Just Because a Number Is Available Doesn’t Mean You Can Have It
The New York Times
Honoring Paul O’Neill’s No. 21 elevates him in Monument Park but removes him from an odd fraternity of players whose numbers are out of circulation but have not been officially retired.
For Morgan Ensberg, damage control started when he saw his uniform number at spring training in 2008. It was 21, the number worn by Paul O’Neill for nine sterling seasons in pinstripes, and after six years out of circulation, the Yankees had decided to quietly reintroduce it. Big mistake, Ensberg thought.
He begged the Yankees’ clubhouse manager to give him a new number when the season started. He offered $5,000 to buy a different number from his teammate Wilson Betemit. He even apologized to O’Neill, who insisted he did not mind. But Ensberg knew he would never win over the masses.
“The fans made it very clear, even during spring training: ‘That’s Paul’s number!’” Ensberg, who is now a manager in the Tampa Bay farm system, said by phone on Wednesday. “I was like: ‘I know, it’s just spring training, I’ve already talked to the clubbie, we’re good.’ You have certain people, it doesn’t really matter that they’re not in the Baseball Hall of Fame, they’ve done so much and they’re such an example of that team, you don’t want to touch that stuff.”
