Yes, I can be a real dick sometimes.
CC was really good with flashes of total dominance during his 11 years in pinstripes. His record was 134-88, with 1700 strikeouts and a 3.81 ERA. Swell. I'm impressed. I get it.
Maybe the number of numbers that have been retired have just soured me on the whole idea. Too. Many. Numbers. Simple as that. It's just not so special anymore. Ruth, Mantle, Berra, DiMag...no arguing those. But let's look at the full list of retired numerals.
Maris? No. Too short a stay, though momentous in '61. Rizzuto? I'm torn. No Munson. A tragic end, but no.
Like the Hall of Fame, retired numbers should be for giants of the game. Not guys who were just really good, or were Yankees for one stop along their careers.
I take away O'Neill, Posada, and sadly, Mattingly. Another sad story, not a giant.
Rivera, yes, definitely, and he and maybe (maybe) Jeter should be the lone reps from those late-'90s teams.
Petitte? Borderline. Reggie? One stop along his way, but one momentous, giant-like achievement while here.
Not Bernie. Probably Stengel, though I could be talked out of it. He worked with amazing rosters where it was hard to go wrong (shades of Torre).
Whitey? Sure. Gator? Maybe not. Ellie? Same.
At this point, to be honest, I'm not exactly sure where the bar is for this honor. The list as it stands is really confusing, at least for me.
Maybe we should just start putting letters on the uniforms. A, B, C. When we run out, just duplicate them, like AA, BB. Maybe A1, the stake sauce number, A2, and so on. When we get to V2, maybe we should skip that one.
If we put every guy whoever won a warm spot in our hearts while they were with the Yanks, then everyone there can stay, and I also nominate Rocky Colavito, Nick Swisher, Steve Hamilton, Lindey McDaniel, Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich (as a pair), and Kevin Maas.
Okay, maybe not Maas.
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5 comments:
HEY JAY EM ?
Agreed, it’s totally out of hand. This team currently has little glory to offer, so it recycles the past to boost attendance. They never will, but I’d like to see them unretire a few #’s. Maris for sure as his tenure was too short, but Billy Matin is ridiculous. Whither ARod? If Volpe put up half his numbers he’d be nominated for sainthood. Me, I’m waiting for them to retire Stanton’s number, or the first player to wear #100.
Hey, AA?
And what about Tom Tresh?
A thoughtful piece, JM. I think you're right about much of it. I feel much the same about CC. Yes, he was terrific for a while, particularly in our last championship year (the last championship season in our lifetimes).
But yes, very much like David Wells, he was unable to go when we needed him most—and after we handed him a huge contract that precluded getting all kinds of other people. I'm sorry he had alcohol problem, and I'm glad the he seems to have kicked it.
On the other hand, if you're an athlete and you can't stay in shape, can't stay sober, you're ripping off not only your employers but the fans. CC should have stopped and got help then.
I say: no retired number...
As for the others...there are all kinds of reasons why teams retire numbers. Traditionally, it has not just been the immortals (and I PROMISE to get back to my Yankees Circle of Immortals soon!) but also players—and managers, and broadcasters—who had tragic fates, or were beloved for one reason or another.
In that context, I would be a little more liberal as to the Yankees numbers I would retire. So...
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