News Flash: The New York Yankees fan base is up in arms – yet again.
This off-season, the Yanks signed journeyman middle reliever LaTroy Hawkins in an effort to bolster the Yankees bullpen – a source of weakness for years. While I was not crazy about this move, I cannot deny the merit in bringing in a valuable arm to pitch the always stressful middle innings. Hawkins had a solid year last year, pitching well down the stretch during the Colorado Rockies improbable run to the World Series.
Unfortunately Latroy has been victimized by EYFD (Excessive Yankee Fan Drama). Before he ever even threw his first pitch of the season, Hawkins was booed mercilessly by the Yankee faithful on opening day. Why you may ask? Simply because he was wearing number 21. Blasphemy was what many offended fans cried out. How could anyone wear the number of the great Paul O’Neill?
Well the fact of the matter is that as of 2008 number 21 is not retired – nor should it be. Paulie was a tremendous Yankee, he was the heart and soul of the late 90′s dynasty run, but that does not mean he deserves to have his plaque and number enshrined in Monument Park. The simple truth is that George Steinbrenner went overboard with retiring numbers back in the 80′s, to the point where 15 numbers are already never to be worn again by another Yankee. The sad part is that guys like Reggie Jackson (who was only a Yank for 5 years) and Ron Guidry (who was but a very good pitcher who had one very exceptional year) have had their numbers entrenched in Yankee lore. The problem is, if the organization keeps retiring the number of every very good player that comes along, future Yankees will be playing in triple digits thirty years from now.
Of even more significance, if the Yankees keep retiring fringe superstars it will cheapen the honor bestowed to the true Yankee greats. Now let’s be objective Yankee fans for once, Paul O’Neill was only a fringe superstar – but that does not change the fact that his popularity and legacy are legendary. The reason for this is clear, Paul O’Neill was the first glimmer of hope that came to a franchise that for 15 years had fallen into baseball obscurity. He was a hard nosed player that is attributed for igniting a renaissance in the Bronx. This coupled with his fierce competitiveness made him a hero in the eyes of New Yorkers, prompting the Boss to label him a Warrior. He was the first player other than Don Mattingly that fans could finally cling to and he represented hope for a beleaguered franchise.
Nevertheless his number should not be retired. Consider the fact that Derek Jeter’s (#2), Joe Torre’s (#6), Alex Rodriguez’s (#13), and Mariano Rivera’s (#42) are locks for retirement and the Hall of Fame – coupled with the strong possibility of Jorge Posada’s (#20) and Bernie Williams (#51) being retired, the Yankees are most likely staring at 21 retired numbers by 2020!
But enough about Paul O’Neill, the real victim in this mess is LaTroy Hawkins. Once again short-sighted Yankee fans have embarrassed themselves. These are the same clowns that booed Alex Rodriguez just because he did not hit a home run every time he came to the plate, the same morons that post on message boards that Derek Jeter is washed-up and should be traded. The audacity of fans to boo Hawkins for the crime of wearing a number given to him by the organization and in honor the late Roberto Clemente (#21) is disgusting. Whether you liked the signing or not is no reason to boo a man for the sole reason that he is wearing the number or your former favorite player. Paul O’Neill’s number belongs to future generations of Yankees, and just because his number is not retired doesn’t mean you should forget about the great contributions he brought to this franchise. And it also doesn’t mean you should boo the next person who wears it – get over yourselves.
Sadly, the bullies with EYFD were rewarded for their childish behavior. Two days ago Hawkins decided to switch to number 22 because he did not want to get off on the wrong foot with the fans. Of course this means that if they keep up these antics the Yankees will be forced into retiring O’Neill’s number just to keep the morons at bay. Where is this classy fan base that I hear so much about?
25 Comments
How about a hexadecimal numbering system (2B, 3F, 4C)? It is quite rediculous. At least numbers are only retired within an organization and not the entire MLB.
On the other hand, even if Bernie, Jeter, Torre, A-Rod and Mo’s numbers retired right now, thats what, 21 total you say? 21 numbers retired in 95 years(1913-2008). At that pace, 37 numbers (less than 100) will still be left 285 years from now.
Letroy Hawkins took the “you catch more flies with honey approach” I guess. A wise man once said, “If everything is coming at you, you are probably in the wrong lane.” The customer is always right and the fans pay the bills.
Correction: At that pace, 37 numbers (less than 100) will still be left 190 years from now.
In 285 years, only 16 numbers will be left.
The team did not start retiring numbers until the 40s, and 10 of the 15 retired numbers were retired in the 1980s and the 1990s. Steinbrenner went nuts with the retirement of very good, but not great players as a ploy. It’s intention was to provide a distraction to the fans while the Yankees weren’t winning. It’s not like numbers have been slowly building since 1903.
Look at great organization’s with great players like the Dodgers and Red Sox. They each have about 5 retired numbers and have had an equal number of phenomenal players.
There is no reason for the Yankees to retire numbers of players who are not Hall of Famers that changed the game. Otherwise you look foolish when compared to the likes of Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, and DiMaggio.
Yeah I agree. Any idea as to why Steinbrenner went so crazy in the 1980′s retiring numbers? Maybe he just wanted to spruce up memorial park.
The reason he went nuts was because the team wasn’t winning and they were only selling 10,000 tickets a game. So by having Reggie Jackson day, it was a guarantee sell out of 56,000.
By honoring the glorious past was a way to distract from the disastrous present. We all remember how woeful the team was back then. Outside of Mattingly and Winfield there was not much to cheer for.
Ahh the Mattingly and Winfield days..when I fell in love with them. I guess it was good publicity at the time but didn’t consider the future. Sort of like the Roger Clemens last season..haha..JK
Yeah that is pretty much the perfect analogy. Sometimes, in their not so great moments, the Yankees are all about the show.
Excellent insight into this subject. I am concerned about how much sway the fans have had over the organization’s decisions in recent times. The mere fear of backlash from fans if they discovered that a David Ortiz jersey was buried in the cement at the new stadium led the Yankees to spend upwards of $30,000 just to dig it up. I know baseball, even more so than a lot of other sports, is rooted in superstition, but $30K for a frickin jersey? Come on. And now this poor bastard had to change his number because some single-brain-celled POS’s booed him for wearing a number I doubt he even chose for himself? I don’t like the foreshadowing at all.
I agree Greg. O’neil was great player for the Yanks as you said “He was a hard nosed player that is attributed for igniting a renaissance in the Bronx.” Yankee fans really suck for the most part and that’s is a BIG reason why Boston Red Sox fans hate the Yankees.
On LaTroy Hawkins – that is a real shame. Spoiled NY fans really go out of there way to make a player as miserable as possible. I don’t think O’neil’s jersey should be retired, but I do think he might be one of my top 5 favorite players for the Yanks…ever.
Jay – when I found out that some douche bag had buried Ortiz’s jersey in the new Yankees stadium foundation, I couldn’t believe it. For a grown man to actually do that is disturbing enough. Thats considered witchcraft and sorcery in some parts of the world.
I actually though burying the jersey was kind of funny.
There is one cool aspect to the Yankees digging up the Ortiz jersey. The Steinbrenner’s are auctioning it off with the proceeds going to the Jimmy Fund (A Red Sox Charity that supports cancer research). Last I heard the jersey was already over 30k in bidding and rising fast.
It is not common knowledge, but George Steinbrenner donates 1 million annually to his heated rivals Jimmy Fund Charity. Pretty nice move for the Boss if you ask me.
You think the Boss will go to the Hall?
Probably, do I think he should go to the Hall? Absolutely.
I had to find this tidbit out: Ed Garrow, NY Yankees chief executive, was the last ‘suit’ to get inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1953.
There has been talk in recent years of adding a third wing to the Hall of Fame exclusively for executives. Currently, Cooperstown has one wing for the players and another wing for the writers.
Fun Fact: Peter Gammons has already been inducted in the Hall of Fame for his decades of contributions to the Boston Globe.
Ok now while I think he is most deserving of such an honor, I can’t help but think he got in large part because he wrote for Boston and not Chicago. Speaking of which, when will they induct announcers, like Harry Caray and Bob Sheppard?
I don’t know what the precedent is for announcers, and Bob Sheppard is not a broadcaster like Harry Caray he is a Public Address Announcer.
The Ortiz jersey that was buried in the new stadium is now auctioning for over $67,000. I would say in lieu of its charitable benefits it was worth retrieving the uniform.
As long as it goes to charity, its ok in my book. Just got back from Baltimore. Got to see Joba..hes amazing.
My biggest problem is the yankee jerseys have no names on them, so I only buy jerseys of numbers that are or will be retired. I would love to get a number 21 but i dont really care for owning a hawkins jersey or whoever else may come along wearing that number. Yes, yankees are a little fast in retiring numbers but guys like paul who every at bat was like he’s playing with 2 outs in the 7th game of the world series, and who was the fire of arguably the greatest yankee era, never really come around and it would be nice to be retired.
We should at least retire his helmet – that poor hat bore the brunt of Uncle Pauli’s temper for years.
If not the helmet, then at least the water cooler should make its way out to Monument Park.
I find some of these comments that are very critical of Yankees fans quite amusing. These people clearly have little idea of what they are talking about. Every fan base has it’s morons, some more than others, but to label and entire fan base is just wrong.
All that being said, this blog concentrates on LaTroy Hawkins like he didn’t see this coming. If this writer had done any research into the subject he would have found out that Morgan Ensberg received the exact same treatment for wearing 21 during Spring Training. Somehow Hawkins had convinced himself that if he said he was honoring Roberto Clemente then all would be okay. That would be great if he was playing for the Pirates, but he was playing for the Yankees and 21 belongs to Paul O’Neill and only Paul O’Neill as far as the fans are concerned.
The fans are entitled to their opinion and are also entitled to voice their opinion. As far as the Yankees going overboard with retiring numbers goes, I’d say that only 44 does not belong out there as he only played for 5 seasons with the Bombers. Every one of those players that have retired numbers have the World Championship hardware to warrant the award, with the exception of Don Mattingly who just missed out on the Yanks recent Dynasty. No other team in baseball has the Championship pedigree to warrant retiring as many numbers as the Yankees have. When the Dodgers, Red Sox and who ever else was mentioned get to at least 20 championships then you can compare retired numbers.
Well said Kevin.
Amazing how sox fans get over 80 years of piss-poor baseball and suddenly act like they are America’s team yet the Yankees are supposed to be considered a failure because they didn’t make the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
There is a very good reason why the Yankees need their own Hall of Fame.
Back to the original topic of this thread, Paul O’Neill. Lets not forget he helped two teams in two leagues win the series. And the last player to have his intensity was Pete Rose. Although I agree with too many Yankee numbers being retired, his is one of the few that should be retired.
The modern incarnation of the Yankees could certainly use a player of Paul O’Neill’s unmatched intensity.