The only Yankee numbers that should be retired are 3,4,5,7,8 and 16. Period. Yankee legends. If you say the name and don't get a chill down your spine the number should not be retired.
Not temporary hires like Martinez or Jackson. Jackson played 5 years with New York out of a total of 21 seasons. In those 5 seasons he hit 100 RBIs twice, hit over 32 HRs once, and hit.300 once. Let's face it, he wasn't all that great with New York; he got his number retired for one thing only: Game 6 of the '77 Series.
Not mediocrities like Rizzuto.
Not very-good players like Mattingly, Guidry and Howard (how does one hit .287 with 85 RBIs and become the MVP?) who all had 3 or 4 great seasons and then a long, slow decline.
And not Munson. Again, a very good player, with 113 HRs in 11 seasons and already in decline for a couple of years at the time of his tragic demise.
Mattingly, Guidry, Howard and Munson all should have a plaque in the Yankees HOF, but no retired numbers.
And please, no managers.
I had an instinct to say "No Hall of Fame, no retired number" but undeserved inductions like Mazeroski, Dawson and yes, Phil Rizzuto made that a non-starter.
Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra and Whitey. Anyone who says any of those other names belongs in that roll call is deluded.
The only Yankee numbers that should be retired are 3,4,5,7,8 and 16. Period. Yankee legends. If you say the name and don't get a chill down your spine the number should not be retired.
Not temporary hires like Martinez or Jackson. Jackson played 5 years with New York out of a total of 21 seasons. In those 5 seasons he hit 100 RBIs twice, hit over 32 HRs once, and hit.300 once. Let's face it, he wasn't all that great with New York; he got his number retired for one thing only: Game 6 of the '77 Series.
Not mediocrities like Rizzuto.
Not very-good players like Mattingly, Guidry and Howard (how does one hit .287 with 85 RBIs and become the MVP?) who all had 3 or 4 great seasons and then a long, slow decline.
And not Munson. Again, a very good player, with 113 HRs in 11 seasons and already in decline for a couple of years at the time of his tragic demise.
Mattingly, Guidry, Howard and Munson all should have a plaque in the Yankees HOF, but no retired numbers.
And please, no managers.
I had an instinct to say "No Hall of Fame, no retired number" but undeserved inductions like Mazeroski, Dawson and yes, Phil Rizzuto made that a non-starter.
Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra and Whitey. Anyone who says any of those other names belongs in that roll call is deluded.
This has been discussed many times and I think most people concur there are far too many retired numbers. My biggest opposition is to #44 Jackson. One of the criteria should be tenure as a Yankee, a minimum of 10 years IMO. Guys like Jackson that had a few good seasons don't deserve to have their number retired. If they want to give out plaques, go ahead but retired numbers should be for extra special players.
The only Yankee numbers that should be retired are 3,4,5,7,8 and 16. Period. Yankee legends. If you say the name and don't get a chill down your spine the number should not be retired.
Not temporary hires like Martinez or Jackson. Jackson played 5 years with New York out of a total of 21 seasons. In those 5 seasons he hit 100 RBIs twice, hit over 32 HRs once, and hit.300 once. Let's face it, he wasn't all that great with New York; he got his number retired for one thing only: Game 6 of the '77 Series.
Not mediocrities like Rizzuto.
Not very-good players like Mattingly, Guidry and Howard (how does one hit .287 with 85 RBIs and become the MVP?) who all had 3 or 4 great seasons and then a long, slow decline.
And not Munson. Again, a very good player, with 113 HRs in 11 seasons and already in decline for a couple of years at the time of his tragic demise.
Mattingly, Guidry, Howard and Munson all should have a plaque in the Yankees HOF, but no retired numbers.
And please, no managers.
I had an instinct to say "No Hall of Fame, no retired number" but undeserved inductions like Mazeroski, Dawson and yes, Phil Rizzuto made that a non-starter.
Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra and Whitey. Anyone who says any of those other names belongs in that roll call is deluded.
Howard had his number retired because he was the first African-American player to play for the Yankees. As for his MVP in 1963, things were different back then. The MVP typically came from the team that won the pennant. Al Kaline had better numbers , but the Tigers finished 5th. The thinking was, how valuable could you be if your team finished 5th? The only other option for MVP was Ford.
No problem with Munson either. Retiring his number seems like a no-brainer.
The only Yankee numbers that should be retired are 3,4,5,7,8 and 16. Period. Yankee legends. If you say the name and don't get a chill down your spine the number should not be retired.
Not temporary hires like Martinez or Jackson. Jackson played 5 years with New York out of a total of 21 seasons. In those 5 seasons he hit 100 RBIs twice, hit over 32 HRs once, and hit.300 once. Let's face it, he wasn't all that great with New York; he got his number retired for one thing only: Game 6 of the '77 Series.
Not mediocrities like Rizzuto.
Not very-good players like Mattingly, Guidry and Howard (how does one hit .287 with 85 RBIs and become the MVP?) who all had 3 or 4 great seasons and then a long, slow decline.
And not Munson. Again, a very good player, with 113 HRs in 11 seasons and already in decline for a couple of years at the time of his tragic demise.
Mattingly, Guidry, Howard and Munson all should have a plaque in the Yankees HOF, but no retired numbers.
And please, no managers.
I had an instinct to say "No Hall of Fame, no retired number" but undeserved inductions like Mazeroski, Dawson and yes, Phil Rizzuto made that a non-starter.
Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra and Whitey. Anyone who says any of those other names belongs in that roll call is deluded.
Howard had his number retired because he was the first African-American player to play for the Yankees. As for his MVP in 1963, things were different back then. The MVP typically came from the team that won the pennant. Al Kaline had better numbers , but the Tigers finished 5th. The thinking was, how valuable could you be if your team finished 5th? The only other option for MVP was Ford.
No problem with Munson either. Retiring his number seems like a no-brainer.
and mattingly represented Yankee baseball to a whole generation of fans when they often had little to cheer for so I'm good with him. Jeter, the legends, Stengel, Howard Munson and Mattingly I'm good with. I don't think Maris, Martin, Guidry or Reggie should have had their numbers retired. I'm good with number 10 also. Oh and of course Mariano's #42
The only Yankee numbers that should be retired are 3,4,5,7,8 and 16. Period. Yankee legends. If you say the name and don't get a chill down your spine the number should not be retired.
Not temporary hires like Martinez or Jackson. Jackson played 5 years with New York out of a total of 21 seasons. In those 5 seasons he hit 100 RBIs twice, hit over 32 HRs once, and hit.300 once. Let's face it, he wasn't all that great with New York; he got his number retired for one thing only: Game 6 of the '77 Series.
Not mediocrities like Rizzuto.
Not very-good players like Mattingly, Guidry and Howard (how does one hit .287 with 85 RBIs and become the MVP?) who all had 3 or 4 great seasons and then a long, slow decline.
And not Munson. Again, a very good player, with 113 HRs in 11 seasons and already in decline for a couple of years at the time of his tragic demise.
Mattingly, Guidry, Howard and Munson all should have a plaque in the Yankees HOF, but no retired numbers.
And please, no managers.
I had an instinct to say "No Hall of Fame, no retired number" but undeserved inductions like Mazeroski, Dawson and yes, Phil Rizzuto made that a non-starter.
Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra and Whitey. Anyone who says any of those other names belongs in that roll call is deluded.
10 for Rizzuto & Munson and 9 for Maris, Nettles have to be retired also. I agree with rest but the the others I sited should be retired.
The only Yankee numbers that should be retired are 3,4,5,7,8 and 16. Period. Yankee legends. If you say the name and don't get a chill down your spine the number should not be retired.
Not temporary hires like Martinez or Jackson. Jackson played 5 years with New York out of a total of 21 seasons. In those 5 seasons he hit 100 RBIs twice, hit over 32 HRs once, and hit.300 once. Let's face it, he wasn't all that great with New York; he got his number retired for one thing only: Game 6 of the '77 Series.
Not mediocrities like Rizzuto.
Not very-good players like Mattingly, Guidry and Howard (how does one hit .287 with 85 RBIs and become the MVP?) who all had 3 or 4 great seasons and then a long, slow decline.
And not Munson. Again, a very good player, with 113 HRs in 11 seasons and already in decline for a couple of years at the time of his tragic demise.
Mattingly, Guidry, Howard and Munson all should have a plaque in the Yankees HOF, but no retired numbers.
And please, no managers.
I had an instinct to say "No Hall of Fame, no retired number" but undeserved inductions like Mazeroski, Dawson and yes, Phil Rizzuto made that a non-starter.
Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra and Whitey. Anyone who says any of those other names belongs in that roll call is deluded.
Howard had his number retired because he was the first African-American player to play for the Yankees. As for his MVP in 1963, things were different back then. The MVP typically came from the team that won the pennant. Al Kaline had better numbers , but the Tigers finished 5th. The thinking was, how valuable could you be if your team finished 5th? The only other option for MVP was Ford.
No problem with Munson either. Retiring his number seems like a no-brainer.
Being the first African-American Yankee entitles Howard to exactly nothing. Whenever you either grant or deny an opportunity or a privilege to anyone based solely upon skin color that's the living definition of racism. If you offered Ellie Howard a retired number and told him it was because of his skin color he'd never accept it.
I don't see what basis you have for considering retiring Munson's number a no-brainer. He had 3 or 4 great years out of 11. He was good, sometimes very good, but not deserving to join The Babe, Joltin' Joe and The Mick.
The only Yankee numbers that should be retired are 3,4,5,7,8 and 16. Period. Yankee legends. If you say the name and don't get a chill down your spine the number should not be retired.
Not temporary hires like Martinez or Jackson. Jackson played 5 years with New York out of a total of 21 seasons. In those 5 seasons he hit 100 RBIs twice, hit over 32 HRs once, and hit.300 once. Let's face it, he wasn't all that great with New York; he got his number retired for one thing only: Game 6 of the '77 Series.
Not mediocrities like Rizzuto.
Not very-good players like Mattingly, Guidry and Howard (how does one hit .287 with 85 RBIs and become the MVP?) who all had 3 or 4 great seasons and then a long, slow decline.
And not Munson. Again, a very good player, with 113 HRs in 11 seasons and already in decline for a couple of years at the time of his tragic demise.
Mattingly, Guidry, Howard and Munson all should have a plaque in the Yankees HOF, but no retired numbers.
And please, no managers.
I had an instinct to say "No Hall of Fame, no retired number" but undeserved inductions like Mazeroski, Dawson and yes, Phil Rizzuto made that a non-starter.
Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra and Whitey. Anyone who says any of those other names belongs in that roll call is deluded.
Howard had his number retired because he was the first African-American player to play for the Yankees. As for his MVP in 1963, things were different back then. The MVP typically came from the team that won the pennant. Al Kaline had better numbers , but the Tigers finished 5th. The thinking was, how valuable could you be if your team finished 5th? The only other option for MVP was Ford.
No problem with Munson either. Retiring his number seems like a no-brainer.
and mattingly represented Yankee baseball to a whole generation of fans when they often had little to cheer for so I'm good with him. Jeter, the legends, Stengel, Howard Munson and Mattingly I'm good with. I don't think Maris, Martin, Guidry or Reggie should have had their numbers retired. I'm good with number 10 also. Oh and of course Mariano's #42
You're joking, of course, when you propose that Mattingly deserves a retired number because he was a good player during a period of Yankee mediocrity. The accident of when you played does not entitle you to a retired number. If he was so great why isn't he in the MLB HOF, in which are enshrined mediocrities like Dawson and Mazeroski?
