24

While the San Francisco Giants have officially retired number 24 in honor of Hall of Famer and all-time great Willie Mays, that number was also worn by Mays when he played his final two seasons with the New York Mets. When he retired after the 1973 World Series, Mets owner Joan Payson promised that the team would not issue the number again, but she did not officially retire it. The promise has been largely kept, as only Kelvin Torve, who wore the number briefly because of an oversight in 1990, and Rickey Henderson (in 1999 and 2000) have worn it since. Henderson wore the number in tribute to Mays, and had already built a Hall of Fame-worthy career wearing it with the Oakland Athletics before he joined the Mets, so Mays acquiesced to it being issued to him. It was officially retired by the Mets in 2022.

Barry Bonds wore the number with the Pittsburgh Pirates, in tribute to his godfather Mays, but switched to 25 when he moved to the Giants.

Notable players who have worn this number

• Walter Alston, retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers
• Pedro Alvarez
• Rick Ankiel
• Barry Bonds
• Michael Bourn
• Miguel Cabrera
• Robinson Cano
• Rick Dempsey
• Dwight Evans
• Brian Giles
• Ival Goodman
• Ken Griffey, Jr., retired by the Seattle Mariners
• Dick Groat
• Jeff Heath
• Rickey Henderson, retired by the Oakland Athletics
• Whitey Herzog, retired by the St. Louis Cardinals
• Willie Mays, retired by the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets
• Ben Oglivie
• Tony Perez, retired by the Cincinnati Reds
• Nels Potter
• Manny Ramirez
• Harold Reynolds
• Gary Sanchez
• Carl Scheib
• Diego Segui
• Art Shamsky
• Grady Sizemore
• Mickey Stanley
• Gus Suhr
• Mike Torrez
• Early Wynn
• Jimmy Wynn, retired by the Houston Astros
• Chris Young