… apparently you don’t.

LaTroy got it because he knew it was an issue and then did it anyway. And I can’t take it issue with it because it’s all for Roberto Clemente, everybody’s favorite person. Leaving the number out of circulation for 7 seasons and then assigning it to a back up 3B was bad enough. After that mess Hawkin’s dove right back in and started the BS all over again.

Lefty Gomez is another guy that is in a similar position as Paul O’Neill. He’s pretty borderline and you could make a case for him.

To put it most simply: LaTroy Hawkins (and Morgan Ensberg) did not disrespect, tarnish, sully, belittle, minimize, cheapen, offend, or in any other way harm the legacy of Paul O’Neill’s Yankee career in ANY of their actions. AT ALL. Other people or entities may have, but not those two players. Ergo, if you choose to boo either of those players, you are criticizing them for the potentially inappropriate or offensive actions of others… and that makes you a massive douchebag.

Out of curiosity, did you boo David Wells? Didn’t he ask to wear Babe Ruth’s jersey number AND his hat? Isn’t that ten million times worse, along the whole “Current Player X is not as good as Historic Player Y, therefore he has offended us as fans by attempting to ride the coattails of his legacy and we must boo him”? Should Yogi Berra have been booed for wearing Bill Dickey’s #8? Did you boo Joe Page, Johnny Sain, Hector Lopez, Fred Stanley, Dwight Gooden, Chuck Knoblauch, Gary Sheffield, Doug Mientkiewicz and Morgan Ensberg for all wearing #11, which once belonged to Lefty Gomez, one of the greatest pitchers of all time, a man in the Hall of Fame, and a MUCH MUCH better player than Paul O’Neill, all things considered?

What about Roger Peckinpaugh and Willie Keeler, two great Yankees whose careers came before the uniform number era… should we boo all the draft picks on the 40 man roster until they pick a number, since not having one is offensive to these two great players?

Should Detroit Lions fans have booed Barry Sanders for wearing Billy Sims’ #20? Should Knick fans have booed Earl Monroe for wearing Dick McGuire’s #15?

DO YOU SEE HOW MONUMENTALLY ASS-CLOWN STUPID THIS IS??!?!?!?!

I don’t know what the solution is. I honestly think if people don’t want Paul O’Neill to have his number retired.. then a bunch of other numbers need to be put back into circulation. Make it more than 50% of your career with the Yankees and a Hall of Famer. Make that the criteria and I’ll shut my mouth and Hawkin’s can wear any damn number he pleases.

Look if it was up to me.. Charlie Keller, Tommy Henrich, Joe Gordon, and Paul O’Neill would all have their numbers retired. Roger Maris, Reggie Jackson, Billy Martin, Gator, and Rizzuto would probably would. Rizzuto would have the best chance to stay.

I just don’t think it’s fair at all to tow the line on Paulie and not go back and tow the line on some guys who didn’t do enough to deserve it. If Allie Reynolds doesn’t have his number retired, why the hell should Jackson or Maris?

You claim that Latroy Hawkins is somehow disrespecting Paul O’Neill, who was a great player, for wearing #21, and thus, his affront should be publicly scorned by Yankee fans booing him lustily until he relents. I’m pointing out to you that I can easily argue that Paul O’Neill himself is disrespecting Spud Chandler, who is an even GREATER player, by wearing CHANDLERS’ #21, and that the only reason O’Neill wasn’t booed into humiliation and didn’t end up picking another number back in the early 90′s when he arrived here is because Spud Chandler’s fans were either dead or not insipidly stupid and classless enough to boo a decent human being who is just trying to earn a living and help the Yankees win some games.

Look, I AGREE with you… I’ve felt for years that #21 should be retired for O’Neill. More recently, after learning about Spud Chandler, I think the number should be retired for both of them, just like we did with #8 for Berra and Dickey. I realize that many Yankee fans disagree with me on this topic, and that’s fine; their arguments are valid. But even though I think the Yankees should retire #21 immediately, I will NEVER, EVER, EVER agree with the idiotic idea that you are justified in booing a player for wearing a number that is rightly issued to him. You’re not. Whether they player asks for the number or not, irrespective of his reasoning, regardless of the history of the number or the player or the previous holders of the number… You’re not. If you boo him, you’re an idiot.

If you absolutely feel the need to boo somebody over this “affront”, boo George Steinbrenner for not retiring the number by now and making it a moot point. If you boo Latroy Hawkins, you’re either a shortsighted neophyte with no sense of history or perspective, or a flat out idiot.

since i guess i misinterpreted, i apologize for calling you dumb.

you’re right, no need for the personal insults, but i thought you were calling me a Mets fan, which is the biggest insult of all.

let’s just agree to disagree. it’s fairly obvious that this Paul O’Neill thing just can’t be discussed rationally on either side.

i want to make it clear that i am a HUGE Paul O’Neill fan. i got into a pretty extensive argument on this very blog with Mike Plugh who was trying to argue that Matsui was as good as O’Neill.

i just don’t think his number should be retired. that’s all.

The Queens comment was kind of a joke, like one you would make if you were arguing about sports at a bar. It’s not meant to be a personal slander on you, different steve. So in the future, don’t call me, as a person, dumb.

why don’t we take a poll here?

who thinks the Yankees should retire O’Neill’s number?

oh, and everyone who disagrees with you is now a Mets’ fan? you’re even dumber than i originally thought.