this is the 33rd 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 33 has been retired:
honus wagner (retired by the pirates in 1952) 2001 topps tribute
wagner played before there were numbers, but he coached for the pirates for 39 years, including serving as their hitting coach from 1933 through 1952 which is firmly within the jersey number timeline. the only footage i've seen of him coaching shows him wearing number 14, but he apparently switched to 33 at some point. in fact, wagner is the only pirate to have ever worn number 33 in any capacity as far as i can tell. i know that when i first saw his 2001 topps tribute card back in 2001, it was the first time i knew of a number being associated with him.
the pirates retired the number for him on february 16, 1952 coinciding with wagner's retirement announcement. in addition to his longtime service as a coach, wagner suited up for the pirates for 18 seasons, winning eight batting titles and amassing 2,967 hits. he is still the franchise's all-time leader in runs scored and plate appearances, as well as their highest ranked player of all-time in terms of war. he is, of course, one of the greatest players in the history of the game and was a member of the first class of the hall of fame elected in 1936.
the astros retired his number on october 3, 1992 - the same day they retired jose cruz's number. the ceremony took place about 18 months after scott last pitched in a game and about a year after he formally announced his retirement. he was the last astro to wear 33, which is mostly visible on his 1986 topps card.
eddie murray (retired by the orioles in 1998) 2002 donruss originals what if? '80
larry walker (retired by the rockies in 2021) 2002 fleer premium
i've been looking for a way to keep this 2002 donruss originals what if? '80 insert card in my collection for the past 22 years, and with this mini-collection i've found it! murray spent the bulk of his career with the orioles (split between two stints) totaling 13 years in baltimore. he hit 383 homers as an oriole, including his 500th career jack, and amassed 2,080 hits and a .294 average. because of guys like cal ripken jr and brooks robinson, murray isn't the franchise's all-time leader in any offensive category other than intentional walks, but he does sit atop the list in some newer stat categories such as adjusted batting wins and wpa.
murray had five straight seasons with the orioles in which he placed in the top 5 of mvp voting, but the only voting award he ever won was the 1977 rookie of the year plus some gold gloves and silver sluggers. he did help the orioles to two pennants - 1979 and 1983 - and hit a pair of homers in the 1983 fall classic to help the team to the world series title. murray was the last oriole to wear number 33, which the orioles kept out of circulation in between his runs as a player. they retired the number on june 7, 1998 while murray was in his first season post-retirement. he was voted into the hall of fame in 1993, on his first ballot.
number 33 was retired by the rockies for walker on september 25, 2021. he was elected to the hall of fame in 2020, but the pandemic pushed his induction to 2021, and the rockies held off on the number retirement until after the ceremony in cooperstown. as a rockie, walker won three national league batting titles and was the 1997 mvp. in 1995, his first year with the club, he led them to their first postseason appearance in franchise history, and over his nine-plus seasons in colorado, he totaled over 1300 hits and more than 250 homers.
walker is the franchise's all-time leader in batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage (and therefore ops), and his hall of fame plaque was the first to feature the rockies' interlocking "cr". the team did not recirculate his number until fellow british columbian justin morneau joined the team in 2014. with walker's permission, morneau wore the number and became the last rockie to wear 33 on the field. i think walker's 2002 fleer premium card shows the number pretty well, along with a nice throwing image of the gold glove right fielder.
i am tracking a few things as we go, even though the information is already available elsewhere.
retired numbers by team (through the 33 posts so far):
yankees - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 20, 21, 23, 32, 42
giants - 3, 4, 11, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 30, 42
pirates - 1, 4, 8, 9, 11, 20, 21, 33, 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, 32, 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, 31, 42
astros - 5, 7, 24, 25, 32, 33, 42
mets - 14, 16, 17, 18, 24, 31, 42
orioles - 4, 5, 8, 20, 22, 33, 42
dodgers - 1, 2, 4, 14, 19, 20, 24, 32, 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, 31, 42
royals - 5, 10, 20, 42
padres - 6, 19, 31, 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 - 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 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
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
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): 135
running total of non-hall of famers: 47
I remember that great season that Scott had when he won the Cy Young Award, but was curious where Gooden landed in the voting that year. Just looked it up and discovered the Mets had four starting pitchers receive CYA votes that season. Thought that was pretty impressive.
ReplyDelete