As of August 7, 2008, the Cardinals organization has retired ten uniform numbers: 1 (Ozzie Smith), 2 (Red Schoendienst), 6 (Stan Musial), 9 (Enos Slaughter), 14 (Ken Boyer), 17 (Dizzy Dean), 20 (Lou Brock), 42 (Jackie Robinson), 42 (Bruce Sutter), 45 (Bob Gibson), and 85 (August Busch). Remove Jackie Robinson and August Busch from this discussion, since neither played for the St. Louis Cardinals. Jackie Robinson’s number has been retired across baseball and August Busch was a celebrated owner of the organization. Eight of the remaining nine players have earned membership into baseball’s elite Hall of Fame, which seems a high expectation for the retirement of a uniform number. In contrast, consider the fact that the Chicago White Sox retired Harold Baines‘ #3 immediately after he was traded to the Rangers in 1989 and subsequently un-retired his number three times as he returned to the organization as a player twice and then as a coach. In 2007 and 2008, Baines received just over the minimum 5% needed to remain on the ballot, yet it seems plausible that he will eventually garner membership. Nevertheless, the White Sox organization reacted without hesitation to honor his contributions to their franchise.
It is not easy to pinpoint the level of contribution necessary for this honor. A first thought might lead towards dedication to the organization, yet of the nine Cardinal players honored by a retired number, only Stan Musial and Bob Gibson played their entire career with the organization. We all remember that Ozzie Smith started his career as a Padre and Lou Brock began his run in the National League as a Chicago Cub, but some may be surprised to realize that Dizzy Dean also played for the Chicago Cubs . . . after leaving the Cardinals. Bruce Sutter played just four of his 13 seasons with the Redbirds sandwiched between time with the Cubs and Braves. So it must not be years of service.
On to performance. Certainly no player could expect to have their number officially retired without some achievements on the field. Ozzie collected 13 consecutive gold gloves. Stan Musial won the NL MVP three times, owns seven NL batting titles along with an organization best 3630 hits and 475 home-runs, not to mention an unbelievable 177 triples for crying out loud. Brock stole 938 bases and racked up 3023 hits while scoring 1610 runs. Gibson won 251 games, struck out 3117 batters (not including 17 fanned in a single World Series game against the Tigers), and received two NL Cy Young awards, the NL MVP, and nine gold gloves. Performance certainly is important, but is it the single deciding factor?
Success should not be considered solely in terms of individual accomplishments. Each of the Cardinals with a retired number has helped the Cardinals on to a World Championship. Dizzy pitched during the era of the Gas House Gang in the 1930’s, Slaughter, Schoendienst, and Musial played central roles in the Cardinals’ dominance in the 1940’s, while Boyer, Brock, and Gibson led the redbirds through the great years of the 1960’s. More recently, Smith and Sutter played for the 1982 World Championship team with Ozzie also helping the Cardinals get back to the World Series in 1985 and 1987.
It takes a special player to make a uniform number unfit for continued service. For #51, it is through Willie McGee that a claim must be made. Okay, let’s establish up front that Willie didn’t steal more bases than Lou Brock, earn more Gold Gloves than Ozzie Smith, hit more homers than Stan the Man, or save more games than Bruce Sutter. He did, however, win the 1985 NL MVP, three Gold GLove awards, and two NL batting titles. His .353 average in 1985 was the high-water mark for a National League switch-hitter, second in all of baseball to Mickey Mantle’s .365 average in 1957. (Chipper Jones is driving hard to the hoop in 2008, but will need more at bats to make a real claim to the title.) Willie played for the Cardinals from 1982 to 1990 and returned to St. Louis in 1996 for the duration of his career. Willie retired after the 1999 season with 2254 hits, 94 triples, 1010 runs, 352 stolen bases, and a career .295 average. Willie took part in three World Series with the Cardinals, hitting two homers in a single game during the 1982 bout with the Milwaukee Brewers and making a game-saving catch to rob Gorman Thomas beyond the center field wall. And to add a personal favorite, Willie McGee and Vince Coleman teamed up for my favorite play of all time on August 1st, 1985, performing the first ever double-double steal in major league history. Vince stole third and home, while Willie swiped second and third. It was a crazy play, given that Coleman slid past third base and his steal of home came courtesy of a blown rundown, but it was exciting and something of a microcosm of the Whitey-ball approach invented by the Cardinals during the 1980’s.
If you were lucky enough to witness the spectacle of Willie McGee being introduced in the late 1990’s as a pinch hitter, you know that Cardinal fans young and old were equally enamored with the shy, humble player who shrugged and grimaced his way into the batter’s box, tugged his sleeves at the shoulders, and slapped the ball every which way for their team. I’m not sure what it means to the organization when they retire a player’s number and I can’t say that they’re making a mistake by not retiring #51, but I certainly don’t think they would receive any criticism for honoring Willie McGee by hanging up his jersey.