Jersey numbers don’t look good on everyone, and even my supposedly avid sports fans friends can barely remember who wore which number, and have little motivation to further study the technology.
I have a friend who thinks uniform numbers are essential to investing in sports. I’m the chairman of this little extracurricular group. I’m not saying that’s true. I remember my friend asking me the other day about Ron Gardenhire. He was a good manager in his day, but not well known for the Mets before that. I just said, “19,” right off the bat, that night. I don’t know if I remember anything else about Gardenhire’s 285 games with the Mets, but I do remember that he wore the number 19. When my friend checked Baseball-Reference.com and confirmed it, he nodded in admiration.
This isn’t a world-changing skill, but I’m a jersey number person, so Saturday was a happy day for me. The Mets retired Darryl Strawberry’s No. 18, leaving the Citi Field roster with seven players: 14 (Gil Hodges), 16 (Doc Gooden), 17 (Keith Hernandez), 18 (Strawberry), 36 (Jerry Koosman), 37 (Casey Stengel) and 41 (Tom Seaver). For a long time, only three players — Hodges, Stengel and Seaver — had held the honor.
So I wondered who would be the next player to have their number retired by each of the nine teams in the big four leagues, and here’s one guy’s prediction:
Mets
It will almost certainly be David Wright at No. 5. It’s just a question of when. After that? Nearly everyone on the all-time roster will get their well-deserved (for now) honor. Who knows who No. 9 will be? He may not have been drafted yet, but if he stays, Pete Alonso could be a candidate.
Yankees
No team is more dedicated to their legends in this regard than the Yankees, so no one is going to hold back. It’s safe to say Aaron Judge’s 99 will be on display in Monument Park someday, sooner rather than later.
Giants
I think at some point I should publicly reunite/reconcile with Tiki Barber, the all-time leading runner with over 3,500 career yards on the soon to be 100 year old team. It’s probably time to celebrate his 21st year.
Jets
This should have been done a long time ago: Jerry Philbin’s 81. He was the Joe Namath of the ’68 Jets defenseman (but not as chatty).
Knicks
I’d suggest that one day Julius Randle will be dignified enough to wear the No. 30 alongside Bernard King, but the most glaring omission at the moment is Richie Guerin’s No. 9, which should have hung at the Garden decades ago.
Day. NBAE via Getty Images
Net
I know the answer to this one: the Nets are retiring Vince Carter’s No. 15 next season. What would I do? I’d pick Michael Ray Richardson’s No. 20 over Carter. Carter’s tenure with the Nets was short and ended in disaster, but he was a great player.
Rangers
On this point, I agree with my buddy Brooksey: Brad Park’s No. 2 should be added immediately to Brian Leetch’s No. 2. And there’s precedent: there are already two No. 9s (Adam Graves and Andy Bathgate) and two No. 11s (Mark Messier and Vic Hadfield) hanging from the ceiling.
islanders
The only player missing from the Dynasty Boys is Ken Morrow, who was just as reliable and competitive as the others, and whose number 6 jersey is a fitting choice for the UBS center.
devil
Claude Lemieux was a vital part of the team’s attack and a key member of the dressing room on the championship teams in 1995 and 2000. Neither departure was particularly smooth, but Pepe’s 22-year-old record should hold up.
Vax Wax
In paying tribute to Bill Walton recently, I would have been remiss not to recall the enormous influence of New Yorker Marty Glickman, who helped Walton overcome his stutter and gave him first-class practical training as an announcer.
On the subject of Negro Leaguers being included in MLB statistics, as always I follow the words of my late friend, the great Buck O’Neil, who once told me, “Anyone who’s seen Josh Gibson or Satch Paige play knows they were every bit as good as the best white players. But there are fewer and fewer of us. What will happen when we’re all gone and no one can talk about us?” If this inspires even one kid to research Gibson or Paige, I’m on board.
I’m about halfway through “A Man in Full” and, as is always the case with anything Diane Lane is in, the best thing about it is Diane Lane. By far.
The Celtics win in 7 games, but it would be fun to see Luka play 7 games in primetime.
Counterattack against Vac
Henry Conte: Steve Cohen drew Brody, Porter, Scott and Eppler … and hopefully will have more luck at his casino poker tables.
Vac: It’s time to look for a new dealer, and for his own good, David Stearns should be the right man.
Paul Sciortino: I think they’re right. Money doesn’t buy happiness. Look at Steve Cohen and the Mets. Maybe they just don’t know where to shop.
Vac: At the very least, it seems his time frequenting antique shops is over. It’s a start.
Gerzdebru 2000: Angel Hernandez finally made the right decision.
Mike Vack: Sometimes, all it takes is seven words to say it all.
Greg Slater: I was fortunate enough to spend time with Bill Walton over the years. The first time was when we were both sitting in an airport after a delayed flight. I walked up to him and asked him about UCLA, but didn’t say a word for the next 10 minutes. By the end of the conversation, he knew the names of my wife and kids.
Vac: There have been so many stories like this in the last few days. What a man, what a life.
