Not to say that the Diamondbacks decided to retire Luis Gonzalez' number purely to sell tickets. But it worked -- this place was packed.
So here's an idea. With the team 26 games under .500 and looking at a lot of empty seats for the rest of the season, the team should just go ahead and schedule a jersey retirement ceremony for every week of the remaining season.
There's eight weeks left so here's our suggestions:
Randy Johnson, 51. Duh. Assuming that is he's not broken his hand punching his TV during the Gonzo ceremony.
Curt Schilling, 38. Sure, he was only here three seasons and the bloody sock thing happened in Boston, but he was pretty darn good and he kept fantastic notes as well. A role model for school kids everywhere.
Steve Finley, 12. Fantastic defensive center fielder who also excelled at adjusting his ... self at the plate.
From here we had to get creative, being that this is the Diamondbacks and we only have 12 seasons to work with.
Byung-Hyun Kim, 49. It is not easy to blow two saves in a row in such dramatic fashion. In the world series. At Yankee Stadium. And if he doesn't do that, Luis Gonzalez doesn't get the chance to be a Game 7 hero.
Russ Ortiz, 48. Most cookies eaten in the clubhouse. A record that was threatened this season by Chad Qualls but still stands.
Matt Mantei, 31. Ice Ice Baby. And if he doesn't get hurt in 2001, Kim doesn't have a chance to blow those two saves in the World Series and Luis Gonzalez doesn't get a chance to be the Game 7 hero.
Travis Lee, 16. Best-looking first baseman to ever play on the Diamondbacks during their inaugural season.
Derek Jeter, 2. I know, he's not a Diamondback but think about it. The D-backs could get a jump on the Yankees for the first time since 2001 and Lord knows this place would sell out with obnoxious New Yawkers in no time.
So, how about it, Diamondbacks?
It sure is fun to have people in your ball park, and since your current team isn't going to draw them in, why not retire some more numbers?
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