The Yankee Number Flap Isn't About Paul O'Neill's Worthiness

My colleague Matt Watson brought you the story about LaTroy Hawkins changing numbers in the face of intense booing from Yankee fans. He dared to wear Paul O'Neill's number 21, a no-no to a fan base that still idolizes the hard-nosed leader of four championship teams. Peter Abraham of the LoHud Yankees Blog shares his thoughts on the mess.

Paul O'Neill was a good player but not one worthy of having his number retired. At some point, the Yankees have to have some standards. Beyond that, Hawkins wanted 21 to honor Roberto Clemente.

The nod to Clemente is nice but not something that was disseminated to the majority of fans, some of whom were booing Hawkins because he stunk in his first two appearances at the Stadium. The rest of the fans who booed Hawkins are dopes. Booing one guy doesn't honor another in any way, shape or form.

Beyond that, though, Abraham is wrong about O'Neill's worthiness of having his number retired. He's perfectly worthy. He was the starting rightfielder on the Yankees for nine seasons which featured five trips to the World Series and those four titles. He amassed nearly 1500 hits, won a batting title and, as mentioned, was beloved by Yankee fans for his style of play and role on great teams.

If O'Neill did all that for the Padres, you don't think his number would be retired? He's exactly the kind of player who gets his number retired, just not by the Yankees.

16 people have been so honored, most of whom are in the Hall of Fame, and that raises the bar a bit. When you add Derek Jeter, Joe Torre and Mariano Rivera to Monument Park (maybe Bernie Williams and Andy Pettitte as well), you're going to have more that a fifth of numbers under 100 spoken for. That makes a pretty imposing line to get over. That's the part of the fan reaction that baffles me.

The history of the Yankees is so rich that a player of O'Neill's caliber, great as it is, isn't in the upper echelon. Hawkins wearing 21 isn't a comment on O'Neill, then, but an overwhelmingly positive comment on the history of the Yankees. You'd think that a fan base that dines out on tradition would recognize and appreciate that.