No. 28 Has a New Back
The Yankees, the first team to put numbers on the backs of uniforms, have a peculiar relationship with them.
Their 21 retired numbers are by far the most of any franchise, and then there are the ones that are unofficially off the books. Paul O’Neill’s No. 21 has been worn only briefly since he retired in 2001, even though Todd Frazier badly wanted it last season. Alex Rodriguez’s No. 13 has not been put back into circulation since he was sent into retirement in the middle of the 2016 season. And no Yankee has worn No. 0.
This season, No. 28, the number formerly worn by Girardi, will be worn by Austin Romine, the backup catcher.
It arrived to him by happenstance. Romine wore No. 27 the last two seasons, but when the Yankees acquired Giancarlo Stanton, the reigning National League most valuable player, in the off-season, Stanton inquired about the number. He wore No. 27 for his entire career with the Marlins.
Romine acceded to Stanton’s wishes and shooed away an offer of compensation. (When John Lackey arrived in St. Louis several years ago, he gave Pat Neshek a Babe Ruth-autographed baseball for giving up No. 41.)
“I’m just happy to have a number,” said Romine, who has worn more of them than any other Yankee: 71, 53, 45, 62, 27 and now 28. “I said: Is 28 available? Then I’ll take 28.”
Romine called it a plus that his new number was worn by Girardi, a former catcher whom Romine respects. Growing up, Romine always wanted to wear No. 16, the number his father, Kevin, wore with the Boston Red Sox, but he knew that would not happen the moment he was drafted by the Yankees.
“Whitey Ford took care of that a long time ago,” Romine said, referring to the Hall of Fame pitcher whose number was retired in 1974.
For the time being, the number that represented so much for the Yankees for the previous eight seasons will mean something less. There is no symbolism in No. 28 this season for the man who will wear it, no inherent reminders for players and fans of what the Yankees are chasing this season.
“For me,” Romine said, “it’s just the next number.”
AI
