Next Retired Numbers (Baseball, Part III)

Here we go.  The final installment of the baseball retired number series.  Whether it continues with the other sports is still TBA, but, either way, it won't be the same three-part extravaganza.  This last installment is the two Wests, which has some really easy ones and some really difficult ones.

One of the rules I established when I started this series was that it's only one number per team.  Even if they have multiple players who are likely to have their number retired (like the Cardinals), I had to pick just one.  Coming in, I knew there would be one exception to this rule.  Since I'm only talking about a number, there's no restriction on the same number being retired for two people.  Which applies to two teams in the AL West.

And, as I said, the Wests also present a few challenges because there are some teams that don't have any obvious number-retirement candidates.  In fact, it was really a struggle to come up with somebody from Oakland/Sacramento/Las Vegas, Texas, Arizona and Colorado.  That's 40 percent of the Western division teams!  But, the whole point was to name somebody from every team, so that's what I did.  Whether they'll realistically have their number retired or not is an entirely different conversation.

AL WEST
Athletics: 10 Tony La Russa-They obviously won't be doing anything for the next three years while they're temporarily based in Sacramento, and it's unclear whether their retired numbers will remain retired once they finally set up shop in Las Vegas.  Let's assume they will, however.  Incredibly, they've only retired six numbers in franchise history, all from the Oakland era.  Even with Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire as personas non grata, there's still one name from the Oakland era who could be the first to have a jersey retirement ceremony in Las Vegas.  It's not a player.  It's a manager.  Tony La Russa.

Astros: 27 Jose Altuve-Houston hasn't retired J.R. Richard's number, which is kind of surprising.  Either way, regardless of whether they eventually retire Richard's number or not, there's no question that Jose Altuve will be the last Astro ever to wear No. 27.  He's been the face of the franchise for more than a decade and is the only player who's been there for this entire run that started in 2017.  When he finally hangs it up, he'll be right up there with Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio in Astros history.

Angels: 27 Vladimir Guerrero/Mike Trout-People have idiotically asked "How come the Angels haven't retired Vladimir Guerrero's number yet?"  The reason, obviously, is because Mike Trout is currently wearing it!  Once Trout retires, it's getting retired for him.  There's no doubt about that.  And, since it'll be retired for Trout, it makes sense to also retire it for Guerrero at the same time.

Mariners: 51 Randy Johnson-This is another case of a number that can/should be retired for two different Hall of Famers.  Ichiro's ceremony is scheduled for later this season.  It only makes sense that No. 51 will be retired for a second time in Seattle in honor of the greatest pitcher in franchise history.  The Big Unit's already had his number retired in Arizona, so he'd become one of only a handful of players to have their number retired by multiple teams.

Rangers: 19 Juan Gonzalez-When the Rangers built Globe Life Field, they based the outfield dimensions on their five retired numbers.  I don't see them redesigning the outfield walls to accommodate another, but if they did, what would that distance be?  How about 419 to one of the gaps for Juan Gonzalez?  Sure, he played in the 90s, so we're probably past the point where he'd be the guy.  But, at least right now, he's more deserving of the honor than any of their current players (which isn't to say Adolis Garcia won't be eventually).

NL WEST
Diamondbacks: 4 Ketel Marte-Luis Gonzalez and Randy Johnson are the only Diamondbacks who've had their numbers retired.  You've gotta think that if they wanted to retire No. 38 for Curt Schilling, they would've already.  But, since they haven't, that makes me think they won't.  You could maybe make an argument for Zack Greinke, but a current guy seems more likely.  Which really leaves it between Ketel Marte and Corbin Carroll.  Marte's been there longer, so I'll say he goes first.

Rockies: 5 Carlos Gonzalez-There are two iconic players in Rockies history.  Larry Walker and Todd Helton.  They're both in the Hall of Fame, and they've both had their number retired.  Frankly, there's no one else who comes anywhere close to their level.  Carlos Gonzalez is the only player who deserves to even be mentioned in the same breath.  As a result, he gets the nod as the "most likely" to be the next Rocky to have his number retired, even though it's quite a stretch.

Dodgers: 22 Clayton Kershaw-While they occasionally deviate from it, the Dodgers have an unofficial policy that a player must be a longtime Dodger and Hall of Famer in order to have his number retired.  Clayton Kershaw will check both of those boxes.  There are obviously plenty of current Dodgers who could be looking at getting a plaque in Cooperstown five years after they retire, but none have the franchise icon status that Kershaw does.

Padres: 13 Manny Machado-I just have a feeling that somebody from the Padres' current core will have his number retired.  Especially if they win the franchise's first World Series during the Machado/Tatis Era.  It seems likely that it'll be one of those two, if not both.  Manny Machado will probably retire first, and, when he does, he'll likely be among the franchise's all-time leaders in multiple offensive categories.  That's why I'm going with him over Tatis.

Giants: 40 Madison Bumgarner-The Giants have been holding a few numbers for players from their dynasty out of circulation, and it's easy to see all of them having their number retired.  However, the entire point of this exercise was to pick one, so that's what I'm gonna do.  And out of those, Mad Bum should be first.  After all, he almost single-handedly won them the third of those championships.

So, there you have it.  My prediction for the next retired number for all 30 teams.  Some of them were incredibly obvious.  Some are, admittedly, pretty unlikely.  But they've all earned their place in the history of their respective franchises, which makes them worthy of at least being in the discussion when the time comes.