I considered titling this entry "We Want Whitt", for my brother Ryan. In the 80s, when the Jays played their home games and Exhibition Stadium, that ugly orange scoreboard would get the crowd chanting "We want a hit! We want a hit!".
Ryan, a huge Ernie Whitt fan, was sure they were chanting "We want Whitt! We want Whitt!". The premise is faulty, unless Whitt wasn't starting and the crowd was looking for him to pinch hit, but Whitt almost always started. He was our original #12.
Ernie Whitt's #12 will be retired by the Blue Jays on July 31. It's being retired to honour Roberto Alomar, and everyone thinks it's a good idea. Everyone except my brother Ryan.
The retirement of #12 ensures Ernie Whitt can never come back wearing his number. That's it. We can finally close the book on Ernie Whitt's great career.
Congrats, Robbie... but we want Whitt!
