According to Benjamin Sarlin at the New York Sun, a movement is afoot to retire Roberto Clemente’s number from baseball. Jackie Robinson had his #42 retired in 1997, and now it seems that the New York City Council (of all organizations) would like to see Clemente’s #21 receive the same treatment.
Babe Ruth, meanwhile, hasn’t had his #3 retired (not that I’m advocating such a move). Fun stuff, eh?

As I continue to wade through the report and digest the large number of names contained therein, a few questions come to mind:

How surprised is anyone by the magnitude of this?
How surprised should we be?
Should players and others be held accountable for their actions?
If yes, how forthcoming will athletes be in the future?
If no, what is the incentive for not trying to cheat the system?
Why do we, as fans, continue to support these people and provide them — through our purchase of tickets, merchandise, and the like — with the means to perpetuate their actions?
How will future generations view the …read more

Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time. Seems Babe Ruth’s granddaughter wants MLB to bestow upon Ruth the same honor it has given Jackie Robinson. She wants the Babe’s number retired throughout baseball.
Slippery slope, meet can of worms.
The unfortunate truth is that whenever you honor someone in this way, you also make a judgment on everyone else. In San Diego, for example, Steve Garvey’s number 6 is retired essentially because he hit a home run in a playoff game. Garvey spent most of his career with the Dodgers, who have not retired his number. Among Padres, he …read more

My wife asked me an interesting question the other day: If I could meet any baseball player and talk to him for a while, who would it be? She said I could pick one current player and one player from throughout history.
The historical player was tough. Ted Williams immediately jumped to mind, but I ended up going with Jackie Robinson. It’s sort of an obvious choice, but it seems to me that baseball fans owe him a great deal of gratitude. I wouldn’t even want to say much other than thanks.
For the current player, I had an easier time. Absolutely …read more