The Yankees have retired 21 numbers, soon to be 22 with Jeter, and it’s starting to get a little out of hand. With the team handing out retired numbers and plaques like candy, the pizzazz and glamour of the honor has fizzled out. At this rate, the team will have to build Yankee Stadium III just to house all the plaques and monuments they are awarding. Once Jeter is enshrined, every single digit number will be gone. It’s only a matter of time before we see our first triple digit number or fraction/decimal. The team has had so many historic players it was bound to lose a lot of numbers. However, with so many legends, the team needs to start being more strict on who they let in. Let’s start a debate and anger some fans.
The ones who belong:
Derek Jeter (2)
Babe Ruth (3)
Lou Gehrig (4)
Joe DiMaggio (5)
Joe Torre (6)
Mickey Mantle (7)
Yogi Berra & Bill Dickey (8)
Phil Rizzuto (10)
Thurman Munson (15)
Whitey Ford (16)
Don Mattingly (23)
Elston Howard (32)
Casey Stengel (37)
Mariano Rivera (42)
Andy Pettitte (46)
Ron Guidry (49)
Bernie Williams (51)
Ok so that’s 17 numbers. Still pretty crowded but less than the soon to be 22. So who doesn’t belong?
Billy Martin (1) was a player in the Bronx for just seven years and if not for the five colorful stints as manager probably wouldn’t have his number retired. He hit a remarkable .333 in his World Series career, winning four rings as a player and one as manager. However, he was an All Star just once, played on six and managed four other teams. His seven years in the Bronx isn’t enough to me. Give him a plaque and move on.
Roger Marris (9) hit 61 home runs in 1961 to break Ruth’s single season record. He finished his seven year Yankee career with 203 homers, 547 RBI and a .265 batting average. Respectable. But not respectable enough to retire his number.
Jorge Posada (20) I could go either way on. I love the guy don’t get me wrong, I grew up watching him play and loved how he battled. He was part of the Core Four and helped win the five titles, but his numbers aren’t anything spectacular. He batted .273 with 275 homers in the regular season but just .248 with 11 homers in 125 playoff games. He was an important cog in the Core machine, but not worthy of having his number retired. Give him a plaque as well.
Reggie Jackson (44) aka Mr. October. Yes he was thrilling to watch and yes he hit three home runs in one World Series game, but he was only in the Bronx for five seasons. Enough said.
Retiring a number was once reserved for the best of the best. Starting in 1939 with Lou Gehrig and through the 1970s, only eight were deemed worthy: Gehrig, Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle, Dickey, Berra, Ford and Stengel. Those who weren’t quite good enough included: Lefty Gomez, Red Ruffing, Phil Rizzuto, Hank Bauer, Bill Skowron and Elston Howard. But once the Steinbrenner’s took over, the requirements for the honor seemed to become more lax and players flooded in. It was as if Oprah was running the team. You get your number retired! And YOU get your number retired! Everybody here is getting their number retired!
The team feels the need to have these retirement ceremonies every season to draw in fans because they lack star power and so they can market the crap out of it. It feels like more of a gimmick now instead of being a special, historic day honoring a legend. Posada and Pettitte weren’t even gone five years before they were enshrined alongside Ruth and Gehrig. They didn’t have time to become legends, they were only gone for a few seasons. The honor of having your number hung up seems less special now. If they are a truly good player and you feel the need to honor them, give them a plaque or name one of your practice fields/Minor League stadiums after them instead. We’re running out of numbers and I don’t feel like rooting for first baseman number 165 or pitcher number 7/8.
