Conference 7.286::red_sox

    I guess this is the official Mo Vaughn note.
    
    I had a thought. If Mo leaves the Red Sox and goes to another team,
    does he leave Jackie Robinson's "42" behind? Does wearing that number
    mean anything to him?
    
    Just a thought...if anyone has heard Mo speak to this.
    
    Maj

	The ruling was for their careers, not for the life of a team they are
on. So as long as they never play on the same team, they can keep their number
42!

Mo has made it a point of pride that he wears "42" in memory of 
Jackie Robinson.  

    According to attached article from ESPNET, Mo will wear the number 
    on any team except the Dodgers.
    
    Jose
    
  [Image]

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             Vaughn to continue to wear No. 42

             By Sean McAdam
             Special to ESPNET SportsZone
             ---------------------------------------------------------------

 Baseball    As Red Sox players gathered around the TV in the home
 Chat        clubhouse Tuesday night to watch the ceremony honoring
             Jackie Robinson at Shea Stadium, their ears perked up when
 ALSO SEE    they heard acting commissioner Bud Selig mention the name of
             teammate Mo Vaughn.
 Erasing
 the Line:   They heard Selig say that, from this     DEEP-SIX NO. 42?
 Do          day forward, baseball would be
 athletes    retiring Robinson's No. 42 and         As of Tuesday night,
 measure     forbid its issuance. No other major    12 players wear No.
 up?         professional sport has honored one     42:
             of its players in a similar fashion.   Name             Team
 What
 Robinson    But Vaughn, sitting across the         Mo Vaughn     Red Sox
 means to    clubhouse, wasn't alarmed. He said
 Vaughn      he isn't going to give up the number   Butch            Mets
             he had worn since 1991 as a salute     Huskey
 Royals'     to Robinson, despite recent efforts    Tom
 Goodwin:    by the Players Association to          Goodwin        Royals
 We          convince him to change his number.
 remember                                           Mariano       Yankees
 No. 42      Vaughn's agents were approached by     Rivera
             union officials in March, asking
 Sagmoen     that Vaughn relinquish the number in   Mike          Indians
 debuts      order to officially retire No. 42      Jackson
 wearing     across the game. "I said, 'I'm not     Lenny
 No. 42      doing it,' " Vaughn recounted          Webster     Baltimore
             Tuesday night. "I'll wear that
             number until I retire. They can        Jason         Pirates
             retire all the other No. 42s, but      Schmidt
             guys that have been wearing it for a   Jose Lima      Astros
             reason should be allowed to keep it.
                                                    Scott Karl    Brewers
             "The main thing is, guys should
             continue to go ahead and do so.''      Dennis        Marlins
                                                    Cook
             Twelve major leaguers wear the No.     Kirk
             42 jersey. Ken Griffey Jr. of the      Rueter         Giants
             Seattle Mariners also slipped on No.
             42 in the game Tuesday against the     Buddy       Athletics
             Cleveland Indians, and pulled his      Groom
             socks up to his knees, in memory of
             Robinson. But it was a one-game tribute.

             "I had a chance to wear his number. Now I'll hang it on my
             wall," said Griffey, who will go back to wearing his regular
             No. 24. "It's something I will cherish forever."

             Vaughn said he was approached by New York Mets third baseman
             Butch Huskey, who also wears No. 42, when the Red Sox faced
             the Mets in a late-March exhibition game in March. Huskey
             told Vaughn of the pressure he was facing from the union.
             Vaughn's advice was straightforward.

             "I told Butch, 'Keep the legacy alive as long as you play,'
             '' Vaughn said. "(The union) kept pushing me, but they
             understood. When I'm done, and Butch is done, then they can
             put (the number) up. Retire it after we retire. For now, it
             should be kept alive.''

                                 Vaughn said he discussed his decision
                  ZONE POLL      with Robinson's widow, Rachel, who
                                 supported and encouraged his stand.
                For current      Rachel Robinson has singled out Vaughn
                major            as the one active player who most fully
                leaguers         keeps her late husband's legacy alive.
                wearing No.      Vaughn was the only active player
                42, what's       invited to a dinner held by the Jackie
                the best way     Robinson Foundation at the
                to honor         Waldorf-Astoria in New York in March.
                Jackie
                Robinson?        "It's an honor to keep wearing it,''
                                 Vaughn said.

                 Keep            Vaughn has worn No. 42 since making it
                 wearing the     to the big leagues in 1991. He didn't
                 number          wear the number in the minor leagues
                 Change          because it wasn't available to him.
                 numbers         Vaughn credits former Seton Hall coach
                                 Nick Bowness -- who wore the number --
                                 with educating him about Robinson's
                                 legacy and encouraging him to wear the
                                 number in tribute.

             Selig's announcement, does, however, create an interesting
             scenario for Vaughn in the future.

             Signed to a three-year, $18.5 million contract with the Red
             Sox that runs through the 1998 season, Vaughn has been
             highly critical of Red Sox management in the past year and
             is widely rumored to be heading elsewhere when he becomes a
             free agent.

             What if Vaughn signs with another team for 1999? Will the
             ban on issuing the number apply to him?

             "I'll wear it wherever I go,'' Vaughn declared. "Unless I go
             to the Dodgers.''

             Sean McAdam covers the Red Sox for the Providence
             Journal-Bulletin. He is a frequent contributor to ESPNET
             SportsZone.

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Someone ought to start a pool for who will be the last player in MLB to
ever wear number 42.  Whoever is still around reading this conference
when that happens will win the pool and accumulated interest ;-)

Seriously, though, what a tribute to forever retire a number from the
sport altogether, never to be worn again!

Dick

    re .174
    
    The article mentions that 12 players wore #42 as of April 15, but they
    missed one. Marc Sagmoen was activated by the Rangers on that day, and
    wore #42. He has since changed to #37, as he only picked #42 in spring
    training because #37 wasn't available.
    
    Dick