By Paul Semendinger
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This is the sixth, and last, uniform number that debuted during the 2020 season. I find it amazing that the Yankees broke out six brand new, never-before-used, uniform numbers in 2020. In their long history, they had never used uniform numbers 79, 82, 83, 84, 86, and 89, yet they were compelled to break them all out last season.
Spoiler Alert – Don’t be surprised if you see players wearing the following numbers in 2021:
76, 78, 80, 81, 87, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, and 98
as those are the last unissued numbers in Yankees’ history.
(I have some recommendations for some of those numbers:
76 should go to a player named Washington, Jefferson, or Adams
78 should go to a player known as “Bucky”
87 should go to a player with the last name of Mattingly
96 should go to a player named Jeter.)
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But on to uniform #79 and the best Yankee to ever wear it:
Nick Nelson.
Nick Nelson appeared in eleven games for the Yankees in 2020. He owns a perfect win/loss record. He is 1-0 on his career.
In one regard, Nelson did pretty well last year. In 20.2 innings, he struck out 18 batters.
On the other hand, Nelson walked too many players (11) and gave up about a hit an inning (20) resulting in a WHIP of 1.50 which is far too high.
The sky, of course, is the limit for Nick Nelson who is only 25-years-old. It seems he’ll have a big role on the 2021 Yankees. I hope he keeps #79 and can bring much success to this uniform number.
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Most of the research for this project comes from Baseball-Reference.com
