This is totally plausible. I wouldn't go so far as to say that sticking it to the Yankees was the Mets' main motivating force in retiring Case's number. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if the Mets, internally, decided to retire 37 years earlier, like before Shea Stadium debuted. But it could've been a factor. There's no way that it was lost on the Mets that the most successful manager in Yankees history and the manager that presided over ths Yankees' most dominant dynasty was way more popular with Mets fans. Yeah, 20 posts later we got there - sticking it to the Yankees was an item on the list of "Pros" for retiring his number. Not likely a primary factor, but I'm sure the Mets were happy about it.