Some teams have very strict policies about retiring numbers. The Red Sox only take jerseys out of circulation if a player is in the Hall of Fame. The Mets only do it when Fred Wilpon is willing to spend money on paint for the outfield wall — seriously, how are their only retired numbers for Gil Hodges, Casey Stengel and Tom Seaver?
The Yankees? They’re a little more liberal. The most successful team in baseball history could be plenty stingy with its retired numbers and still have plenty of honorees. Instead, the Yankees have an oddly scattershot approach to removing numbers from the available pool.
When Andy Pettitte gets his number 46 retired this summer, he will join Billy Martin (1), Roger Maris (9), Thurman Munson (15), Don Mattingly (23), Elston Howard (32), Mariano Rivera (42), and Ron Guidry (49) as Yankees whose numbers will never be worn again but who are not enshrined in Cooperstown.
It is fairly obvious that Rivera will leave that group when he becomes eligible for Hall of Fame induction, as will Derek Jeter, whose No. 2 is not retired just yet — about the only salute to Jeter that did not happen last year. Pettitte is no lock for the Hall, nor are Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams, whose Nos. 20 and 51 are likely to be retired this season.
This raises two important questions. The first is, when Jeter’s number is retired, the Yankees will be out of single-digit jerseys to give out other than zero. And, given enough time, they will run out of double-digits as well, so what happens then? Here’s hoping that the Yankees introduce numbers like pi and e into baseball, maybe fractions, maybe even glyphs like when Prince was known as “The Artist Formerly Known As Prince.”
The even better question is, who cares if the Yankees give out “too many” retired numbers? There will be critics who say that it’s a cash grab for a team that no longer is among the World Series favorites — but has a budget reflective of one — to fill the park for one or more days. The fans are going to come, though, and they will enjoy celebrating the careers of some of their favorite players. Those players have significant legacies as part of dynastic Yankees teams. The team that famously does not put names on jersey backs has this method of honoring its own.
Who cares if they’re in the Hall of Fame? Go tell a Yankees fan who grew up in the 1960s that Howard and Maris don’t deserve to have his number retired. Tell it about Guidry and Munson to a fan who grew up in the 1970s. Do the same with Mattingly for a Yankees fan who’s a child of the 1980s. Now, take this raw steak, because you’re going to want to soothe that nasty shiner you’re about to get.
If retiring numbers is the way that the Yankees choose to remember the story of their history, there is no problem with that. If anything, there should be more retired numbers in the Bronx. Some numbers could be co-retired, which the Yankees already have done with No. 8 for Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey. Red Ruffing primarily wore 15, like Munson. Graig Nettles wore No. 9, Maris’ number before it was retired in 1984. Tony Lazzeri, a Hall of Famer, mostly wore No. 6, now retired for Joe Torre.
Where is the retired No. 30 for Willie Randolph, who is 11th in career wins above replacement for the Yankees, best among second basemen in team history? Randolph will get a plaque this summer but not a jersey retirement ceremony.
How is No. 11 not retired for Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez? Where is the retired No. 21 for Paul O’Neill, the player whose arrival in 1993 was key to sparking the dynasty to come? It’s unofficially retired anyway — when LaTroy Hawkins wore 21 in 2008, with the intention of honoring Roberto Clemente, fans pressured him into changing to 22. If you’re going to let fans dictate which numbers are available anyway, you might as well make it official.
While not all players who went into the Hall of Fame as Yankees are honored with retired numbers, and some non-Hall of Famers are, the club has been consistent in one way: everyone who has won multiple MVP awards in pinstripes — Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Maris — has his number on the wall of Monument Park, never to be worn again.
Just a quick note: Alex Rodriguez was the MVP of the American League in 2005 and 2007, and hit six home runs in the 2009 playoffs as one of the most influential players in that World Series-winning run. So, in 2019, let's all look forwa— wait, is that Hank Steinrenner? — quick, give back that raw steak.