BE PROUD OF OUR YANKEES. DON'T MOCK THEM.

It was announced today that the Yankees will be honoring Paul O'Neill, Tino Martinez, Joe Torre and Goose Gossage with plaques in monument park.  That was tweeted by Jack Curry of YES:

Joe Torre, Paul O'Neill, Goose Gossage and Tino Martinez will be honored w/ plaques in Monument Park. Torre's #6 will be retired, too.
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) May 8, 2014

It was then followed by every half-clever writer making jokes about who else should be honored by the Yankees.

Names like Bobby Meacham, Hideki Irabu, Mariano Duncan and I'm sure the name Andy Stankiewicz was mentioned.  It was in a silly, mocking tone, read HERE and my question is why? What does it matter what the Yankees do and who they honor? Plus, why shouldn't they honor Tino, or Paulie or Goose or Torre?  It's their franchise and the guys they chose were pretty great Yankees.  Why a non-Yankee fan like Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk has it all figured out is beyond me. Craig, don't worry about it...

And what about Yankee fans? Why is everyone so concerned about their favorites... Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada being ignored? Trust me... it's coming ladies and gentlemen.  But it doesn't take away from the fact that there is a lot of bashing going on.  The Yankees can't win, can they? Even if they DO honor a player, there's criticism.  What the hell happened to Yankee fans or baseball fans just enjoying our past in this great game? What's the big deal anyway?

 

And just to clarify, no one except for Joe Torre is having their number retired.  All that's happening here is they're going to have a ceremony for the 4 guys and thank them for their service in pinstripes.  They are plaques ladies and gentlemen. They will be displayed in monument park.  They were good Yankees and they deserve it.  And most likely the Goose, Tino and Paulie will NOT have their numbers retired, but this is the next best thing. That's my opinion on what the Yankees are thinking by the way.  Look, as far as I'm concerned, all the haters should chill, because it makes no sense as to why you should criticize.

With the Yankees, Goose Gossage has 151 saves in 7 years.  He was larger than life when I was a kid. Tino Martinez had 192 home runs in New York and 4 championships to boot.

Paul O'Neill was right there with him in the championship department and compiled not only the nickname "the Warrior", but had 185 home runs and a .303 average in 9 years. Obviously, we all know just how important Joe Torre was in all of this, plus he's a Hall of Famer. But again, TORRE IS THE ONLY ONE HAVING HIS NUMBER RETIRED. There isn't some mad dash to retired 42 Yankees this season or anything. It's about honoring and respecting some pretty great Yankees with a plaque... and it's also a hot ticket to see these greats if you understand true fandom and the business of Yankee baseball.  I'm not so sure the ticket is as hot if Mariano Duncan is getting a plaque...and that's not a slight at Mariano Duncan... it's just a fact.

Stop the hate ladies and gentlemen... this is a nice thing that the Yankees are doing. Enjoy it if you're a Yankee fan.  It's fun.

Oh, and P.S... I was concerned Bernie Williams would be ignored... but Jack Curry put me at ease with this...

In addition to Torre, Goosage, Martinez and O'Neill, Yankees say Bernie Williams will be part of recognition series in 2015.
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) May 8, 2014

Nice!

Go Yanks!

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