Which athlete should be the next to have his/her number retired across its sport?

99 hangs from the rafters of all NHL arenas honoring the GOAT of GOATS, The Great One Wayne Gretzky. 42 is honored in every MLB stadium for The Trailblazer Jackie Robinson. In 2022 the NBA honored West Monroe’s own Bill Russell by retiring his number across the league. Who should be next? My choices would be as follows:

1. Babe Ruth’s #3 across MLB

The Greatest Baseball Player in History and Great American George Herman “Babe” Ruth. The Greatest Two-Way Player of All Time. His single season home run record of 60 is held in such high regard that the great Roger Maris broke it in 162 games with 61*; a Major League record that stood until 2022.

2. Michael Jordan/Lebron James #23 across NBA

The GOATs of the NBA. Michael Jordan had a better peak, but Lebron’s Greatness has spanned decades, nearing an UNFATHOMABLE third decade. Jordan’s Greatness in the 90s was unmatched, transcending basketball, but KING JAMES’s sustained peak is something that will never again be seen, probably in all of sport. It could be debated that his name should sit with Bill Russell’s #6 as well, making KING JAMES the only player with his number retired across a league TWICE.

3. Messi’s #10 across soccer

The previous entries span one nation, this one is worldwide. The undisputed GOAT’s ICONIC #10 has displayed Greatness on a worldwide scale for decades, bringing World Cup Glory to Argentina at long last. Maradona did it on coke, Messi did it for the love of the game. From Argentina, to Europe, to right here in the United States of America, Messi continues to prove that he is still the Best in the World and the Undisputed GOAT. His name along with his #10 should be displayed in every soccer stadium across the world.

Futurecast: THE JUDGE’s #99 across MLB

ALL RISE!!! The Best Player in Baseball Today continues to add to his LEGENDARY (shoutout to Shady Sanders) career every time he steps on the field. The MVP awards are almost as frequent as the dongs cranked by Captain America, finally breaking Roger Maris’s longstanding single season record of 61* and becoming the new single season DONG KING. The Punisher will continue his already Hall of Fame career and eventually catch the Honorable Henry “THE HAMMER” Aaron to become the all-time Dong King, and even pass the cheater that surpassed Hank! Multiple World Series will follow our Commander in Chief when Boone and Cashman are fired and Hal disappears.

Anyway, what say tMSB? Whose number should hang from the rafters of every stadium in their respective league? I’ll hang up and listen.