/60

ken griffey jr - 2003 upper deck game face autograph

mike piazza - 2014 topps five star autograph 35/50

tim raines - 2018 topps tribute tribute autograph green parallel 26/95

vladimir guerrero - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

jim thome - 2020 topps archives signature series 2012 topps mini 1/1

jack morris - 2004 donruss timelines recollection collection 1986 buyback autograph 23/45

alan trammell - 2001 fleer greats of the game autograph

roy halladay - 2017 topps archives signature series 2004 topps buyback 15/23

larry walker - 1997 donruss signature series authentic signature

joe jackson* - 2001 upper deck sp legendary cuts sp legendary debut bat card

pete rose* - 2018 panini flawless legendary signatures 15/25

barry bonds* - 2001 bowman heritage autographs

roger clemens* - 1995 upper deck autograph

 

alex rodriguez* - 1998 upper deck sp authentic chirography autograph

*not currently in the national baseball hall of fame

you can find the full list of hall of famers (and some not - yet) that i aim to include in this collection at my want list site.