Off Topic
31 Goes Down in History
December 1, 2044: Yellow Springs – Today, the Yellow Springs Nine made official what everyone already assumed. That no YS9 player will ever wear number 31 again.
“We felt the timing was right,” said owner Bo Jordan. “Lucas McNeill has been the franchise for a long, long time, and when he agreed to come back to the coaching staff it made it only that much more obvious that we needed to do something. That family is the Nine.”
McNeill retired this winter after playing out the string in Charlotte. His next stop is likely the Hall of Fame—something the team will likely follow up with after balloting is complete. He is the the franchise leader in pretty much every counting statistic that’s kept, including 76 WAR, games, plate appearances, runs scored, total bases, singles, doubles, home runs, RBI, walks, and stolen bases. He won the Sawyer Silk in 2033, and again in 2036. He appeared in seven All-Star games, and won three Zimmer Diamond Glove Awards to go with his four Puckett Awards.
“The guy could do it all,” said manager Sam Brewington, himself a member of the YS9 Hall of Fame. “It’s a well-deserved retirement—though we know fans are going to see it around for a while longer.”
McNeill will continue to wear the number as long as he’s on the YS9 bench.
When reached for a comment at his winter home in Cat Island (where his family owns and operates the YS9 Short-A baseball club) , McNeill broke out in a long cheer which brought his pop star wife, Mikki Manning to the room. Manning, who is on a brief sabbatical after a long world tour, broke out in an acapella version of her song “I Congratulate You (Let’s Make Something Happen,” then the video chat line went dark and McNeill was no longer able to be reached.
Roughly an hour later, the couple posted the following photo on their various social media outlets.
