this is the 29th 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 29 has been retired:
rod carew (retired by the angels in 1986) 1983 topps
following the 1978 season, reigning back-to-back american league batting champ rod carew was dealt to the angels for, among others, future dodgers ken landreaux and brad havens. he spent seven seasons with the club, hitting .314 during that time and remaining a popular and high performing player, as his six all-star nods as an angel attest. he had three top-five finishes in the american league batting title race while playing in anaheim, and hit as high as .331 in 1980. even though carew was the american league's starter at first base in the 1983 and 1984 all-star games, his 1983 topps all-star subset card which serves as carew's angel card in this collection was the last one he received, with eddie murray getting the cardboard in both 1984 and 1985.
while with the angels, carew passed the 3,000 hit milestone and cemented his place in cooperstown and, i think, effectively ending his time with the angels. with that milestone out of the way near the end of the 1985 season, the angels were able to enjoy the attention that comes with a chase for 3,000 hits and still let him walk as a free agent at the end of the season, which they did. even though carew last played in 1985, he had hoped to continue playing but had no takers after becoming a free agent and so ultimately formally retired during the 1986 season. as an aside, i recall hoping the dodgers would sign him, but they were committed to greg brock at the time.
just like in minnesota, carew was the last angel to wear number 29, and the angels formally retired the number on august 12, 1986 (per this upi article) shortly after his formal retirement announcement. this was largely seen as a pr move by the angels, but carew did have a good relationship with the owner, gene autry. autry at the time was the only other person for whom the angels had retired a number, making carew the first player to be so honored.
rod carew (retired by the twins in 1987) 1979 topps
carew was a twin for the first 12 years of his career, and he was an all-star in each of those seasons. he was the 1967 american league rookie of the year, and a seven time league batting champion. he hit .388 for the twins in 1977, which was the highest average among eligible batters since ted williams hit .406 in 1941. as a result of his performance that season, carew was named the league's most valuable player.
carew's tenure with the twins ended after the 1978 season (when he hit .333 to claim his sixth batting title) due to a rift in his relationship with club owner calvin griffith who had given an offensive and bigoted speech during the offseason which in turn prompted carew's request for a trade. even though carew was not a twin for as long as players like harmon killebrew (who was the only twin to have his number retired before carew) or joe mauer, he is the top position player on the franchise's all-time war leader board. he also ranks highly in most offensive categories among non-washington senator players.
the twins retired carew's number on july 19, 1987, although they had kept it out of circulation since his departure after the 1978 season meaning he was fittingly the last twin to wear the number. his 1979 topps card is one of my favorite carew cards (behind only the 1978 topps and 1978 o-pee-chee cards), so i am happy to include it in this collection to represent carew's greatness with the twins.
smoltz spent all but one year (the last) of his 21 year career with the braves, piling up 210 wins, 154 saves, and 3011 strikeouts for atlanta. he won the 1996 national league cy young award as a starter, and later finished third in the cy young voting in 2002 in his first full year as a closer. smoltz spent two more years as the braves' closer before returning to starting, and wound up leading the league in wins and starts in 2006.
smoltz was the 1992 nlcs mvp, and pitched well in the 1992, 1996 and 1991 world series fot the braves. he was a member of the 1995 world championship team, although his pitching line in that series was not the best. overall, smoltz is the franchise's all-time leader in strikeouts. he is fourth in wins, second in saves, and fourth in war for pitchers (behind hall of famers kid nichols, warren spahn, and phil niekro).
the braves retired smoltz's number on june 8, 2012 as part of his induction into the franchise's hall of fame. three years later, in 2015, smoltz was voted into the national baseball hall of fame. he was the last brave to wear the number, which is shown almost in its entirety on his 1993 upper deck sp card.
beltre spent the last 8 years of his career with the rangers, earning three gold gloves and three silver sluggers in that time. he retired as the franchise's third best player in terms of war, which is an indication of his overall value on the field for a club that has had some solid long term players during the course of its history.
beltre retired following the 2018 season, and the rangers retired his number on june 8, 2019 so as to be able to hold the ceremony in globe life stadium where beltre spent his time with the club. he was the last ranger to wear 29, and i think the 2012 topps card above is a good one for this collection. beltre will be inducted into the hall of fame this summer as a first ballot inductee.
i am tracking a few things as we go, even though the information is already available elsewhere.
retired numbers by team (through the 29 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, 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, 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
27 - retired by 3 teams
28 - retired by 1 team
29 - retired by 4 teams (retired by twins and angels for same person)
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): 122
running total of non-hall of famers: 44
Voting for Carew.
ReplyDeleteI just realized that 1983 was the Year of the Sweatband for Carew. That thing is featured on at least three of his cards (the one in this post, along with his Fleer and Topps base cards) that year.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know Carew was a Free Agent when he called it quits. That's a shame for a Hall of Famer.
ReplyDelete