Holy crap! Somebody's reading this? Thanks ... all three of you.Drewster (who was kind enough to leave a comment) opined that Piazza should be retired long before Mex. I see his point, but he's wrong. By which I mean, of course, he's right. Thirty one will get retired long before 17, for a whole host of reasons.
Chief among them, I suspect, is wholesomeness. Piazza's story is significantly more feelgoody than Mex's, owing in large part to the whole "not doing a ton of coke so far as we know" thing. Fair enough.
The man is the greatest hitting catcher to ever play the game. No doubt about it. He's a first-ballot Hall of Famer without question, while Keith won't ever get in (though I believe a case could be made, I can see the point that he shouldn't).
But ....BUT ... when we're talking about number retirement, we're talking (I believe) about value to the specific team, and I would argue heartily that Keith was as valuable to his teams as Mike - possibly more.
I'm not generally one for the reductionist "but he got a ring!" argument. That being said ... Keith did.
Piazza's number should be retired. As should Koosman's, and probably Carter's. Doc & Straw should be seriously considered, as should Harelson, maybe Agee, and a couple of others.
But there should be no argument here.
It's really pretty simple.
Retire 17.
4 comments:
You are completely right about Keith's number being retired. I am posting a link to your site at the boards on www.nyfuturestars.com
On a side note...sign the petition to get manny ramirez! send it to everyone you know!
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/MannytoMets/index.html
absolutely -- retire 17.
Thanks, gang. I appreciate the support.
Gonna pass on the Manny petition, though. I'd love to have him, but only for a year or two.
That, and I'm unconvinced about he efficacy of electronic petitions in getting Fred & Jeff to open the pocketbook.
That being said, good luck!
I've been sayin that the #17 should hang on the wall for years, now. I proudly wear my Keith jersey to Shea, and everyone around me has nothing but great things to say about the man. Luv the pic of the wall.Keep up the good work.
---chrisfrombklyn
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