The New York Yankees have retired 16 numbers. That is the most amount of numbers retired by any team in the history of baseball. The question is..have they gone too far? I think so. I know the Yankees have had an enormous amount of history over the years, and they had some of the best players of all-time, but that doesn’t mean every player that walks into pinstripes deserves their number retired. I believe some teams have guidelines and certain milestones players need to reach in order to have there number retired, but there are no such rules with the Yanks. They just retire any number they feel like retiring. I’m not saying that the players on the list below don’t deserve there number retired, but I feel like they should have set guidelines like other teams. Some day the shortstop for the Yankees will be wearing the number 99. Do we want that? Not any time soon, but years from now a lot of the numbers will be taken away.
Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera are locks to have there number retired when they retire. Who else could have there number retired? I don’t know..maybe Willie Randolph or Bernie Williams. Alex Rodriguez when he is all said and done probably will. Jorge Posada also. As you can see..the list can go on and on. So where does it end? Will any numbers ever be reinstated? I don’t know what they could do, but I think something should be done about it.
Yankees Retired Numbers:
1- Billy Martin
3- Babe Ruth
4- Lou Gehrig
5- Joe Dimaggio
7- Mickey Mantle
8- Yogi Berra
8- Bill Dickey
9- Roger Maris
10- Phil Rizzuto
15-Thurman Munson
16- Whitey Ford
23- Don Mattingly
32- Elston Howard
37- Casey Stengel
44- Reggie Jackson
49- Ron Guidry
Kevin Rozell
M. B. Rozell
Ray Rothfeldt
Eduardo Perez
This article is laughable. The Yankees have had 16 numbers retired because they have had the players who deserved it. Your comment “…doesn’t mean every player that walks into pinstripes deserves their number retired” needs to be analyzed.
Fo argument’ sake, let’s say the Yankees have had 7,500 players paly for their team over the years. That is a pure guess, so, to be on the conservative side, let’s cut that to 5,000 players. Sixteen divided by 5,000 gives us 1/3 of 1% (.32% to be exact). That is nowhere near “every player” as you suggest.
I will bet my dollar to your donut that if the other major leauge baseball teams had the players that the Yankees have had over the years, they, too, would have 16 (or possible more) retired.
Finally, you comment that some day we might see # 99 palying shortstop for the Yankees. So what? Maybe who ever that player is, if they achieve greatness like these 16 listed above, that number will also be retired. BB
Butch might know a lot about Perry Mason, but he knows little about baseball. Joking aside, the author is correct in my judgment. Longevity with a team should be one of the criteria to determine if one is eligible to have his number retired. In my view, a ballplayer should also have career statistics that warrant such an honor. In my view, the following players should not have had their uniforms retired by the Yankees:
Billy Martin (Decent ballplayer — Limited managerial results)
Roger Maris (One sensational season — Average career)
Phil Rizzuto (Average ballplayer)
Thurman Munson (Relatively short career – No Johnny Bench)
Don Mattingly (Injuries limited his statistics)
Elston Howard (Average ballplayer)
Reggie Jackson (Too few years with the Yankees)
Ron Guidry (170 career wins?)
A team with the legacy of the Yankees should be more discriminate. To retire the numbers of the players I listed above tarnishes the legacies of the players who I did not list above.