Not every player deserves to have their number retired, but some players earned a special place in the hearts of Astros fans. I really like the DK honoring Darryl Kile. Its something nice and simple. Honestly I would not mind seeing more of these pop up around Minute Maid Park. I'm not sure if Puma deserves to have his number retired or not. I do think he at least deserves a LB. BW and KC might be kind of cool as well.
MS and GD over BW but that is just my opinion. If they are posthumously only then KC and JL would be OK.
Lima was fun, but he basically quit as soon as he saw the Crawford Boxes RIP Jose, but no JL on the wall of a building he despised (and a great stadium at that)
I wish they had a memorial of some kind as opposed to retiring numbers for the players that passed away. It's just odd for us to have 10 retired numbers already. If they retired Wynn and Mike Scott's numbers, there's absolutely no doubt Berkman and Oswalt should have their numbers retired. Oswalt in particular is statistically the greatest pitcher in Astros history, and the 4 guys behind him all have their numbers retired.
Number retirements was a gimmick to sell tickets back in the doldrum days of the Astrodome. No need to do so now... they can keep doing the ring giveaways!
Astros have the same amount of retired numbers as the Dodgers and Pirates, 1 more than the Tigers who have been around since 1901, I wish they would unretire a few. I have no problem with Oswalt & Berkman being up there. Biggio, Bagwell, Ryan & Cruz (both of them as much for fan popularity as performance), that's it.
I would put Dierker over Ryan, add Wynn. Wynn was the greatest Astros at the time of his retirement and still prominently ranks top 10 in a lot of offensive categories despite playing in dead-ball/Dome eras. #5, #7, #24, #25, #49. I'm a hard yes on Berkman (#17) and Oswalt (#44). And they need to save room for #27.
Not to be "technically" guy but........ technically, they have 9. Jackie Robinson is the 10th. But I would only remove Umbrecht, Wilson, Ryan and Scott. The other five, I think, are wholly justifiable. I know Ryan's removal would spark outrage but here's my justification: 1) he only played here 9 years, which represents only 1/3 of his career; 2) he was just as good, if not better, with California and Texas; 3) his most iconic, enduring moment - pummeling Robin Ventura - was as a Ranger; 4) he's......... a tad overrated. I mean, to some degree, he's equally underrated (he should have won the CYA in '87 but had a 8-16 record). But if you look at his individual seasons here... I mean, other than '81 (which was strike-shortened) and '87, which of his years here were *great*? He's always going to have a remarkably low FIP because of his strikeouts - but look at his WHIP (1.206); career 110 ERA+ as an Astro; just 3 seasons of 3+ bWAR........... I understand the emotional appeal of retiring Ryan's number. And if the retirement has more of a career-achievement underscore to it, I'd understand that (disagree with it; but understand it). But strictly as as Astro............... I think it's hard to justify, IMO.
I agree that we should unretire numbers and think that this is a good proposal. In regards to the OP, I don't want to see random initials around the ballpark. Unpopular or not, I don't think DK needs to be up there permanently. Only retired numbers should hang from the rafters, and unretiring some of the numbers will make that even more prestigious.
For the record, I'm not proposing that the Astros *literally* unretire numbers... I was speaking more with the gift of hindsight/time travel. What's done is done.
You're singing my song about Nolan. I think he is ENORMOUSLY overrated, particularly throughout the state of Texas.
If he'd worn #30 (which, IIRC, was his # in California? 36?), I wonder if its retirement would be viewed at least a little more critically? I think the linking of 34 is nice and convenient but, IMO, Ryan's nowhere near as good - as a HOUSTON athlete - as Campbell and Dream. I mean, they're in different galaxies. Again, looking just at his career as an Astro. Overall, he's certainly in their class so, again, the #34 link is almost unavoidable. Also, I think him being pushed out of here by a wildly unpopular owner, only to have him go to Dallas and rub our faces in it, elevates his status here; there's some built-in, like, reparations, I think, in the embrace of him, if that makes sense. Having said that, if he'd never left and retired an Astro with 14 years in Houston (assuming similar numbers those final five seasons)...... I'd feel differently. But 9 of 27 years is just..... it's not much.
Absolutely. Nolan the hometown icon was much better than Nolan the Astro. But that plays into it. If Dierker hadn't been a beloved broadcaster his number wouldn't be up there either.
Oswalt and Berkman are jersey retirement level players. It’s not their fault we put up too many jerseys before they came around. Raise the standard but don’t do away with the ceremony just because we already have too many. I like the DK as a subtle acknowledgement to a great that’s no longer here. I wouldn’t use initials to recognize living former players though.
They had a ceremony for Oswalt and Berkman... but the standard has justifiably been raised. The Texans face a similar scenario for their new ring of honor. At one point, people expected Duane Brown, Owen Daniels, and Arian Foster to be automatic locks, along with a Gary Kubiak mention. Now? Not so much. They could always relegate some of the numbers (unretire them) just like they eventually took down the now less significant division championship banners. This organization has raised the bar... pennants only for league/WS championships, and retired numbers only for those deemed HOF worthy.
So I would be willing to trade DK right now for someone under team protection or prospects. What you have for me MLB?