my retired number collection - 47

this is the 45th 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 47 has been retired:

tom glavine (retired by the braves in 2010) 1995 topps

one doesn't see a whole lot of 1995 topps on the blogs, but this card shows glavine's number nicely so it fits in the collection. 

tom glavine began and ended his career in atlanta, sandwiched around a five-year stint with the mets towards the end of his time in the big leagues. as a brave, glavine won two cy young awards while winning 244 games and striking out 2,091 batters. each of those counting stat totals puts him fourth all-time on the franchise leader board. therefore, it is no surprise that the braves retired glavine's number after he retired.

the club officially retired 47 in glavine's honor on august 6, 2010. this was a couple of years after he last appeared in a game for the braves, and four years before he was inducted into the hall of fame. glavine had attempted to pitch in 2009 but was released by the braves instead. it was reported that there was a rift between the pitcher and the team as a result, so the number retirement was delayed. regardless, no brave wore number 47 after glavine first donned it in 1987.

jack morris (retired by the tigers in 2018) 1982 fleer

like it or not, jack morris is in the hall of fame (i personally like it). he was inducted in 2018 after being voted in by the eras committee, and on august 12 of that year, the tigers added number 47 to their list of retired numbers. even though morris had last pitched for detroit in 1990, the tigers had kept his number out of circulation (one would assume) in anticipation of morris becoming a hall of famer eventually.

while with the tigers, morris won 198 games and struck out 1,980 batters. he finished in the top 5 in the cy young voting three times, and led the tigers to the pennant and world series title in 1984. he was 2-0 in the fall classic against the padres, pitching complete games both times. among tiger pitchers all-time, morris is fifth in wins and third in strikeouts, and seeing the names on those lists makes me wonder why the tigers haven't retired mickey lolich's number.

morris' 1982 fleer card is the stuff of legend, or at least mass confusion. in a set that has so many questionable photo choices, the cropping of the image used on this card stands out. at least the number on the back of morris' jersey is clear, making this card perfect for this mini-collection.

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

retired numbers by team (through the 45 posts so far):

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

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

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, 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

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

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 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

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): 158

running total of non-hall of famers: 54