In any sport, the only thing that remains common and constant is retirement. But apart from this, there is another trend in sport and especially in baseball. It is very common to see MLB teams also retire the jersey number of their long-serving players. And if there will be a competition on retiring the jersey numbers, then the New York Yankees will top among all MLB teams.
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Notably, on Wednesday, the New York Yankees announced that they are retiring their former star Paul O’Neill’s jersey number during the mid-season. On the one hand, honoring their legend is a good gesture, but on the other hand, the Yankees might be in some real problem with such gestures.
What happens if the New York Yankees run out of jersey numbers?
With the Yankees announcing the retirement of Paul O’Neil’s iconic jersey number 21, he will become the 22nd Yankees player to get his jersey number enshrined in Monument Park. Notably, with No. 21 retirement, a total of 23 numbers will not be available for the current and the upcoming players at the Yankees.
USA Today via Reuters
Oct 3, 2021; Bronx, New York, USA; The New York Yankees mob right fielder Aaron Judge (99) after his game winning RBI single to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 and clinch a wildcard playoff spot at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
And if the Yankees continue this trend in the coming times too, then it is evident that the Yankees will run out of numbers. However, to sort this out, there are several ways to end this problem.
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Those players who wish to wear the single-digit number can add a zero before the number and wear their jersey. Like a player wishes to wear number 8, he can put it as “08” on his back. The other option can be to use the Roman Numerals instead of digits. This will open a whole lot of choices for the players as well as teams.
Yankees legends to get their jersey number retired
Imago
(Original Caption) Babe Ruth (1895-1948), American baseball player, batting. Undated photograph.
Before O’Neill, the Yankees enshrined the legendary Derek Jeter’s iconic No. 2 at the Monument Park in the 2017 season. Before him, the Yankees have retired the jersey number of players like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Yogi Berra, among all 23 players.
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