my retired number collection - 49

this is the 46th 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.

you might notice that we skipped the number 48. that's because, like 38, no franchise has retired that number. i suppose one day the twins might retire the number for torii hunter, and it sure looked like jacob degrom was on that trajectory with the mets until injuries and free agency intervened. anyway, this post is not about number 48, so, without further ado, here are the two people for whom number 49 has been retired:

larry dierker (retired by the astros in 2002) 2001 topps

dierker pitched for the houston franchise from his mlb debut in 1964 through the 1976 season, and he spent one more year in the majors with the cardinals. after that, he returned to the astros in 1979 as a broadcaster before being named the team's manager just after the close of the 1996 season. he managed the clubs through the 2001 seasons, achieving postseason berths in four of his five seasons at the helm, although his teams never advanced beyond the nlds. it's from his managerial stint, obviously, that the 2001 topps card used for this collection comes.

while not a hall of famer, dierker is on the astros' wall of honor which i understand is akin to their team hall of fame. because of his stints with the franchise as a pitcher (he won 137 games, struck out 1,487 batters, and threw a no-hitter), a broadcaster (he returned to the astros' booth in 2004), and a manager (he was the 1998 national league manager of the year), the team retired his number on may 19, 2002. the astros had redistributed the number between dierker's tenure as a player and skipper, but he was the last person to wear the number before it was retired, thanks to his managerial stint.

ron guidry (retired by the yankees in 2003) 2001 ud decade 1970's

the 2001 ud decade 1970's card of ron guidry is a good one for the collection because it shows his number but it also references the time wherein i became acquainted with the yankee ace. his 1978 season was the stuff of legend, even to a new fan like me. 25 wins, a 1.74 era, 248 strikeouts (he missed the pitching triple crown by a dozen k's), the cy young award, and a world series championship to boot! 

guidry pitched for the yankees for the entirety of his career, from 1975 through 1988. he tallied 170 wins, 1,778 strikeouts, four top five cy young award voting finishes, and two world series titles. he is fifth in franchise history in terms of most games started as a pitcher in franchise history, and ranks third in strikeouts and fifth in wins.

guidry remained on the hall of fame ballot for 10 years before dropping below the 5% threshold in 2002. he has not garnered support from any eras committee that i can see, but the yankees decided to retire his number nonetheless, and did so on august 23, 2003. according to baseball reference, a yankee pitcher named jeff johnson wore number 49 for some period of time in 1992 which makes him the last player (and only one after guidry) to wear the number for the yankees. for what it's worth, guidry took the number back when he served as joe torre's pitching coach in 2006 and 2007.

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

retired numbers by team (through the 46 posts so far):

yankees - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 20, 21, 23, 32, 37, 42, 44, 46, 49

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, 49

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

49 - 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: 56