Colorado Rockies: Nolan Arenado’s number next in line for retirement

Nolan Arenado is the most likely candidate to be the next player that the Colorado Rockies franchise retires. That might not seem like an edgy take but it is not at all guaranteed. Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez would arguably be deserving of number retirement. No one would argue if Larry Walker‘s number 33 were retired. What about Dante Bichette?  Here’s why Arenado’s easily identifiable number 28 will be the next number next to Todd Helton‘s.

The Rockies aren’t known for retiring many numbers. The franchise has number 17 and number 42 retired. Only one of those players wore a Rockies uniform. So what constitutes worthiness for getting your number retired in Colorado? For Todd Helton, it was obvious. He was the face of the franchise. In Rocktober highs and early 2000s Todd and the Toddlers lows. He never left the franchise he was drafted by. His numbers lead almost every category in franchise history. He is the greatest Rockie ever and the easiest number to retire.

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Now this is where the water gets murky. Larry Walker spent more of his career in Denver spending nearly a decade with the Rockies. His number should be retired as he is the only MVP this franchise has and he helped make this team initially relevant in 1995. His numbers are deserving of the Hall of Fame and gets unfairly penalized for playing at Coors Field, something that is out of his control. If the tides ever turn on Walker’s Hall of Fame candidacy, this is how I see Walker’s number getting retired. But not before unfortunately. With only 34.1 percent of the Hall vote, his number might not be next in line for retirement, even though it should.

Let’s move on to the next deserving candidates starting with Troy Tulowitzki. He didn’t leave on the best terms but when Tulo was healthy, he was the best Rockie for a decade. It seems weird for anyone else to wear the number 2 in Denver. I could see the Rockies retiring that number if he could somehow stay off the DL and finish his career strong back in LoDo. Neither of those seem promising right now. Then there is Carlos Gonzalez, who is more than deserving. He has been with the team nearly a decade but he replaced Matt Holiday in a trade with Oakland. Two prominent players wore the number 5. If Gonzalez finishes his career here, I could see the club retiring 5 with his name on it. But he barely signed a one-year deal this year. Here’s to hoping CarGo stays beyond 2018.

For those reasons, Nolan Arenado is the most likely to get his number retired after Todd Helton. He already has the accolades to prove he is worthy for this distinction. If Arenado leaves in free agency in 2019 though his chances of number retirement significantly diminish. But there is more to prove with a deeper push into the playoffs. There is every sense of optimism that he can bring that. He is the leader of this franchise now and the Rockies will most likely retain him even if they have to overpay. Because there is no overpaying for a once in a generation talent.

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He is worth every penny and worthy of the next Rockies number to be retired. No one else should wear number 28.