When a player is inducted into the Hall of Fame, his number is officially retired by the Giants. They’ve made one exception, prohibiting left fielder Barry Bonds’ No. 25 from being worn in 2018. Of course, Bonds has the qualifications to deserve such a distinction, having finished his career as baseball’s all-time home run leader after the 2007 season.
With the exception of a few relatively short breaks in time, the Giants have had a fairly unbroken lineage of stars, as seen by their list of retired uniform numbers.
P Christy Mathewson (no number)
The number was retired on August 17, 1986.
Mathewson’s tenure with the Giants from 1900 through 1916 predated the introduction of jersey numbers. Mathewson didn’t need a number to distinguish himself in the first place. The right-hander won 20 or more games 13 times and at least 30 games four times, including three years in a row (1903-05). In 1908, he won a career-high 37 games.
Mathewson, nicknamed the “Big Six” after a group of top firefighters, retired with many team records still standing, including victories (372), complete games (434), shutouts (79), innings (4,779 2/3), and strikeouts (4,779 2/3). (2,504). He was a member of the inaugural class of the Hall of Fame and was chosen to the All-Century Team.
Manager John McGraw (no number)
The number was retired on August 17, 1986.
McGraw led the Giants to 21 first- or second-place finishes in his 29 full seasons with the organization, compiling a career 2,583-1,790 record. McGraw led the Giants to three World Series championships while also winning ten National League pennants in a highly competitive league.
McGraw, often known as the “Little Napoleon,” was the manager of many notable players, including Mathewson, Rube Marquard, Bill Terry, Frankie Frisch, and Freddie Lindstrom.
Bill Terry: No. 3
The number was withdrawn on April 5, 1983.
Terry spent his entire 14-year playing career with the Giants, finishing four times in the top 13 of the Most Valuable Player Award balloting. His lifetime batting average of.341 highlighted his steadiness, as he hit.310 or higher in each of his last ten seasons.
Terry’s career peaked in 1930, when he batted.401. Terry managed the Giants from 1932 to 1941, leading the team to three pennants and one World Series triumph. In 1954, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
No. 4 Mel Ott, OF
Retired number: 1949
Ott was noted for “stepping in the bucket,” or kicking his front leg exaggeratedly before each swing. The regular fundamentals did not apply to Ott, the first National Leaguer to reach the 500-home run barrier, as has been the case with many great players.
The left-handed batter led the National League in home runs six times, which helped him make 11 consecutive All-Star teams (1934-44) and place among the top 20 in league MVP voting 13 times. Ott finished his career as the team leader in RBIs with 1,860. Ott was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1951 after serving as the Giants’ player-manager from 1942 to 1948, compiling a 464-530 record.
No. 11 Carl Hubbell
Retired number in 1944
Hubbell earned the moniker “The Meal Ticket” for his ability to provide the Giants with a solid effort in nearly every start. The lanky left-hander completed his entire 16-year career with the Giants, going 253-154 and winning MVP awards in 1933 (23-12, 1.66 ERA) and 1936 (23-12, 1.66 ERA) (26-6, 2.31). Hubbell is best known for his screwball and dominance over baseball’s best hitters in the 1934 All-Star Game.
Hubbell struck out five future Hall of Famers in a row in his second of nine selections to the Midsummer Classic: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin. Hubbell was the first player in the National League to have his number retired, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1947.
No. 20 Monte Irvin, OF
The number was decommissioned on June 26, 2010.
Baseball’s executives regarded Irvin so highly that he, rather than Jackie Robinson, was seriously considered as the African-American who chose to break the sport’s color barrier. However, Irvin, who served in the Army during WWII, did not believe he was equipped to confront Major League play at the time.
Irvin made his big league debut with the Giants in 1949 after starring in the Negro Leagues with the Newark Eagles. He was crucial to the Giants’ incredible comeback in 1951 when they forced a playoff with the Dodgers despite trailing by 13 games on August 11. That year, Irvin hit 24 home runs and drove in a league-high 121 runs. In 1973, Irvin was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
No. 24 Willie Mays, CF
Retired number: 1972
The “Say Hey Kid” is largely regarded as the greatest performer of all time. He was the second player in history to hit 600 home runs, the first to score 100 runs in 12 consecutive seasons, the first to win the Gold Glove Award in its first 12 years, and the first to have 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases. Mays won the NL MVP Award twice, but he easily could have doubled that amount.
He set multiple All-Star Game records and appeared in 24 Midsummer Classics, a record shared by Hank Aaron and Stan Musial. Mays, who was named to the All-Century Team as a starting outfielder, garnered 94.7 percent of the vote when he was voted to the Hall of Fame in 1978, the greatest percentage since the first five players were inducted in 1936.
No. 25 Barry Bonds, LF
The number was retired on August 11, 2018.
Bonds, unlike the others on this list, is not a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He has one more chance to be inducted by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. In 2021, he garnered 61.8 percent of the vote, falling far short of the required 75 percent for induction. Except for charges of performance-enhancing drug use, there is no question regarding Bonds’ qualifications.
During his 22-year career, he won seven NL MVP Awards, including five with the Giants (1993; 2001-04). Bonds spent most of his major league career on a hot streak, as seen by his 1.051 lifetime OPS and an all-time high total of 762 home runs.
No. 27 Juan Marichal
Marichal’s characteristic high leg kick distinguished him, and his huge statistics totals demonstrated his domination. Marichal made his Major League debut on July 19, 1960, with a one-hit shutout against Philadelphia, and he didn’t stop there.
During the 1960s, the “Dominican Dandy” won 191 games, more than any other player during a decade marked by outstanding starting pitching. The right-hander won more than 20 games in six seasons, winning 25 in 1963 and 1966 and a career-high 26 in 1968.
He retired as the Giants’ all-time leader in wins (238), complete games (244), shutouts (52), innings (3,444), and strikeouts (3,444) during their San Francisco history (since 1958). (2,281). In 1983, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
No. 30 Orlando Cepeda
The number was retired on July 11, 1999.
Cepeda earned the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1958, the Giants’ first season in San Francisco, and then he just kept hitting. During his eight-plus seasons with the Giants, he batted.308, compared to.284 for the rest of his 17-year career. From 1959 to 1964, he was a reoccurring All-Star in San Francisco, where he hit 30 home runs in the final four years of his career.
By parting ways with Cepeda in a 1966 deal for St. Louis lefty Ray Sadecki, the Giants learned the hard way just how much of an influence he could have. Cepeda won the NL MVP award and led the Cardinals to the World Series a year later. In 1999, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Gaylord Perry
The number was retired on July 23, 2005.
Perry’s name has been linked with the spitball, an illegal pitch that he never openly admitted to employing. He also deserves to be recognized for his longevity, as seen by his 777 appearances, 314-265 record, and 5,350 innings pitched across 22 seasons. Perry threw for eight clubs but made his name with the Giants, his first team, where he won at least 15 games per year from 1966 through 1971.
The right-hander went on to become the first pitcher to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues, doing so with Cleveland in 1974 and San Diego in 1978. In 1991, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1B Willie McCovey (No. 44)
The number was retired on September 21, 1980.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, McCovey was largely regarded as baseball’s most feared hitter. His 45 intentional walks in 1969 broke Ted Williams’ previous record of 33 established in 1957.
Defensive shifts, which are now popular, were unheard of during McCovey’s reign, which forced opponents to use three defenders between first and second base plus a fourth outfielder. McCovey’s response was to routinely hit the ball beyond everyone.
He retired in 1980 with 521 career home runs, more than any other left-handed batter in the National League until Barry Bonds came along. McCovey’s 18 grand slams set another NL record, and his personality inspired the Giants to establish the Willie Mac Award, which is given yearly to the team’s most inspiring player.
