The Times asks…
Some in the Mets organization also admit that the team wants to be fair to other members of the 1986 Championship team, including Hernandez, who played longer in New York, and Darryl Strawberry, who still owns the franchise records for home runs and runs batted in.
Perhaps it is time to revisit the issue. Carter’s statistics on the Mets may not leap off the page, but he was the glue that held the team’s pitching staff together
Look, there were about 20 years to retire the number. If it was the right thing to do then they should have done it and the man could have been there and enjoyed the day. Doing it now is just the Mets being reactionary Mets.
Let 8 sit next to 24 in the unused pile, and if some day the right player comes along then give it to him (or her).
More to say about this one I finish off my eBook Send The Beer Guy coming soon (although I need to re-write the Carter chapter.)
Maybe this is blasphemy but I don’t think Carter deserves his number to be retired. The Mets have set a high bar for players numbers to be retired and I think they need to stick to it. Carter was not with the team long enough and he did not put up great numbers throughout his years with the team. As much as I love Gary Carter for all his contributions to the 86 Mets, he does not deserve to have his number put next to Tom Seaver.