I rarely blog about my oldest passion, baseball, because of its local nature. Frankly, no one gives a fuck about your favorite team, unless they're either also a fan, or a rival. Therefore, I doubt there'll be much in the way of response to this post, as it doesn't affect much of my audience.

I understand. Really, I do. But I have to say this SOMEWHERE, so I guess it will have to go here.

Absent keeping Billy Wagner, probably the best closer the Phillies have had since ... well it'll come up in a minute, I'd say the best guy to close out the 9th for the Phils would be someone like Tom Gordon, who I admit I really didn't pay much attention to until I read Stephen King's book The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. The guy's a class act, having pitched for the Red Sox and the Yankees at key times in the history of those teams.

But do we REALLY have to put Tug McGraw's number 45 on Gordon's jersey so soon after his untimely death? I mean, sure, Terry Mulholland was wearing it when he pitched his no-hitter, but Tug was still alive and kickin' at that time, and hadn't even come down with the brain cancer that ultimately took his life. Isn't it about time we gave serious consideration to retiring that jersey outright?

Tug's is one of the only so-deserving not-already-retired number from the 1980 World Champion team that hasn't made its way to the wall, save perhaps Larry Bowa's. The truest standouts on that squad, Schmidt, Carlton, and Rose* (I also think Manny Trillo's quiet manner of success should also earn this honor), have all had their jerseys retired. Why not Tug? He was the WHOLE PERSONALITY of that squad.

*Pete Rose's #14 was retired not in his honor, but in honor of pitcher Jim Bunning, who is best known for his Father's Day no-hitter against the Mets at Shea Stadium. Today, Jim Bunning (R-KY) serves in the US Senate. Unless MLB comes to its senses, Pete's name will ALWAYS have an asterisk beside it.

Tom Gordon, welcome to Philadelphia. For now, it seems you have the honor of Tug's digits. Hopefully, it will inspire you to live up to that higher standard. Also, the words of Tug's son, Tim, may be of help to you:

He said: "I was in my early forties, "With a lot of life before me,
"An' a moment came that stopped me on a dime.
"I spent most of the next days, "Looking at the x-rays,
"An' talking 'bout the options an' talkin' 'bout sweet time."
I asked him when it sank in, That this might really be the real end?
How's it hit you when you get that kind of news?
Man whatcha do?

An' he said: "I went sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,
I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.
And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter, And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying."
An' he said: "Some day, I hope you get the chance, "To live like you were dyin'."

He said "I was finally the husband, That most the time I wasn't.
An' I became a friend a friend would like to have.
And all of a sudden goin' fishin', "Wasn't such an imposition."
And I went three times that year I lost my Dad.
"Well, I finally read the Good Book, And I took a good long hard look,
At what I'd do if I could do it all again, And then:

"I went sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,
I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.
And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter, And I gave forgiveness I'd been denying."
An' he said: "Some day, I hope you get the chance, "To live like you were dyin'."

Like tomorrow was a gift, And you got eternity,
To think about what youd do with it.
An' what did you do with it? An' what can I do with it? An' what would I do with it?

"Sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing,
I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu.
"And then I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter, And I watched Blue Eagle as it was flyin'."
An' he said: "Some day, I hope you get the chance, "To live like you were dyin'."

Good words to live by, I'd say. Come on Phils. Tug was an inspiration to baseball fans everywhere, not just to his son. Get it right for once. Maybe #54?

RWR