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    Big League Stew

    Marlins agree to unretire No. 5 for Logan Morrison, who will honor his father’s favorite player

    By Mark Townsend | Big League Stew – Sat, Feb 11, 2012 7:21 PM EST

    Logan Morrison wore the No. 20 in his first two seasons with the Marlins. (AP)You might be thinking what I was thinking when I first saw Logan Morrison's tweets on Saturday afternoon announcing his switch to his team's retired No. 5: The Miami Marlins retired a number other than Jackie Robinson's No. 42? How did I miss that?

    Well, the Marlins actually retired the No. 5 prior to their inaugural season when the team's first president, Carl Barger, passed away unexpectedly during the 1992 Winter Meetings in Louisville.

    Barger had grown up a big fan of the Yankees' Joe DiMaggio, so the decision was made almost immediately to retire DiMaggio's number in his honor. That ceremony took place before their first game on April 5, 1993.

    Now, 19 years later, the number will officially come out of retirement in the Marlins home opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 4. A plaque honoring Barger will take its place in the new Marlins Ballpark.

    "I understand what an honor it is to have a number unretired," Morrison said via Twitter. "I want to thank Mr. Loria and the Marlins for making it happen."

    "I also promise to wear the number with great pride and continue to honor Mr. Barger and his family."

    As it turns out, Morrison also had a tribute in mind when he requested the number change. His father, Tom, who passed away after a battle with lung cancer in the December 2010, was a big supporter of George Brett, and often encouraged Logan to emulate the Kansas City Royals Hall of Famer. Now Morrison is one step closer to doing just that, while also honoring the memory of his dad.

    It's also worth noting that according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Miami was willing to grant Albert Pujols permission to wear No. 5 as a concession to help lure him to South Beach. If that's indeed the case, it's nice to see them now making this concession for one of their own so that he can pay a simple, but meaningful tribute.

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    8 comments

    • Cleon Jones
      Cleon Jones  •  Lynbrook, New York  •  3 months ago
      Not as bad as when the Mets unretired #24 (Willie Mays) to accomodate Rickey Henderson. Then again, too many teams retire too many numbers. It should be an honor reserved for the absolute creme de la creme.
      • TEE JAY
        TEE JAY 3 months ago
        I couldn't agree more, Mr. Jones! And the biggest "offender" are the NY Yankees. Although I am a lifelong Yankee fan I have to say, the Yankees take the honor and privildge of retiring uniform numbers to the ultimate extreem. True....the Yankees had many great players over the years,but...in my opinion, a plaque or monument in Monument Park would be a more apropriate tribute for SOME and, as you said, save the honor of retiring uniform numbers for " ...THE ABSOULUTE CREME DE LA CREME".
      • American Jesus
        American Jesus 3 months ago
        The Mets never retired #24 (only 14,37,41 and 42).
      • Brad
        Brad 3 months ago
        Right! Mets did not retire 24, but should should retire 8 (Carter) and 31 (Piazza)!
    • 戦士
      戦士  •  3 months ago
      Will the plaque be publicly funded too?
      • migoodguy45
        migoodguy45 3 months ago
        good point no doubt paid for with nothing coming from Loria
    • John B
      John B  •  3 months ago
      I retired a number two about an hour ago.
    • J
      J  •  3 months ago
      Nothing Loria does is with honest good intentions.
    • kknepp
      kknepp  •  Indianapolis, Indiana  •  3 months ago
      Was Barger's family consulted about this before the decision was made?
      • Adrian Rodriguez
        Adrian Rodriguez 3 months ago
        http://miamiherald.typepad.com/fish_bytes/2012/02/did-marlins-and-logan-morrison-disrespect-memory-of-carl-barger.html
    • Chris
      Chris  •  Cicero, Illinois  •  3 months ago
      I'm sure nobody would be complaining if Pujols was there wearing 5, it's not like Barger has anything to do with this number besides liking a player who wore it for another team. While Morrison is the definition of the word boner, having a number retired is an honor for a player who wore the number well for an extended period of time for that team, not an executive, so there shouldn't be any crying or complaining. The Marlins have not had a player who deserves to have their Marlins number retired nor will they for a long time the way they lease and trade in great players like cars.
    • Louie L.
      Louie L.  •  3 months ago
      who retires a number for an executive? you name the ballpark, or part of the ballpark, or whatever after him, not retire the number of a player he was fond of! a number should be retired when you just can't picture another player wearing that number. sure, you can lower the bar a little for younger teams, not everyone had a babe ruth in the team, but for an executive? next thing we know, owners will be retiring their own little league numbers! not to disrespect Mr. Barger, of course, i'm sure he was a great guy.
    • Dave
      Dave  •  3 months ago
      Weak sauce. That number was retired to honor a man. Period. Pick number 55, or 50, or whatever.
      • .
        . 3 months ago
        Dont think any numbers should be retired unless they played for that team. Wheres larry doby's #?
      • Jeff D
        Jeff D 3 months ago
        Usually no number is retired unless they played for the team. The only one to have it retired by all teams is Jackie Robinson....
      • Brian P
        Brian P 3 months ago
        I think it's even weaker that the number was retired in the first place when 5 had no real connection to the Marlins at all.
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