Yankees Uni Watch; Part III

By Michael Kelly

Alright, so, when I wrote on Friday I’d be back tomorrow, I meant back after the weekend. So, let’s get into the Possible, But Not Likely players to get their number retired.

If you missed Friday’s edition, click HERE

Tino Martinez (24)- Tino really deserves to have his number retired because of the way he came to the Yanks, and the way he carried himself.

It seems so long ago, but most Yankees fans didn’t want Tino at first. He came to the Yanks in ’96 (after crushing Yankees fans the postseason before as a Mariner), and replaced Don Mattingly, the Yankees legend for so many years. I remember when he came to the Yanks, his first few games he really struggled. But oddly, despite previous fan indifference to Tino, they didn’t boo him; rather, they seemed to pull for him more because of his struggles.

I remember when he finally hit his first home run as a Yankee, and the crowd went nuts. I remember a huge smile on his face, satisfied with getting the monkey off his back. It was a look Yankees fan would see a lot of over the next six seasons.

Above all, Tino was beloved by the fans because he seemed like a good guy. Yeah, he was a good player, but that wasn’t why Yankees fans really cared about him. He was lovable, a good teammate, and had a penchant for clutch hitting. He was the definition of those championship teams; good guys who played the game the right way.

But, unfortunately, I don’t think his number will be retired, which is odd because his Yankees numbers were really good (188 home runs, 5 100+ RBI seasons, and a MVP runner-up in 1997).

But since he left the Yankees his number has been given away twice (Sierra and Cano). And, if you think back to those dynasty years, you name Jeter, Rivera, O’Neill and Posada before you do Martinez. And I think that keeps us from seeing number 24 immortalized.

Mike Mussina (35)- Mussina is an oddity. I think he has better Hall of Fame credentials than he does Yankees number retiring ones.

Let me explain. Mussina has a great record as a Yankee; 126 wins against only 73 losses. And over his entire career, he has 270 wins. He’s 2 good seasons away from getting to 300 wins, and being a Hall of Fame lock.

But, he lacks big game Yankees moments. He never won a world series, and he never was truly the ace of the team, like he was supposed to be. Over the years, the Yankees had to bring in Kevin Brown and Randy Johnson because Mussina never quite lived up to the bill as a number one, legitimate game 1 playoff starter.

In two years, Mussina will be a lock for the Hall of Fame, and will wear a Yankees hat on that plaque. But barring a championship, I don’t see him being the last Yankee to wear 35.

Check back tomorrow for the Longshot.