[Chron] With too many retired numbers, Astros should reintroduce numbers

I thought all teams have retired number 42.

 

Unfortunately, it's an infinitely more interesting topic than the current team...

I would, if I could do it with zero repercussions, unretire Wilson, Umbricht and Scott. I think Cruz and Dierker earned it in large part because of their longevity. I would make a very passionate case to keep Wynn, too. IMO, preserving a legacy like his - which is criminally underrated - is the responsibility of the franchise (which is why I'm so proud he's included in the Home Run Alley display). (I think all three, frankly, rank ahead of Ryan, in terms of franchise impact. I'd probably put Berkman and Oswalt ahead of him, too.)

I’ve previously argued Berkman and Oswalt were no-brainers… I’m still leaning that way with Berkman (especially if I'm going to campaign for Wynn). Oswalt feels Scott-like to me, as I think more about it; his involvement in huge moments elevates what might otherwise be a very good – but not great – career. And, frankly, it’s hard to emotionally disconnect from that.

Bagwell
Berkman
Biggio
Cruz
Dierker
Ryan
Wynn

 

It is. And something I don't think MLB should have done.

 

Seriously?

90% of the fan-base is completely apathetic towards the franchise right now, and you want to insult the few fans left who actually continue to take an interest to the team and its past?

Jersey retirements and honoring them in the stadium is 100% about the fans that watched these guys, and gives them a token to be remembered by.

 

I think we should unretire umbright and wilson. umbright was a certainly a good move at the time, but there are other ways to honor players than retiring their numbers.

players w/ their numbers retired should be good enough to at least be heard of by casual fans. true, his career was unfortunately cut short, but i'd rather see a memorial, a la DK, than retiring his number.

 

Thanks for proving my point!

 

I'd argue that we should un-retire all the numbers or note that they were retired for the NL Astros, considering that other than the name, this team bears about as much resemblance to those old Astros teams as the Texans do to the Oilers. Hell, at least the Texans play in the AFC - these ALstros are foreign to me and since the league change, it's been difficult to associate them with the memories that were formed by the players whose numbers are retired.

 

Those memories were also formed by players who also spent time in their careers playing in the AL. Did you opinion of Nolan or Lance change when they were in the AL?

 

I guess my point is that this team feels like an expansion franchise; other than the team name/ logo/ colors, I feel like their history started when they became an AL team. Leave the NL history alone and separate; bring in the former players to honor (like the Texans do with Earl/ did with Bum), but if you want to start fresh as an AL team, then tear it all down and build it back up.

 

Well, it is more interesting than talking about the actual non-MLB product on the field.

 

But its not a different team. Same stadium, same fans, same historic players still tied with the organization, same name, same mascot, same history, and same all-time records.

And the line between an "AL" and "NL" team gets blurred with each and every inter league game every single day (and the eventual adoption of the DH in the NL).

 

Didn't the Astros start tearing things down in their 2nd-to-last year as a... National League club?

 

I feel the same about the Astros. It is like the relation of the Texans to the Oilers. It almost feels like Drayton moved the Astros and Jim Crane brought in an expansion team. Once the Astros moved to the AL, they were no longer the same team to me. This Jim Crane guy is a tool