Retired. Not sure but also think that #4 is retired. Plus, why put that kind of pressure on him? There will be enough pressure to see if his performance can stand the test of time. George earlier alluded to players who exploded onto the scene only to fizzle over time. I hope he's a potential hero of this generation. We'll have to wait and see.
re: numbers The Dodgers have a lot of retired numbers that can't be used, including #4. Players brought up from the minors usually have a high number, then switch to a lower one later if they stick with the team. Puig has said that numbers don't mean anything to him and #66 is OK. If he doesn't fade, it will be his choice... Here are the Dodgers retired numbers: http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/la/history/retired_numbers.jsp
Don't play for the Yankees if you want a single digit number. As soon as #2 is retired they are out of stock 8) http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/nyy/history/retired_numbers.jsp
George, I'm trying to guess the Yankees' single digit retired numbers. I get the obvious ones that even non-Yankee fans know.....3,4,5,7,8, and I think 1 might be Phil Rizzuto but not sure. I can't get 6 and 9. Jim, thanks for that list of Dodgers' retired numbers.
According to link provided by George, 9 is Maris, 1 is Billy Martin. Looks like 6 is the only number open. But, since Torre wore #6, that number will probably be retired in the future.
I believe the Yankees were the first team to put numbers on the back of their uniforms and they handed out the numbers according to the player's position in the batting order. Thus we know that Ruth batted third and Gehrig batted fourth. It's remarkable that Gehrig holds the single-season RBI record when you realize that the guy batting in front of him left few runners in scoring position........... Yankee retired numbers: http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/nyy/history/retired_numbers.jsp
Two more hits tonight. In his first 17 games Puig has 30 hits. His last hit shows why his batting average should remain high. It was a routine three-hopper to the shortstop and he beat the throw to first. Like Ty Cobb or Ricky Henderson when they were young, Puig forces infielders to play up and take every step forward. If they don't, he beats the throw... On defense the Dodgers (who're a poor fielding team) are taking advantage of Puig's unique abilities. Tonight a runner went to third on a long hit to RF. Puig gunned a strike to Hanley Ramirez (the cut-off man) and Hanley threw behind the runner at first who had rounded the bag too far to get an easy out. I don't remember the Dodgers ever running that cut-off play before, so it may be something that Hanley and Yasiel cooked up on their own... B.A. .455 Hitting streak 8 games.
Fame is fleeting . It appears Puig is already " old news ". Yankee call up Zoilo Almonte, a 24 year old rookie LF, is hitting a torrid .583 after 7 games. He wears #45. There is no stopping him. 8)
The Baby Effing Ruth had three more hits tonight against Frisco to raise his BA to .442... In his first at-bat, he hit another HR into the RF seats when they tried to pitch him away. Like Clemente, he goes into the other batter's box and golfs those things the other way. Pitching to this kid is like trying to touch a porcupine. There just isn't any safe way to do it. On first pitch strikes he's batting over .800! His OPS (on-base% + slugging %) is 1.229 in 20 games. Kemp returns next week. The Dodgers outfield situation is getting curiouser and curiouser...
Another great night at Dodger Stadium, where the Dodgers ran their winning streak to six in a row. I got to sit next to Brian Kelly's pal in the upper deck, looking down on all the suckers who paid $500 per seat. The crowd of 51,000 was there for "Sandy Koufax Bobbleheads Night" and we picked up three of them. Before the game, the NCAA National Champion UCLA Bruins were there to be introduced and to soak up the praise of grateful LA fans......except for those USC spoilsports who sat there quietly and gritted their teeth through the ceremonies... Yasiel Puig is even more impressive in person than he is on TV. When he makes an out, it seems like bad luck, rather than the percentages of the game. In the first inning, he hit a bullet right up the middle that struck the pitcher's rubber and caromed to the shortstop who then got a fielder's choice at second... The crowd are on their feet EVERY time he comes to the plate. No one leaves their seat for any reason...the people chant his name, "Ya-seel Pweeg!" "Ya-seel Pweeg!" "Ya-seel Pweeg!" Brian Kelly's friend bought a Puig jersey. I kept thinking that all of this has already been in the movies, but now it's real. Then he won the game for us... With the Dodgers down 4-3 in the bottom of the 8th,the Phillies were in more trouble than they knew. The arithmetic of the situation was that they were at the bottom of the Dodgers batting order and making mistakes. They walked the lead-off batter, then screwed up the defense on the sacrifice bunt. I turned to Brian Kelly's pal and explained that Mattingly would now sacrifice bunt again to move both the runners into scoring position...then pinch hit with Hanley Ramirez. You can't escape the arithmetic. This is exactly what the Dodgers did and it put the Phillies in a situation where they had a choice: intentionally walk Hanley to load the bases and hope that Skip Shumaker would ground into a double play, and risk facing the Baby Effing Ruth with the bases loaded or just take their chances with Hanley. They chose to bypass Hanley and load them up. Shumaker struck out and up comes Puig to the plate... While the Phillies were having a big pow-wow on the mound, the place was going crazy. It was scene out of an old poem...surreal hardly covers it. I personally haven't seen anything like it since I witnessed Jeff Samarzija's last-second touchdown against UCLA at Notre Dame. With the crowd screaming and pleading on every pitch...the kid went down 0-2 on a couple of sliders that he chased...then...on the waste pitch...he chased a third slider into the other batter's box and pulled it into leftfield bringing in the tying and winning runs. The crowd went into a huge frenzy and continued to chant his name for the rest of that inning... This season began with this kid in tears. He didn't understand why he was being sent to the minor leagues after batting .512 in Spring Training. He tried to explain that all he wants to do is play baseball. All he wants to do is be the best that anyone ever saw. It wasn't just a scene from The Natural it was a scene from real life: young Ted Williams telling reporters that all he wanted was for people to some day say, "There goes the greatest hitter we ever saw." Well, I've now seen Yasiel Puig with my own eyes and he's as real as those tears he shed for those who didn't understand the mission he is on......to be the very best......ever.
Great experience, Jim. Thanks for the report. I'm certain that Brian Kelly's friend had an unforgettable bonding experience with his grandpa.