Red Sox Retired Numbers?

[DoubleX]

The Sox have retired the numbers of Bobby Doerr, Joe Cronin, Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, and Carlton Fisk. This is a pretty good group, but do you think the Sox should pay any other former players this honor?

Some names that came to mind (not that they all should be retired, just some players I might consider if I were to open the gates a little more):

Wade Boggs (Is his number being retired?)
Jim Rice
Dwight Evans
Fred Lynn
Luis Tiant
Johnny Pesky
Dom DiMaggio
Mo Vaughn
Jimmie Foxx
Lefty Grove

And maybe a note about guys like Cy Young, Tris Speaker, Jimmy Collins, and even Babe Ruth (since they didn't have numbers)

[Biggerin]

There used to be some strict guidelines for retiring numbers in Boston (Hall of Fame, must retire in Red Sox uniform, probably # of years)

They threw 'em out the window to retire Fisk's of course, so anything can happen.

Last year, there were rumors of retiring Tony Conligliaro's number soon, and if that's done, a few more Red Sox legends may be following suit.

'Course, what do I know? I think my first post here was had something to do with retiring number 5 someday.

[DoubleX]

Tony Conligliaro (along with Rico Petrocelli) actually sprang to mind. From living in Boston, I know both have a special place in the heart of Red Sox Nation (well for the part of Red Sox Nation that didn't jump on the bandwagon in the past four or five years - there is a lot of that...Same can be said about Yankee fans jumping on the bandwagon in the late 90s).

Anywho, decided not to include them because I figured there were some better and more tenured candidates. Jim Rice and Dwight Evans were really the first non-Wade Boggs players to come to mind as most deserving of the honor. Both had fairly long and very productive careers with the Red Sox, and with the exception of Evans' last year in Baltimore, both spent their entire careers with the team.

[Swiss]

Wade Boggs (Is his number being retired?)
Jim Rice
Dwight Evans
Fred Lynn
Luis Tiant
Johnny Pesky
Dom DiMaggio
Mo Vaughn
Jimmie Foxx
Lefty Grove

For my Red Sox heart, the franchise should retire the numbers of Rice, Evans and Dom DiMaggio.
Mo Vaughn although a fan favorite, didn't remained lots of years in our club. Same thing with Jimmy Foxx.
Lefty Grove is more identified with the A's. The Oakland A's should retire all the Philadelphia A's famous numbers (like Simmons, Grove, Foxx, Cochrane...)

And maybe a note about guys like Cy Young, Tris Speaker, Jimmy Collins, and even Babe Ruth (since they didn't have numbers)

One thing always I liked from my NL favorite club, the SF Giants is that they retired the non-numbered idols like McGraw and Mathewson.
They played for the Giants when they were unnumbered in NYC.
The Giants people simply put an interlocked Mets-styled "NY" with their last names.

We should put Young, Speaker, Collins, Joe Wood, Ruth, etc with the Red Stockings' logo.

[Steve Jeltz]

Roger Clemens when he finally retires. Had hist best season in a Red Sox uniform. Let bygones be bygones.

[BoSox Rule]

Nomar, Pedro, and Clemens should be retired.

[runningshoes]

Nomar, Pedro, and Clemens should be retired.

Nomar and Pedro didn't play in Boston long enough to have thier numbers retired.

I would like to see Jim Rice's number retired.

[DoubleX]

I get the feeling that Boston fans would readily retire Curt Schilling's number at this point.

[pesky6]

I think that the fewer numbers the Red Sox retire, the better. We don't want Fenway to become a littered boneyard like a certain other stadium, do we?

[Swiss]

Mmmhhh... about Clemens... I agree to retire his number in Fenway Park.
If they retired the Boggs' number, why not the Clemens' number? Once Clemens used to be the face of the franchise.

[DoubleX]

I think that the fewer numbers the Red Sox retire, the better. We don't want Fenway to become a littered boneyard like a certain other stadium, do we?

I agree, the Yankees (assuming that is who you are talking about) have gone a bit overboard with the numbers retiring. However, I don't see anything wrong with honoring tradition. I think there are too many teams that don't properly honor their past. The Athletics are a great example. It's as if the team totally disavows some of its great history in Philalephia. Is there any mention in Oakland of Connie Mack, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane, Eddie Collins, Frank Baker, Eddie Plank, Rube Waddell, and Chief Bender? I don't believe so. Heck, it wasn't even until a year or two ago that the team finally acknowledged Reggie Jackson.

That being said, I think the Red Sox have done a pretty good job honoring their heroes. Jim Rice probably deserves the honor too, but I think the case for anyone else (such as Dwight Evans and Dom DiMaggio) is not as strong as Rice's.

[efin98]

There was a rumor a few years ago that Dom DiMagio may be the next guy to get his number retired, provided Trot Nixon change numbers. That turned out to be bogus.
There's a push by a local radio host to retire Pesky's number despite not being eligible due to not being in the Hall of Fame. He should be a shoo-in for number retirement in his last years of his life unfortunately...

Boggs' honoring is the olive branch that sets in motion his number retirement, just as Fisk did back when his number was retired. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a job working for the Red Sox to qualify for number retirement...

Clemens' number is a tough area, since he may not come back to the system in the same way that Fisk did and Boggs may do. If he doesn't, 21 will remain unused in honor of him but won't be retired.

Rice's number is still "occupied" in that he works for the team, thus no one can use the number. Same for Peskey. Evans' number was unused until a certain hard hitting LF came to Fenway in 2000, but that could become available in the offseason...

[DoubleX]

There was a rumor a few years ago that Dom DiMagio may be the next guy to get his number retired, provided Trot Nixon change numbers. That turned out to be bogus.
There's a push by a local radio host to retire Pesky's number despite not being eligible due to not being in the Hall of Fame. He should be a shoo-in for number retirement in his last years of his life unfortunately...

Dom isn't in the Hall either. Rice has the best chance to be the next Red Sock in. I'd say he has a decent shot to get in this year, but probably not. Evans deserved a lot more respect from the voters than he received. Is he a Hall of Famer? No. But he is certainly among that group right on the outside.

[pesky6]

I agree, the Yankees (assuming that is who you are talking about) have gone a bit overboard with the numbers retiring. However, I don't see anything wrong with honoring tradition. I think there are too many teams that don't properly honor their past. The Athletics are a great example. It's as if the team totally disavows some of its great history in Philalephia. Is there any mention in Oakland of Connie Mack, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane, Eddie Collins, Frank Baker, Eddie Plank, Rube Waddell, and Chief Bender? I don't believe so. Heck, it wasn't even until a year or two ago that the team finally acknowledged Reggie Jackson.

That being said, I think the Red Sox have done a pretty good job honoring their heroes. Jim Rice probably deserves the honor too, but I think the case for anyone else (such as Dwight Evans and Dom DiMaggio) is not as strong as Rice's.

I think part of the problem with the A's is that because they've been in three cities, it's hard for the fanbase (and maybe the execs?) to embrace players who, in fact, played in another city. Not saying it's right, just a theory.

As far as the Yanks, what I was trying to say that it just seems weird that they have retired numbers of Elston Howard with the likes of Ruth, Mantle, etc.

[DoubleX]

I think part of the problem with the A's is that because they've been in three cities, it's hard for the fanbase (and maybe the execs?) to embrace players who, in fact, played in another city. Not saying it's right, just a theory.

As far as the Yanks, what I was trying to say that it just seems weird that they have retired numbers of Elston Howard with the likes of Ruth, Mantle, etc.

I totally agree with your point about retiring the Yankees numbers. There are certainly a number of Yankees that are deserving of the honor - Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra, Dickey, Ford, Stengal, even Mattingly (Joe McCarthy should probably have his number retired too), and there are a bunch of also-rans - Martin, Maris, Rizzuto, Howard, Guidry, and Jackson (I really, really don't think of Reggie as a Yankee). Munson is on the fence. Great player and heart of the team (really the Jason Varitek of the 1970s Yankees), likely not a Hall of Famer though. But if you open the door to all these guys, why stop there? There are tons of Yankees that are at least on the level of these other players. I think it's pretty ridiculous.