Retired Uniforms by Division: American League West
by J-Doug on Apr 28, 2011 4:00 PM EDT
in Visuals Above Replacement
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AL West teams are by far the least prolific when it comes to retiring numbers. This shouldn't be all that surprising: only the Athletics predate expansion, and they were awful for a very long time.
The Athletics and Angels have similar standards for the players whose numbers they retire: average team-specific rWAR for both is in the mid-30's.
The Rangers have retired only Nolan Ryan's uniform (more on him below), and he posted a mere 13.8 rWAR in a Texas uni.
Official Mariner policy is not to retire a numbers unless the player it belonged to has played five years for the team and has reached the Cooperstown plateau. Accordingly, the Mariners have not retired any uniforms (although they have yet to reissue Edgar Martinez's #11 or Ken Griffey, Jr's #24).
Nolan Ryan's uniform is retired twice among AL West teams: for the Angels and the aforementioned Rangers. Nolan Ryan's number is also retired on the Houson Astros, making Ryan the only player whose number has been retired on three different teams.
In addition to Nolan Ryan, Rod Carew and Jim Fregosi, the Angels have retired #26 in honor of Gene Autry--the original owner of the Los Angeles Angels--and #50 in honor of legendary coach Jimmie Reese. The A's have retired a uniform in honor of former owner Walter Haas to complement the retired numbers of Reggie Jackson, Rickey Henderson, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers and Dennis Eckersley.
| Team | Players | Other | rWAR | Mean |
| ANA | 3 | 2 | 101.5 | 33.8 |
| OAK | 5 | 1 | 178.1 | 35.6 |
| SEA | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
| TEX | 1 | 13.8 | 13.8 |
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It Depends
I like the standard of only enshrined players having their number retired but thats also going to depend on the level of success of a franchise. For example a team like the Yankees really should only retire HOF caliber numbers.
But I think the M’s should retire Edgar Martinez’s number regardless if he makes the Hall or not. For his tenure and what he meant to that city, he deserves it. I’m sure there are other examples of this.
It will get retired no matter what.
But it won’t be until after he makes it to the hall or after he’s out of eligibility.
"I can't recommend highly enough going back and watching old clips of Jose Lopez." -Jeff Sullivan
HOW COULD YOU TRADE JAY BUHNER?!
Someone had to say it.
Writer at Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times
Pitchf/x enthusiast.
I remembered, but then I didn't think it mattered.
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The Rangers also retired Manager Johnny Oates' #26 posthumously.
by Robert L. Bishop on Apr 28, 2011 9:30 PM EDT reply actions
They did? Is this recent?
Because it’s not listed on the team website.
Blogger and Editor, Rational Pastime Blog. Twitter: @RationalPastime.
2005
He died in 2004.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2127116
Ryan’s and Oates’ numbers (and Jackie Robinson’s) are displayed in left field at the Ballpark in Arlington. I can’t find a picture but I’ll keep looking.
by Robert L. Bishop on Apr 29, 2011 11:56 AM EDT up reply actions
Jeepers, the A’s haven’t retired Jimmie Foxx, Eddie Collins, or Lefty Grove. Oh wait, did they even play for the A’s when there were uniform numbers?
Proud father of Barry Bonds.
Whether or not they had numbers back then, it shouldn't matter
Teams have retired “uniforms” for players without numbers on five separate occasions.
Blogger and Editor, Rational Pastime Blog. Twitter: @RationalPastime.
I like variation
Let each team be a bit different. Some will have higher standards, some lower. As long as some kind of de facto standard is applied across the board, I’m OK with it.
by Detroit Michael on Apr 29, 2011 1:10 PM EDT reply actions
I like the Astros' standard,
which appears to be “what the heck, why not?”
Proud father of Barry Bonds.
Accordingly, the Mariners have not retired any uniforms (although they have yet to reissue Edgar Martinez’s #11 or Ken Griffey, Jr’s #24).
M’s also have yet to reissue #14 (Lou Piniella) and #19 (Jay Buhner). I did a fanpost on PSA a year ago detailing how teams around the league have done this too.
Unless you're a pitcher or Gustavo Molina, kindly SWING THE BAT and ignore the Binder's bunt signal.
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