my retired number collection - 41

this is the 40th 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.

so, without further ado, here are the two people for whom number 41 has been retired:

eddie mathews (retired by the braves in 1969) 2000 fleer greats of the game

the braves retired number 41 for eddie mathews on july 26, 1969, less than a year after he retired from the game as a player. he had last played for the braves in 1966, and in 1967 the club issued the number to pitcher jim britton. it looks like britton wore it just once as baseball reference notes he also wore 42 in the 1967 season, and he only appeared in two games for atlanta that season. that mistake was somewhat remedied when mathews returned to the field as the braves' manager in 1972 and wore his number 41, making him the last brave to wear the number on the field.

mathews played for the braves from 1952 through 1966, across three cities - boston, milwaukee, and atlanta. his 2000 fleer greats card has him representing milwaukee, which is where he played for the bulk of his career. in fact, he helped the franchise win the world series in 1957 and had two second place mvp finishes to his credit while in wisconsin. his 493 home runs hit as a brave rank second only to hank aaron's 733. in most other offensive categories, mathews ranks third in franchise history behind aaron and chipper jones. like those two, mathews is a hall of famer, voted in on his fifth ballot in 1978.

tom seaver (retired by the mets in 1988) 1976 topps

tom seaver was an all-time great with the mets, and their first superstar. arguably the greatest right handed pitcher since walter johnson, he hit the league as a 22 year old in 1967 and promptly won the rookie of the year award while compiling 16 wins. two years later, he won the first of three cy young awards that he would claim as a met and led the team to an improbable, no, check that, an amazin' world series championship.

he won 198 games and struck out 2,541 batters as a met in two separate stints. his first tenure ended with a trade to the reds in 1977, and he later returned for the 1983 season. choosing a card for this collection came down to his 1976 or 1984 topps issues, because they were the only ones that clearly showed his number. i went for his base card from 1976 (his record breaker card would have worked, too) since it is from his first run with the team when he was most dominant. and, that dominance continues to be evident to this day, as he is still the mets' all-time leader in starts, wins, and strikeouts, and is second in era to jacob degrom by 0.05 runs per 9 innings. 

seaver was the last met to wear number 41, doing so in his return in 1983 although nobody had worn it since he was dealt to the reds. the franchise retired it on june 24, 1988 and seaver was elected to the hall of fame four years later on his first ballot with the highest percentage of votes (98.8%) at that time in history.

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

retired numbers by team (through the 40 posts so far):

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

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

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

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

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

phillies - 1, 14, 15, 20, 32, 34, 36, 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, 35, 41, 42

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

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

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

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, 35, 42

athletics - 9, 24, 27, 34, 42

angels - 11, 26, 30, 42

expos - 8, 10, 30, 42

rangers - 7, 10, 26, 34, 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

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)

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): 149

running total of non-hall of famers: 53