Yes, Ian, I read your post, and here are a few thoughts from old school fandom.
If your wonder whether fans recognize which player wore which number, you're almost certainly correct. Most 'fans' today don't follow baseball closely enough to know who their team's big hitter has been this year, or who their team's best pitcher would be if that pitcher exists on the roster. Most 'fans' are far more casual among younger generations. Too many are 'filming' At Bats with their phones instead of just watching and trusting that personal memory will do the job over time. In other words, if they have to use their camera-phone that often, will they remember uniform numbers from past players? From today's players?
Some minor league stadiums have done a great job informing the fans of the team's past players. I.E., attached to the wall in AA Winston-Salem and Greensboro, NC ballparks are biographies of their past greats. IMHO, it is far more effective to inform fans of the franchise's past this way, simply promoting the franchise HoF. The KC Royals do this, as do the Atlanta Braves in their new stadium. A wall display of jerseys would be more effective, thereby including deadball era players from the ancient franchises.
I can recall only a half-dozen numbers of uniforms throughout MLB's franchises without dwelling too long on it. The number itself doesn't mean that much.
If your wonder whether fans recognize which player wore which number, you're almost certainly correct. Most 'fans' today don't follow baseball closely enough to know who their team's big hitter has been this year, or who their team's best pitcher would be if that pitcher exists on the roster. Most 'fans' are far more casual among younger generations. Too many are 'filming' At Bats with their phones instead of just watching and trusting that personal memory will do the job over time. In other words, if they have to use their camera-phone that often, will they remember uniform numbers from past players? From today's players?
Some minor league stadiums have done a great job informing the fans of the team's past players. I.E., attached to the wall in AA Winston-Salem and Greensboro, NC ballparks are biographies of their past greats. IMHO, it is far more effective to inform fans of the franchise's past this way, simply promoting the franchise HoF. The KC Royals do this, as do the Atlanta Braves in their new stadium. A wall display of jerseys would be more effective, thereby including deadball era players from the ancient franchises.
I can recall only a half-dozen numbers of uniforms throughout MLB's franchises without dwelling too long on it. The number itself doesn't mean that much.
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