Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yanks Breaking Ranks On Retired #’s?

Considering that their parent franchise is heck-bent on honoring the past and following tradition, this was a pretty bad move, in my opinion, by the Triple-A Yanks. Betemit was only there for a rehab stint. Did it really matter if he was assigned the same number as the one he wears in New York? If he wore #99 while down there, would it have really mattered?

Via Donnie Collins of the Scranton Times Tribune:

Did anyone else notice that Wilson Betemit wore number 14 on his uniform during his brief rehab stint with the local Yankees last week? And that sound you just heard was the last breath getting kicked out of the Red Barons.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t pay close attention to uniform numbers — and it’s possible that 14 has been worn by a countless number of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees before Betemit donned it. But I do seem to remember walking into PNC Field every day back when it was called Lackawanna County Stadium and noticing a large glass case on display on the concourse.

Behind that glass: Greg Legg’s retired uniform — with his number 14 prominently displayed. Yankees fans make a big deal out of retired numbers. Come to think of it, they make a big issue out of numbers that aren’t retired, too. I just wish 18 seasons’ worth of history in this area warranted enough respect for this number to be a big deal, too.

We’re not talking about a number that should be retired here. We’re talking about one that was retired.

Legg obviously meant enough to the people he’d eventually call his neighbors and the franchise that revived professional sports in this area that he became the only Red Barons player to have his number retired.

Hey, I understand that Betemit has played 416 games in the big leagues and that the Legger played, ironically, 14. But it wouldn’t take much to just take 14 out of circulation for the Yankees and, in doing so, honor a beloved player and remember 18 pretty important seasons in our local baseball tradition.

Whenever I covered a game in Rochester, I’d have the privilege of running into Joe Altobelli, a Rochester legend who played for the Red Wings before moving on to catch for and manage the Baltimore Orioles. His uniform number 26 is retired by the Red Wings, but they didn’t put it back into circulation when the Orioles left town and the Minnesota Twins moved in a few years back.

Another good example: Former outfielder Hank Sauer’s number 9 is retired in Syracuse. Sauer’s major league career ended 18 years before the Chiefs’ parent club, the Toronto Blue Jays, even existed. But even the Blue Jays prospects can’t wear his number.

May 10, 2008 | Filed Under Embarrassing The Stripes