We missed this from earlier in the week: Brett Gardner was inducted into the Charleston Baseball Hall of Fame.
Brett Gardner, Justin Smoak and Matt Wieters inducted into the Charleston Baseball Hall of Fame at Riley Park pic.twitter.com/6czK6MuECU
— Jeff Hartsell (@Jeff_fromthePC) August 29, 2023
Hearing about Gardy again — and the guy still looks like he can play — got us thinking. Yes, the Yankees were probably right from a baseball perspective to move on. But their incompetent handling of Gardner’s exit — Aaron Boone’s public regret, followed by giving his spring training locker to Aaron Hicks — was, in hindsight, a red flag about what a disaster the organization has become on and off the field.
We thought Anthony Volpe getting Gardner’s blessing to wear No. 11 might be the start of the closure process. But nothing has happened since then. And something should happen. We have already established Gardner is not going to have his number retired and a plaque in Monument Park is a bit out of his reach. But the guy deserves to be recognized and the fans deserve to formally thank him.
We thought Gardner might get a moment at Old Timer’s Day this year. But that event is understandably going to be about Derek Jeter. And it is not like there will be a World Series game for Gardner to throw out the first pitch anytime soon. So we will see. There is no reason to have any faith the Yankees will finally get this right, but you never know.
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.
