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.

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