By Paul Semendinger
***
Oh to remember back on those great days of yesteryear.
We do often look with rose-colored glasses as the days of our past – of our youth. The days when things were so much better than the world we suffer through today.
Life was easier then.
The TV shows were better.
And the ballplayers. Oh. They were so much better than the players of today.
Yes.
(You understand.)
***
I am fondly remembering those days, long ago, when Humberto Sanchez was the greatest Yankee to wear #77. (That was in 2008.)
But those days have passed. They are in the past. Distant and fading memories now…
***
It was a watershed day, a turning point in Yankees history when this all changed. You may (and probably do) remember the day:
July 3, 2017
On that Day, the Yankees lost to the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3. But something more significant happened.
(I cannot believe none of our readers even remember this…)
When he took the field for that game on July 3, 2017, Clint Frazier was appearing in his third Major League game. His third game! Game Number Three!
It was on that game (shamefully not recognized by the Yankees or in the press) that Clint Frazier became the greatest Yankee to ever wear uniform #77. On that day, he set the career record for games played in that uniform number.
On that day, and in that game, he become the greatest.
OF ALL TIME!
(Yes, you are forgiven for not remembering that great day in Yankees Uniform Number History.)
***
The Yankees have high hopes for uniform #77 because they have high hopes for Clint Frazier. 2021 promises to be his year to shine.
This is his time.
In 2021, Clint Frazier can finally show the Yankees and their fans why he was so highly regarded as a prospect.
We’ve seen flashes.
The talent is there.
In 2021, Clint Frazier can begin the great career he is destined for so that one day a writer can reach #77 on a uniform number list and say, without hesitation, “That was Clint Frazier’s number.”
We might even see that number one day in Monument Park.
That’s the hope.
(Let’s just not get ahead of ourselves.)
***
Most of the research for this project comes from Baseball-Reference.com
Cover image modified from MLB Getty Images/Fansided.
