Yankees: The Warrior still commands respect from everyone

Wanna get the Yankees, and their fan base all riled up? Just try walking into the clubhouse asking to wear uniform number 21.

The Yankees have a thing with numbers. And we’re not talking about the numbers Statcast proliferates us with. We’re talking about the numbers players wear on the back of their uniform, including the twenty-two numbers the team has retired and, in some quarters, is ridiculed for having so many.

The obsession with numbers even reached the obituary of longtime Yankees Equipment Manager, Pete Sheehy who, upon his passing in 1985, was recalled as “The Keeper of the Pinstriped Uniforms.”

Sheehy set the standards and others followed. As a rookie, you get what you are given. And if you end up at the top of the double-digit scale like Aaron Judge wearing number 99, you say thank you, sir and I’m proud to be a New York Yankee.

Sorry, I’m saving that seat

The trouble comes, though, when a player is traded to the Yankees, and he comes in having had a number he’s worn for some time. This was the case the other day when Todd Frazier arrived via a trade with the White Sox, casually asking Yankees clubhouse manager, Rob Cucuzza, for number 21, which happens to be the number he wore during his long career with the Cincinnati Reds.

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According to the New York Post, Frazier was promptly told by Cucuzza, “That isn’t gonna happen.” Why? Apparently, the Yankees have a few unretired retired numbers too. And this particular jersey number belonged to Paul O’Neill, who was once proclaimed by his biggest fan, George Steinbrenner, as the “Yankees Warrior,” due to his hard-nosed, water cooler bashing ways.

Frazier should have known better because the last two players who wore number 21 following O’Neill’s retirement, LaTroy Hawkins, and Morgan Ensberg, were almost run out of town by irate Yankees fans.

O’Neill never got involved in the conversation himself. He didn’t have to.

In a blurb published by Reuters, Frazier pooh-poohed the episode saying:

"“At the end of the day, it doesn’t really bother me that much,” Frazier said of sticking with No. 29. “I would have liked to have the number (21), but at the same time I think No. 29 is a good number, too.”"

It’s not about Frazier, though

The story, which is not really a story when you think about it, is not about Frazier. It’s about the man who played right field on one leg in Game 5 of the 1996 World Series tracking down a line drive in right-center with the go-ahead runs on base (video).

And the story is also about the loyal fan base of the Yankees that attaches itself to players who perform at another level, rising to the occasion and getting downright angry when they don’t. We mentioned Jeter before, the guy who dove into the left-field stands to snare a foul ball emerging with trickles of blood on his face.

Jeter, of course, had his number retired back in May. And there are few, if any, who would find cause to disagree with that. O’Neill, however, is another story and it is unlikely his number will ever be retired by the Yankees. And there should be few who would argue with that.

But there’s another level of Yankees excellence who are recognized in other ways that are much more subtle. Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, and Bernie Williams belong in that special class of players, who, like O’Neill, will always command the respect of the organization and Yankees fans.

So, kudos to Rob Cucuzza for holding that line.

Next: Here comes the 2014 international draft signees

As for Todd Frazier, welcome to the legacy of the New York Yankees. Produce and you too may be honored with the same treatment some day.

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