Retirement Creep

[Edgy MD]

Yankee announce they will be honoring C.C. Sabathia by retiring his number (checks notes) 52.

It is a week-old announcement, but we let it slide in the excitement over the Danis Correa acquisition.

[metirish]

Certainly a great pitcher, the bar for retirement with the Yankees is low so no surprise

[Gwreck]

Sabathia was elected to the Hall of Fame as a Yankee so I don’t see the issue.

As for Roger Maris or Paul O’Neill or Andy Pettitte…a bit of a different story.

[Edgy MD]

I think he was elected to the Hall of Fame on the entirety of his career. His on-field Yankee legacy was pretty comparable to Al Leiter's or Jose Reyes' careers with the Mets. And it was far less than Andy Pettitte's on-field Yankee legacy (depending on how you file the drug issue).

The greater issue, of course, is that the set of available numbers between 0 and 99 is finite, so we would do well to find an alternative way to honor people.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Or break the 99 ceiling and have three-digit numbers. If two of the digits are 1 (the narrowest number!) they should be able to fit three digits on the jersey.

[Gwreck]

I think he was elected to the Hall of Fame on the entirety of his career.

 

Of course. Perhaps that was imprecise wording on my part. The majority of his career was with that team and that’s the team reflected on his HOF plaque.

My number retirement stance is the only persons eligible are (1) HOF player, by the primary team; (2) entire career with team with a reasonable level of excellence.

[Edgy MD]

Thus far, the only Mets known to have broken the 99 ceiling are Jay Satan (666) and Super Seaver (4141).

[Centerfield]

I think he was elected to the Hall of Fame on the entirety of his career. His on-field Yankee legacy was pretty comparable to Al Leiter's or Jose Reyes' careers with the Mets. And it was far less than Andy Pettitte's on-field Yankee legacy (depending on how you file the drug issue).

The greater issue, of course, is that the set of available numbers between 0 and 99 is finite, so we would do well to find an alternative way to honor people.

 

When you start thinking big picture, it’s crazy how early in the game our lives intersected with baseball. Really professional sports in general. If baseball does persist for hundreds of years, there’s going to come a point where they need to reset. Like are Mets fans going to want to give space in their stadium for Tom Seaver? Who is that? He played like 200 years ago.

[Edgy MD]

I don't really have a problem with honoring **** that happened before my time. As sensibilities progress, legacies like Columbus' and Washington's may change in the public perception, and it is right that we should continue to reassess, but I think a stable culture continues to make space for foundational and transformational figures. Lore is part of what makes the game the game, and the elevation of these figures triggers lore.

That Cap Anson guy was a mountainous figure at one point, but now we know him to have been a massive tool that did immeasurable damage to the game and to culture at large. Let's keep his plaque in the Hall of Fame and keep telling that story.

[MFS62]

Sabathia was elected to the Hall of Fame as a Yankee so I don’t see the issue.

As for Roger Maris or Paul O’Neill or Andy Pettitte…a bit of a different story.

 

Their to the thread title, the mfys have retired the numbers of a lot of creeps.

Later

[whippoorwill]

Why is Sabathia a creep?

[ashie62]

I thought CC is a decent guy who overcame his demons

[Edgy MD]

Why is Sabathia a creep?

 

He is not (at least, not as far as I know). The thread refers to the process of "creep" — by which a bad change (in this case, the proliferation of number retirements) is allowed to happen by changing so gradually that no specific change is so large as to trigger a backlash.

Sort of like the addition of logos and advertising to MLB uniforms has long been referred to by uniform watchers as "logo creep."

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

http:// https://sny.tv/articles/mets-to-retire-carlos-beltran-number

Carlos Beltran, not a creep, getting his number retired this year!

[Benjamin Grimm]

This will give the Mets a run of five consecutive retired numbers.

[Edgy MD]

It seems silly, and its amazing and telling that what should be a dramatic announcement gets an indifferent burial in this thread and scarcely any response.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Two reasons for that, I think.

1. The cap on the plaque thing made this seem inevitable.

2. Having a number retired is an honor that has become more and more devalued.

[Gwreck]

2. Having a number retired is an honor that has become more and more devalued.

 

100%. The blitz of retirements over the last few years was a big mistake.

[Edgy MD]

That's a great point and I think we should retire your number for it.

[stevejrogers]

Also his Metly HOF induction will take place in the same ceremony. Ala Seaver and Wright.

So Maz and Bobby V will be inducted in one ceremony on May 30th, and Beltran when the number is retired.

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

I don't think I was indifferent at all. I thought this was the number retirement thread. I'll start another.

[Edgy MD]

I don't think I was indifferent at all. I thought this was the number retirement thread. I'll start another.

 

I beg your pardon. I was not referring to you, but rather the room, as only one guy had responded, and even that response spoke more about the novelty of the consecutive numbers rather than the retirement itself.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Or break the 99 ceiling and have three-digit numbers. If two of the digits are 1 (the narrowest number!) they should be able to fit three digits on the jersey.

 

 

Our professional soccer team here has played a few exhibitions with a pro team from Ciudad Juárez. Those teams often use three digits for their young or academy players. It's weird at first, but like a lot of things, you get used to it.

That said, my enthusiasm for number retirements is pretty non-existent. I'm bummed the Mets are so into it recently.

[Edgy MD]

Ah, the Tecate/Corona rivalry. Hard to generate greater passions than when those two lock horns.