caulfield12 Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 http://espn.go.com/blog/buster-olney/insid...lementes-number http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=23...&type=story Robinson family against... On one hand, he wasn't the first Hispanic player, not by a longshot. On the other, baseball is becoming more and more a Latin American and Hispanic dominated game in terms of the percentage of major leaguers. As Olney stated, that move to retire #47 was one of the most important and impactful of Selig's career as commissioner. There are two factors that stand out that make Clemente unique...the tragic nature of his death while doing humanitarian work, and the breadth and scope of that impact on not only Puerto Rico but all of Latin America in terms of pride in his accomplishments and being a role model for how to play the game with dignity, flair and elegance. Personally, I think something like having all starting right fielders in MLB wear #21 for a day or week would be the best compromise. Or retiring his number only in the NL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Don't think that's necessary. Died a humanitarian. Pittsburgh's doing enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lip Man 1 Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Retire it right after you retire Minoso's #9, the real "Jackie Robinson" for Latinos. As an aside as orlando Cepeda said when Minnie passed, "I wanted to be Minoso, Clemente wanted to be Minoso..." Tony Perez echoed the same sentiments by the way. That says everything right there. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flavum Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I'm not going to read that article because this comes up once in a while. The Roberto Clemente Award is prestigious. It gets plenty of attention, and has for decades. It's a great thing to carry on his legacy. There's no need to retire another number in baseball. 42 represents more than just Baseball. It represents a huge move forward for the country. Leave it at that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quin Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 QUOTE (Lip Man 1 @ Jan 23, 2016 -> 10:22 AM) Retire it right after you retire Minoso's #9, the real "Jackie Robinson" for Latinos. As an aside as orlando Cepeda said when Minnie passed, "I wanted to be Minoso, Clemente wanted to be Minoso..." Tony Perez echoed the same sentiments by the way. That says everything right there. Mark This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I am all for having 42 and 21 displayed in all parks, but do the numbers really have to be retired? Let the individual teams do that. Wouldn't it make more of an impact on the legacy of Jackie Robinson if a player wore 42 in his honor, and a broadcaster mentioned it rather than having no one wear it except everyone wear it one day a year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jose Abreu Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jan 23, 2016 -> 07:52 AM) On the other, baseball is becoming more and more a Latin American and Hispanic dominated game in terms of the percentage of major leaguers. As Olney stated, that move to retire #47 was one of the most important and impactful of Selig's career as commissioner. What? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coco1997 Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jan 23, 2016 -> 01:58 PM) What? Think he meant to say 42, not 47. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jose Abreu Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 QUOTE (coco1997 @ Jan 23, 2016 -> 11:07 PM) Think he meant to say 42, not 47. Me too. Funny, because in doing so, he is contradicting his own point that retiring the number was so impactful. It is, however, a point I agree with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Sacamano Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 23, 2016 -> 11:24 AM) I am all for having 42 and 21 displayed in all parks, but do the numbers really have to be retired? Let the individual teams do that. Wouldn't it make more of an impact on the legacy of Jackie Robinson if a player wore 42 in his honor, and a broadcaster mentioned it rather than having no one wear it except everyone wear it one day a year? Agree. I don't think they need to be retired either. I like the displayed idea though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panerista Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jan 23, 2016 -> 11:24 AM) I am all for having 42 and 21 displayed in all parks, but do the numbers really have to be retired? Let the individual teams do that. Wouldn't it make more of an impact on the legacy of Jackie Robinson if a player wore 42 in his honor, and a broadcaster mentioned it rather than having no one wear it except everyone wear it one day a year? I feel this way as well. I go back and forth on retiring jersey numbers in general, but I'm leaning toward favoring retiring jerseys, not numbers. But I digress, to me it would be sufficient to honor these players in other ways. Clemente is well honored in the MLB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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