A few numbers are missing from the roster, not officially retired but not issued, either: 6 is...

A few numbers are missing from the roster, not officially retired but not issued, either: 6 is still held out for Joe Torre, 21 for Paul O’Neill, 35 for Mike Mussina and 51 for Bernie Williams. The Yankees didn’t issue 53, either, but new Angel Bobby Abreu is not coming back.

Nick Swisher took 33 from Brian Bruney, who switched to 38, the number he often wore in the minor leagues. It’s just a coincidence, but 38 is also the number of pounds Bruney has lost since the end of the 2007 season.

NYTimes

about 3 years ago jscape2000 6 comments 0 recs |

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Numbers ...

I hope we don’t start retiring all these numbers. O’Neill was a great Yankee, but 21 shouldn’t be retired, nor should 35, or even 51. I’ve always thought the retiring of numbers was something that should be reserved for players who made the Hall of Fame, or great players who were stricken (like Munson, Gehrig).

Here’s my list of numbers that shouldn’t be retired: 1, 9, 23, 32, 44, 49. Of those, the only one I’m kinda sitting the fence on is Elston Howard. He was a bit before my time—although I remember him as a coach. I understand he was the first black Yankee, and put up some great numbers, but enough to be retired? I think not.

"Baseball is the background music of my life." -George Will

by Ronster22 on Feb 13, 2009 12:19 PM EST reply actions

agreed..

2, 42 & 6 in my opinion should be retired someday…. although who knows if 6 will ever happen thanks to the book..

by NumberSeven on Feb 13, 2009 1:06 PM EST up reply actions

The Steinbrenner Yanks

made a great mistake.
You can give a player his day and hang a plaque in his honor without retiring the number.

"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."

by jscape2000 on Feb 13, 2009 4:26 PM EST up reply actions

And according to the official Yankees website

we now have two pitchers wearing the same number.
How come No.34 is so popular?

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/team/roster_active.jsp?c_id=nyy

by Raven King on Feb 13, 2009 11:54 PM EST reply actions

adds up to 7?

by Travis G on Feb 14, 2009 12:40 PM EST up reply actions

#6

That’s interesting. I’ve always thought Roy White was the one cog in those 70s teams that never really got his due. Here’s a guy who was a top 30 MVP candidate 4 times, he was top 10 in intentional base on balls 3 times, and played a decent leftfield.

If the Yankees gave Pete Shehy a plaque, they ought to do that and more for the great Roy White—retire his #6 and give the man with a .271 lifetime batting average a thrill.

"Baseball is the background music of my life." -George Will

by Ronster22 on Feb 16, 2009 9:57 AM EST reply actions