Running Out of the 20s: Retired Numbers for the Giants Franchise
Photo Credit: Ernie Sisto (The New York Times)
With the passing of the legendary Willie Mays, the appearances of many great players at Rickwood Field, and the addition of Negro Leagues statistics to Major League statistics, there has been a renewed buzz surrounding retired numbers. This has led me to think of which numbers are most frequently retired across the league and which numbers (single digits, 10s, 20s, 30s, 40s, etc.) are “running out” for certain franchises, especially those with storied histories. The only universally retired number across the board is Jackie Robinson’s 42. However, based on their own criteria and tradition, usually by induction to the Hall of Fame, accolades/accomplishments, and/or time with the team, each franchise honors a select number of its best players by retiring the number they wore.
Retired 20s
20. Monte Irvin
Photo Credit: Osvaldo Salas (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)
Irvin was a star with the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League (1938-1943 and 1945-1948), putting his career on hold to serve in the Army. While in the Negro Leagues, he split his time as an infielder and outfielder. He won the batting title on three separate occasions (.380 in 1940, .387 in 1941, and .369 in 1946), proving his worth despite being away from the league for a couple of seasons. For his Major League career, he switched primarily to the outfield. The latter half of his career was with the New York Giants (1949-1955) and spent his last season with the Chicago Cubs (1956). He was instrumental during the Giants’ pennant year in 1951, piecing together his best all-around season in the Majors (.312 batting average, 24 home runs, 121 runs batted in). It remains a question of what he could’ve done if he had been in the Majors earlier since the Giants didn’t purchase his contract from the Eagles until his age-30 season. Even at 35 years-old during the 1954 championship run, he was top five in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in for the team.
22. Will Clark
Photo Credit: Bat Boy (Flickr)
The team finished last in the National League West in 1985 and selected Will Clark as the second overall pick in the draft. In the blink of an eye, his energy and play illuminated the Giants when he got called up in 1986, earning him the nickname, “The Thrill”. He was one of the main driving forces behind a respectable record of 83 wins and 79 losses, good enough for third in the National League West. Clark showed his value both at first base as well as at the plate, playing the most games in his career over a three year period (1987-1989): 150, 162, and 159. Five of his all-star appearances came with the Giants. He also led the National League in plate appearances, runs batted in, and walks during the 1988 season. In his eight seasons with the Giants, Clark tallied a .299 batting average, 176 home runs, and 709 runs batted in. He is the face of the franchise Giants fans think of in the era prior to Bonds.
24. Willie Mays
Photo Credit: Focus On Sport (Getty Images)
Starting his professional career at 17 with the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League, Willie Mays went on to become one of the greatest, arguably the greatest of all time. 1951 Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player twice (1954 and 1965), and 12 Gold Gloves are attributed to his name, the most for a center fielder. The accomplishment most inextricably linked to Mays is being a 24-time All-Star. In addition, he won All-Star Game Most Valuable Player twice. In the words of Ted Williams, “They invented the All-Star Game for Willie Mays.” As for what he means to the organization, Mays bridges the move from New York to San Francisco since his career overlaps both eras; he perfectly embodies the distant or historical, while also connecting to modern times. According to some accounts, San Francisco fans took a quicker liking to players who weren’t “transplanted” from New York. For example, fans warmed up to Orlando Cepeda, a rookie in 1958 (the Giants’ first year on the West Coast) quicker than Mays, the veteran and established star. However, with time, he solidified his place in Bay Area sports and its fans. By the time the Giants built a new ballpark at the corner of Third and King Streets, there was a new address, fit for the most beloved player in franchise history: 24 Willie Mays Plaza.
25. Barry Bonds
Photo Credit: NBC Sports
Barry Bonds, The Home Run King. But Bonds has more to his resume than just the home runs. He leads the baseball record books in walks and intentional walks. The batting statistics section of his Baseball Savant page is a sea of red from all the times he ranked top 20 or above in a category. Bonds holds the record for most Most Valuable Player Awards (seven), Silver Slugger (12), and stands alone as the only player to have 400 home runs (762 career home runs) and 400 steals (514 career steals). He flashed the leather in the outfield too, earning eight Gold Gloves, which tops the leaderboard for left fielders. Bonds was almost destined to become a Giant at some point in his career. Looking back at the records, the Giants drafted him in the second round out of high school, but at the time, he chose Arizona State. Then, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him in the first round of the 1985 draft. After seven seasons with the Pirates, Bonds came home to San Francisco, where he followed in the footsteps of his father, Bobby Bonds, and led the franchise for an extended period like his godfather, Willie Mays. (Glad to have found a similar angle for the Mays and Bonds’ photos. It’s perfect in multiple ways: one batting right-handed, the other left-handed, for 24 and 25, godfather and godson.)
27. Juan Marichal
Photo Credit: Neil Leifer (Sports Illustrated)
Juan Marichal was a dominant force on the mound for most of his career with the Giants. He leads several San Francisco Giants pitching categories (1958 and after) such as wins (238), earned run average (2.84), complete games (244), and innings pitched (3443.2). He also had six seasons in which he had 20 or more wins, the league’s lowest earned run average (2.10) during the 1969 season, and topped the league charts in innings pitched in 1963. One reason he didn’t lead the league often was because he was part of a golden era for pitching. His frequent competitors for bragging rights and awards included Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals. Marichal famously outdueled the Milwaukee Braves’ Warren Spahn in a 16 inning affair on July 2, 1963, with the Giants winning 1-0, adding to his inning and win totals for one of his best all-around seasons. (Of the players in this article, Marichal’s photo was easiest to track down as plenty of photographers have captured his signature leg kick.)
Pending
28. Buster Posey
Photo Credit: Andy Kuno (San Francisco Giants/Instagram: @punkpoint)
The next of the Giants 20s to be retired will be Buster Posey’s 28. Although the individual stats and awards aren’t as plentiful as the players above due to injury and less longevity, the massive contributions to three World Series Championships “compensate” quite a bit. None of the Giants players with retired numbers can claim they have three World Series rings (including the New York Giants group). However, his individual accolades are still well-rounded: 2010 Rookie of the Year, 2012 Most Valuable Player, a Batting Title, a Gold Glove, seven-time All-Star, and five Silver Sluggers. Posey would be the first catcher to have his number retired by the Giants. His early retirement has sped up the talks of his Giants’ number retirement and possible Hall of Fame enshrinement. It’s not a matter of “if”, it’s a matter of when.