No More League-Wide Retired Numbers

Later this week, MLB will play one of its big "event" games of the season when the Cardinals face the Giants at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.  The game is a celebration of the Negro Leagues and being played at the home field of the Birmingham Black Barons.  Willie Mays started his career with the Black Barons, which is the main reason why the Giants were one of the teams selected.

Willie Mays isn't just a legend.  He's one of the greatest players in history.  I mean, the man is 90 years old and just got 10 hits a few weeks ago!  He's also one of the most beloved ambassadors baseball has ever seen.  So beloved, in fact, that there's been a push to honor his legacy by retiring his No. 24 league-wide.  Which would be a mistake.

I'm not saying Willie Mays doesn't deserve to be honored by MLB in some way.  I just think the league-wide retired number isn't warranted.  That's an honor that should be reserved for someone whose impact transcends the sport.  It's something that shouldn't be done too often so as not to water it down.  It's something that shouldn't spark a debate over "why do it for him and not him?"  And, sorry, but as great as he is, Willie Mays is not at that level.  There's only one player in baseball history who was.

Jackie Robinson's No. 42 has been retired across baseball since 1997.  Then-Commissioner Bud Selig made the announcement as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of Robinson's debut, and the move was met with widespread acclaim.  His debut wasn't just baseball history, it was a watershed moment in the civil rights movement.  It transcended the sport.  Retiring his number across the Majors, everyone agreed, was an appropriate way to honor that legacy.  (I'll never be a fan of everyone wearing No. 42 on April 15, however.)

Mariano Rivera was the last active player to wear No. 42 regularly, and, when he retired in 2013, the Yankees retired the number for him.  The Cardinals, who retired it for Bruce Sutter in 2006, are the only other team that has retired No. 42 twice.  So, in 28 of 30 Major League ballparks, it's clear who the No. 42 on the wall is for.

That would not be the case with Willie Mays' No. 24.  The Giants and Mets have both retired No. 24 for Mays, but they're just two of eight teams who've already retired it.  No. 24 has also been retired by the Astros (Jimmy Wynn), A's (Rickey Henderson), Cardinals (Whitey Herzog), Dodgers (Walter Alston), Mariners (Ken Griffey, Jr.) and Reds (Tony Perez).  Nearly a third of the Majors has already taken the number out of circulation!  A number that common, frankly, can't be associated with just one player for all-time the way No. 42 can with Robinson.  (For a lot of teams, it can't even be associated with just one player whose worn it for the franchise!)

There's really only one other number in sports that's like that.  Wayne Gretzky's No. 99.  When he retired in (appropriately) 1999, the NHL followed MLB's lead and retired Gretzky's No. 99 league-wide.  That, too, was met with nothing but acclaim.  Gretzky transcended hockey in much the same way Robinson transcended baseball (albeit without the social impact).  Having him be the only No. 99 in NHL history was an acknowledgement of his place in that history as perhaps the greatest player to ever live.  (The fact that no other team had retired No. 99 for one of its own players certainly helped, too.)

Gretzky and Robinson are really in a class by themselves in terms of both sporting and cultural impact.  They are both incredibly deserving of such a unique honor.  And, frankly, they should be the only ones.  Certainly within their own sports, but I'd argue that they should be the only ones across the four major men's sports period.  Their legacies are that distinct.

In 2022, the NBA got in on the act and retired Bill Russell's No. 6 league-wide.  Russell isn't just one of the best players and most prolific champions in NBA history, he was a player-coach for the last three seasons of his career, and has been inducted into the Hall of Fame for both roles.  Russell was also a pioneer in the civil rights movement.  I can understand why the NBA decided it wanted to honor such an exceptional man!

But is Bill Russell's legacy at the Robinson/Gretzky level that would move him into that upper echelon?  I'm not sure.  Can his career really be separated from those of Michael Jordan or Wilt Chamberlain to the point where you'd say he's a cut above them?  Frankly, the answer is "No."  Which is why I think it was a mistake for the NBA to take Russell's No. 6 out of circulation for all teams.

The NFL has so far resisted the urge to join in.  I don't see them wanting to anytime soon, either.  For starters, until they loosened the numbering rules a few years ago (which I absolutely hate!), NFL numbers were primarily position-based, so taking one out of circulation would've limited the available options for all players at that position.  But, more significantly, who would the NFL choose?  And if they were to pick someone for the honor, the questions over why that player was chosen would overshadow the selection itself.  So, they're smart to just stay out of it.

Simply put, a league-wide number retirement is the highest honor a player can receive.  I'd even argue that it's even bigger than Hall of Fame induction.  It's a distinction that should be reserved only for those whose impact goes beyond just their sport.  Nobody compares to Robinson.  Gretzky is close.  I'm not sure anyone else fits the mold.  Not even Bill Russell.  And, as great a player and ambassador as he his, neither is Willie Mays.

Major League Baseball knows Willie Mays is an important figure in the game's history and has already given him a pretty significant honor.  Until 2017, it was just the World Series MVP.  Now, it's the Willie Mays World Series MVP Award.  The trophy is a depiction of Mays making "The Catch" against Cleveland in 1954 (the only time his team won the World Series).  So, he's already been given an enduring tribute for his incomparable legacy.

A league-wide retired number is as significant as it sounds.  It's something that should only be done on the rarest occasions.  And in baseball, it's already been done once.  Jackie Robinson will always and forever be No. 42.  That honor should be reserved for him and only him.