Number 31

By all measurements, this has been a tough year for the the Michigan Baseball team. Coming off three consecutive Big Ten Championships, they have a mediocre 20-15 overall record and are mired in 7th place (in a 9 team) Big Ten. The Wolverines have even lost to MAC teams 4 times including Eastern Michigan twice.

But today is a day to celebrate. Twenty five years after he last played a game for Michigan - Jim Abbott's number 31 is finally being retired. I am not sure what the requirements are for having your number retired by the Michigan Baseball program, but I am glad that Jim finally got the nod.

Abbott’s uniform will be just the fifth retired in school baseball history. He will join Don Lund, Moby Benedict, Bill Freehan, and Ray Fisher. I can only imagine that Barry Larkin's #16 will have his number retired soon. Larkin was recently elected into the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

This week, MGoBlue.com has posted a nice Jim Abbott Top Ten moments feature