Yankees’ Editorial: Bronx is Boiling – Retired Numbers

By Wayne Cavadi | Feb 23, 2015

Quite a week of stories for New York Yankees fans. Yoan Moncada worked out “secretly” for the pinstripe brass, Alex Rodriguez wrote an apology letter to the fans of New York, and three recent Yankees’ legends found out they were joining the immortals in Monument Park. And then the fans cried foul.

I understand that some people don’t think that Jorge Posada deserves to be amongst the Yankees legends. I get the fact that some people are still mad at Andy Pettitte for “cheating”. But there isn’t anything we can say or do about it as a fan base that will change it, so why not embrace the players? The Bronx is boiling and I need to blow some steam.

THE NEW ERA OF YANKEE BASEBALL

Like I said, I get it. Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams are not amongst the greatest Yankees to ever walk the face of the planet. But let’s be fair, the greatest Yankees ever are also some of the greatest BASEBALL players of all time. There will never be another Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle or Yogi Berra. To say that we can never expect to see our favorite players’ numbers retired because they don’t live up to the legends whose numbers are already retired isn’t exactly fair.

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Now, yes, Andy Pettitte did admit to PED use after he got caught, but there has always been some vagueness about it. Was HGH illegal when Pettitte was using it or was it just unethical? Did he really use it to get healthier or did he use it to gain an edge?

We will probably never know, but here’s something else we will never know. Who used PEDs in one of baseball’s dirtiest eras and who didn’t. It isn’t fair to walk around most of the time and say “everybody did it,” but then use it against someone when it seems that the timing is right.

Pettitte pitched some of the biggest games in recent Yankees’ history, a history that brought one of the greatest franchises back from the seemingly dead. Pettitte’s Game 5 showdown with John Smoltz changed the course of the 90’s dynasty and it wasn’t the last time Pettitte would stop the bleeding and propel the Yanks to victory. Does he have Hall of Fame numbers? Not quite. Is he an important part of Yankees lore? You bet ya.

Jorge Posada isn’t close to being one of the greatest Yankees’ catchers ever. He wasn’t the best catcher in the league in any of his seasons on the team. But he was the fiery backstop that didn’t let anyone walk over his team mates. Posada is having his day mainly because he was part of the Core Four.

We know 42 is going to be retired forever now. We know number 2 (Derek Jeter… Number 2) will be taken out of circulation. Although many are unhappy about it, so is 46. Posada was part of one of the greatest nuclei in Yankees lore, and there was no way he was going to be left out of the celebration.

Bernie Williams played baseball, that’s all there is to it. Sure, he had that one season when he flirted with the Red Sox and others that came calling, but Bernie got a bum deal for most of his career. He was homegrown, but never got the homegrown love of the Core Four. He was a solid, never great outfielder, but Paul O’Neill was the Warrior that Yankees’ fans enamored as king of the outfield.

Bernie was as steady as they came throughout the entire duration of the Yankees run and was an All Star and top 20 vote-getter in the MVP voting nearly every one of those years. He’s also first or second in nearly every postseason offensive record there is. Does that warrant getting your number retired? Maybe not, but there is no reason to hate on Bernie for the Yankees allowing it to happen.

Here’s the other aspect some people are overlooking. Are these players being retired into the annals of Yankees history in honor of their playing careers or is it more for Hank and Hal’s wallet to expand? This new era of Yankees baseball, from the over-sized ballpark to the over glamorized Derek Jeter Farewell Tour, is all about the money.

Having days that honor some of the most beloved Yankees, whether they deserve it or not, will fill the stands to maximum capacity for a weekend series in August against the Cleveland Indians. With the current Yankees roster, there is no guarantee that would happen come late August this year.

If you are strongly opposed to it, it is ok to boycott the day, but don’t hate on the players for having it, or the fans that are looking forward to it. I think Babe Ruth is the single most important ball player in the history of the game. I think Mickey Mantle is the most intriguing superstar the game has ever seen and arguably the greatest all around player of all time. Neither of those two players were saints. Their off field antics were quite notorious.

Don’t think I’m nuts. My point isn’t that their numbers shouldn’t be retired. Of course they should, and I once made the argument that number 3 should be retired across the game for putting baseball on the map. My point is that they are two of the greatest to ever step on a baseball diamond, but they too had their flaws and if social media or TMZ were around to hound them, who knows how they would be perceived in this day and age.

It’s not whether or not I agree with what numbers are getting retired. It’s the simple fact that they are. And as a child who grew up in the 80s and early 90s of garbage Yankees’ teams, these guys are my personal heroes. Growing up, my uncles and relatives always talked about the greats they got to watch, and until Pettitte, Posada, and Bernie came along, my well was pretty dry.

That’s what I will remember those guys for, and that’s why, whether or not I think they should have their numbers retired, I am ok with the fact that they are.

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