Shift of ownership may present opportunity to get J.R. Richard's #50 retired

This week I shook my head when another Astro, this time Fernando Martinez, claimed the number 50 jersey. I'm hopeful Martinez gets an opportunity in Houston to realise some of the potential that was attached to him as a mega-prospect with the Mets. I wonder whether he knew what he was doing when he chose/ was given that number. Probably nothing.

This isn't like Jose Lima, god rest his soul, who was panned for turning up to the Mets 2006 spring training camp wearing number 42. We should really have #50 hanging by the rafters by now. Astros Daily has the number proudly hanging with a couple of others at the top of its page. No Astros fan would even bother arguing against it. There is universal support throughout the fanbase, even among those who never saw Richard pitch (I wasn't anywhere near born in 1980, his last year in the bigs).

There is no need to recycle his story, others have told it far more eloquently than I ever could. Jason Chandler, started this petition years ago (I think I signed it around the time it had 500, it now has over 3,000 and really should have far, far more). My petition to fire Tim Purpura got 3 signatures in contrast, one of which was mine. With the help of the entire Astros blogging community, I think we should get that up to 43,826 (the capacity of Minute Maid Park by the end of the 2012 season).

What prompted this little diversion was this small post from Jayne on another chance meeting with Richard.