Next Retired Numbers (Baseball, Part I)

My post about Ahmad Carter yesterday got me thinking about retired numbers in general.  Specifically about which numbers might be retired next by each team.  Every team has its own criteria, some of which are stricter than others.  But, regardless of the team's selection method, there are players (both active and recently retired) who'll obviously have their number retired.  It's really just a matter of when.

I was initially going to just go through a few examples, but the more I thought about it, I realized this could easily be a series.  So, that's what I'm going to do.  I'll look at each of the four major men's leagues and offer who I think will be the next player to have his number retired for each team, starting with baseball.

For some teams, this is a very simple exercise.  For others, it's a little more difficult.  For two very different reasons.  Some teams have multiple players who are worthy of the honor, so narrowing it down to one could be challenging (for example: how do you pick between Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright for the Cardinals?).  There are other teams that don't have an obvious candidate simply because they haven't had anyone whose career was particularly memorable or noteworthy enough to deserve number retirement.  We'll give it a shot anyway, though. 

Here are the rules: A player can still be active.  There are a handful of active players who've already done enough to warrant having their number retired once their career is over.  The next rule is that I'm only talking about the number here.  If two players wore the same number and both are worthy of having it retired, it can be retired for both of them.  This applies to two teams.  Finally, if a team already has plans for a player's number retirement at some point this season, that doesn't count.  In those situations, we'll go with the person who should be next in line.

OK, with all that in mind, here we go.  I broke it up by division since I think that makes things easier.  We'll get started with the Easts:

AL EAST
Orioles: 35 Mike Mussina-Baltimore hasn't retired a number since Cal Ripken Jr.'s No. 8 on the day of his final game in 2001.  Although, to be fair, the Orioles haven't had too many players to right home about since then.  A member of their current young core, whether it's Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson or someone else, could certainly fit the bill eventually.  And you wouldn't get an argument from me against Adam Jones.  But I'll go with Hall of Famer Mike Mussina, who played 10 years in Baltimore and is arguably the Orioles' second-greatest pitcher all-time behind Jim Palmer.

Red Sox: 33 Jason Varitek-Boston used to have a rule that you had to be in the Hall of Fame and have ended your career with the Red Sox to have your number retired.  That's why they had so few retired numbers for such a long time.  They eventually dropped it, though, while vowing it would still be selective.  I think Jason Varitek and/or Dustin Pedroia are two candidates for whom an exception could be made.  I'm going with Varitek since he spent his entire career in Boston and was the captain of their 2004 & 2007 championship teams.

Yankees: 99 Aaron Judge-The Yankees have more retired numbers than anybody, and people like to get on them for how willy-nilly some of the selections seem.  I don't think anyone will have an issue with No. 99 going on the wall in Monument Park eventually, though.  Aaron Judge has already etched his place in franchise history, with plenty more likely to come.  He'll almost certainly be next.

Rays: 3 Evan Longoria-Wade Boggs and Don Zimmer are the only two men who've had their numbers retired by the Rays in Tampa Bay's nearly 30 years of existence.  Although, to be fair, they weren't very good for the first half of their franchise history.  Still, they have candidates.  Two in particular.  Joe Maddon's No. 70 could go up, but in terms of players, it's gotta be the Rays' first true homegrown superstar.  Evan Longoria.  He played in Tampa for 10 years, is the franchise's all-time leader in pretty much everything and was the first Ray to win a major award, the 2008 Rookie of the Year.

Blue Jays: 29 Joe Carter-Toronto has retired a grand total of one number in franchise history.  One!  That's it!  (Although, to be fair, Roberto Alomar's was un-retired.)  That's simply mind boggling!  Because there are plenty of deserving players who could.  Dave Stieb, for one.  But, seriously, how is Joe Carter's No. 29 not retired in Toronto?  The guy was responsible for the most famous moment in franchise history and is among the Blue Jays' all-time leaders in practically every offensive category.

Moving over to the National League now, we've got one whose owner is retiring numbers left and right, one whose candidates are all active but playing for other teams, and one that hasn't retired a single number in franchise history.  The Phillies, meanwhile, unofficially reserve it for Hall of Famers.  As for the Braves...

NL EAST
Braves: 5 Freddie Freeman-He may play for the Dodgers now, but, don't forget, Freddie Freeman wanted to be a career Brave until his agent screwed up his contract negotiations.  Nevertheless, his 12 exceptional years in Atlanta included an MVP and a World Series title.  Everybody from the 90s who deserves to have his number retired already has, so somebody from one of the more-recent Braves teams seems to be the most likely to be next.  Freddie's probably the closest to retirement from that bunch.

Marlins: 19 Jeff Conine-No player in Marlins history has had his number retired.  There's only one possible person who could be first.  Jeff Conine is called "Mr. Marlin" for crying out loud.  This is a guy who was on the team for its inaugural season, both of its World Series titles, signed a one-day contract to retire a Marlin, and currently works in the front office.  Nobody is more identified with the Marlins franchise than him.

Mets: 8 Gary Carter-Steve Cohen's number-retiring bonanza continues this year with David Wright, who absolutely should have his number retired by the Mets.  There's one more Cohen needs to put up on the Citi Field wall, though.  Gary Carter's No. 8.  He was the difference-maker that turned them into a championship team in 1986, is a Hall of Famer, and is beloved for his place in Mets history.  Sadly, he passed away in 2012.  That doesn't mean his number can't join the ranks of his 1986 teammates Dwight Gooden, Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry.

Phillies: 3 Bryce Harper-This is a tough one.  That Hall of Fame requirement really is limiting.  And, without it, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard could conceivably all be honored.  Although, it's worth noting that they retired Dick Allen's number in 2020 and he won't go into the Hall of Fame until this July.  But, with the Hall of Fame thing in mind, it seems to me that Bryce Harper is the most likely to meet that criterion.  He's in the midst of a 13-year contract that will keep him in Philadelphia until 2031, so he'll end up spending a majority of his career with the Phillies and likely have a Phillies hat on his plaque in Cooperstown.

Nationals: 31 Max Scherzer-When the Nationals moved to Washington, the Expos' retired numbers were put back into circulation.  So, Ryan Zimmerman's No. 11 is officially their only retired number.  As it should be for the impact he made on the franchise during its 20 years in DC.  Who'll be the first to join Zimmerman is a very interesting question, though.  Harper plays for a division rival.  So does Juan Soto.  Was Stephen Strasburg's career long enough?  Or, is the answer none of the above?  Because I'd actually say it should be Max Scherzer.  The future Hall of Famer's prime was in Washington, where he pitched two no-hitters, won two straight Cy Youngs, made the All*Star team every year, and helped the Nationals win their first-ever World Series title.  Seems like a pretty clear cut case to me.