The New York Yankees announced on Tuesday that they will be retiring Paul O’Neill‘s number 21 during a pre-game ceremony in Monument Park, at Yankee Stadium.
The former outfielder, a prominent piece in the lineup of the most successful Yankees teams of the last 25-30 years, will receive one of the highest honors a player can enjoy: seeing their number retired.
He won four World Series titles with the Yankees: 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000, before losing the 2001 Fall Classic and calling it quits.
Only LaTroy Hawkins used his number 21 for a short period of time in 2008.
While the Yankees certainly have a lot of history as MLB’s winningest franchise, they may be effectively running out of numbers.
“With the announcement that O’Neill’s No. 21 will be retired, the only active numbers for the Yankees between 1-25 are 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 22, 24 and 25,” MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported.
With the announcement that O'Neill's No. 21 will be retired, the only active numbers for the Yankees between 1-25 are 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 22, 24 and 25.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) February 22, 2022
The Yankees’ Retired Numbers
Indeed, the Yankees have a long list of retired numbers:
1: Billy Martin, August 10, 1986
2: Derek Jeter, May 14, 2017
3: Babe Ruth, June 13, 1948
4: Lou Gehrig, July 4, 1939
5: Joe DiMaggio, April 18, 1952
6: Joe Torre, August 23, 2014
7: Mickey Mantle, June 8, 1969
8: Yogi Berra, July 22, 1972
8: Bill Dickey, July 22, 1972
9: Roger Maris, July 22, 1984
10: Phil Rizzuto, August 4, 1985
15: Thurman Munson, September 20, 1980
16: Whitey Ford, August 3, 1974
20: Jorge Posada, August 22, 2015
23: Don Mattingly, August 31, 1997
32: Elston Howard, July 22, 1984
37: Casey Stengel, August 8, 1970
42: Mariano Rivera, September 22, 2013
44: Reggie Jackson, August 14, 1993
46: Andy Pettitte, August 23, 2015
49: Ron Guidry, August 23, 2003
51: Bernie Williams, May 24, 2015
O’Neill will join that list on August 21.
While most fans have supported the Yankees’ decision to retire O’Neill’s number, a small percentage of them have criticized it, saying that the team may run out of numbers if they keep this up.
In any case, it’s a way to recognize the career of a truly beloved member of the organization in one of the most successful times of the franchise: the late 90s.
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