Retire Number 22

Uniform Number 22 on the New York Yankees should be retired because it was the number of one of the greatest Yankees right handed pitchers in the illustrious history of baseball's greatest franchise. It should be retired as soon as possible, despite the fact that Number 22 did not spend his entire career with the Yankees.

The Yankees had to trade one of their most popular players to obtain the pitcher who would wear Number 22. To make matters worse, Number 22 had pitched for one of the Yankees all time bitterest rivals and seemingly only had a few productive years remaining before he would call it quits. It turned out to be an excellent trade for the Yankees despite the fact that the player the Yankees traded had a great season the year following the trade and an even better one the next year.

In his first season with the Yankees, Number 22 helped them win the American League pennant and went 1-0 in the World Series. He was one of the hardest throwers in the majors most his career and continued to be the pitcher his manager used in games that had to be won.

It is true that Number 22 won twenty games for the Yankees only once, but what a season it was. He won exactly twenty games, had an ERA just above two runs a game, pitched over two hundred innings, led the team in strikeouts, and started the first game played at Yankee Stadium in that year's World Series. Overall, he was 7-2 in the World Series, with an ERA of 2.79.

One could continue to cite statistics but they tell only part of the story. Number 22 was one of the greatest clutch pitchers in baseball history. He not only started critical games---he often was called on to pitch in relief on short or no rest

In one World Series, he pitched a complete game, two hit shut out on October 5 and earned a save on October 8. The next year, he pitched a complete game on October 5, winning a grueling pitching battle, 2-1, and then picked up a save on October 7 to help complete a four game Yankees sweep of the Series. The next year he was the losing pitcher in Game 1 of the World Series but won Game 4 to tie a series the Yankees would go on to win.

But the best was yet to come. In his next World Series appearance, Number 22 lost the opening game on the road, but at Yankee Stadium, on TWO DAYS REST, he came back to pitch a four hit shut out. Number 22 rested the next day and the Yankees fell behind in the Series, 3-2 in games. But on ONE DAYS rest, he pitched in relief and saved the game to tie the Series. The next day, he relieved in the fourth inning and pitched until the seventh inning, a game the Yankees, Billy Martin, and Bob Kuzava won, 4-2 to give the Yankees their fourth straight World Championship.

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