Ted Simmons deserves the Hall of Fame, but the St. Louis Cardinals shouldn’t retire 23
It’s been the St. Louis Cardinals policy in the Bill DeWitt Jr. ownership era that if players who spent a significant portion of their career in a Redbirds uniform make the National Baseball Hall of Fame, their number is retired.
It was revealed last week that former Cardinals catcher Ted Simmons will wear a St. Louis cap on his plaque at Cooperstown. So it’s probably a foregone conclusion No. 23 will be taken out of circulation at Busch Stadium.
But should that happen?
I’m a big Simmons fan. He was one of the few bright spots on some dreary Cardinals teams in the 1970s. He was an All-Star, one of the best hitters at his position in the history of the game. He 100 percent deserves to be in the Hall. In fact, he should have been elected 20 years ago.
But what’s different about Simba’s St. Louis legacy now than a month ago? It seems to me that, if a player deserves to have his number retired it should be something that is obvious from the time he hangs up his spikes.
Simmons played his last game for St. Louis in 1980. That’s 30 seasons ago. Since then, 19 players including Tom Brunansky, David Freeze, Bernard Gilkey and Anthony Reyes wore it. An awful lot of water has passed under that bridge. Anybody under 40 probably doesn’t have specific memories of seeing Simmons play for the Cardinals.
And, if they retire the number or not, the vast majority of fans will still think of David Freese tying and then winning Game 6 of the 2011 World Series if asked with what they associate number 23 on a Cardinals uniform.
If St. Louis wanted to take the Hall of Fame standard literally, the Cardinals would have to consider going to three digit numbers on their uniforms. In addition to the 10 numbers the club has officially retired — and the ones like 5 and 51 it doesn’t allow anyone to wear — several others would be declared off limits:
▪ Hall of Famer Frank Frisch played 11 years with the Cardinals, three more than he spent with the New York Giants, batting .312 and winning a Most Valuable Player Award while finishing second for the honor once and in the top 20 four other times. Why hasn’t his number 3 been retired?
▪ Number 4 was worn by Hall of Famers Sunny Jim Bottomley and Rogers Hornsby. The former played 11 of his 16 seasons in St. Louis and was a key member of four pennant winners and two World Series champions. Hornsby was simply the best player in the National League, spending 13 seasons with the Cardinals including his breathtaking 1922 and 1924 seasons during which he hit better than .400 with power. He also skippered St. Louis to its first World Series title as a player-manager, piled up the hardware including MVP trophies galore...
▪ Joe “Ducky” Medwick played 13 seasons with the Cardinals, most of them wearing number 7. He’s the last NL player to win the triple crown, and one of the top 10 hitters in Senior Circuit history. Why isn’t his number retired?
All of these players make more sense to have their number retired than Bruce Sutter whose number, 42, came off the roster permanently when he was enshrined a few years ago.
One of the best relief pitchers in history, Sutter only played four of his 12 big league seasons with St. Louis. He played five years with the Chicago Cubs, winning a Cy Young Award and leading the NL in saves twice with the Wee Bears. Did Sutter see his number retired because he made it into the Hall — or was it because number 42 was already retired across baseball for Jackie Robinson, so the Birds had nothing to lose?
Other Cardinals deserve a retired number
The list of the Hall of Famers with ties to the Cardinals could go on and on. What about Steve Carlton’s number 32? He pitched 190 games for the Cardinals over seven years. What about Orlando Cepeda, who had a brief but spectacular run in St. Louis similar to Sutter?
How many great Cardinals have been overlooked by the Hall of Fame? Mr. Shortstop, Marty Marion, is someone who has a better case than Simmons, in my book, to have his number retired by the Cardinals.
If Yadi Molina doesn’t make the Hall of Fame, does he not deserve to have his number retired?
The symbolism of retiring a number is that the player in question can’t be replaced. No one else can wear his jersey and, in that way, he is always a part of the team. But that doesn’t wash with Simmons.
Don’t get me wrong, I have tremendous respect for Ted Simmons. He absolutely, positively deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. I just don’t know if you can turn back the clock to retire his number.
I think it is a better idea for the Cardinals to come up with an honor similar to the Dallas Cowboys’ Ring of Fame. Put his name on the wall for everyone to see, but don’t put his number away. I’d rather see Dylan Carlson come up and put on 23 than see it put away forever.
This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 9:40 AM.