Number Seven
Mickey Mantle, #7 (number retired on June 8, 1969)
When Mickey Mantle first came up to the big leagues in 1951, he wore number six. Outfielder Cliff Mapes wore number seven. Mantle hit .260/.341/.423 in his first 69 games with the Yankees and was sent back to the minors for more seasoning in mid-July. He crushed it with the Double-A Kansas City Blues, hitting .361/.445/.651, and got the call to return to the Yankees in late August. In the meantime, Cliff Mapes had been traded to the St. Louis Browns. After the Mapes trade, Bob Cerv was called up from the Kansas City Blues and given number seven. He was sent down when Mantle came up. When Mantle returned, he was given number seven, the number that he would be known for long after his career ended.
Imagine if Mantle had not been sent back to the minors. Would he have continued to wear number six or would he have asked for number seven after Cliff Mapes was traded? This series of events changed history. If Mickey Mantle kept his original number, we would never have had this epic moment in Seinfeldian history:
Mantle continued to wear number seven throughout his career with the Yankees, which ended with the 1968 season. The following June, his number was retired by the Yankees. At the time, he joined Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Joe DiMaggio as the first four Yankees players to have their numbers retired. That could be a Mt. Rushmore of Yankee greatness right there.
In April, a story went around that Yankees prospect Clint Frazier asked if the Yankees ever “un-retired” numbers because he wanted to wear number seven. There was plenty of social media mocking directed his way, but Yankees GM Brian Cashman came out and said the story was “totally untrue.” No one with the Yankees could confirm that Frazier ever made the request.