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WFAN's Carton Says Tino, O'Neill, Torre Have No Place In Monument Park

NEW YORK (WFAN) -- WFAN co-host Craig Carton has a problem with the Yankees. A monumental problem, if you will.

Carton says there's no way Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez, despite their contributions to four World Series championships in the Bronx, deserve a spot in Monument Park.

"You can't honestly believe (they belong)," Carton told co-host Boomer Esiason and update man Jerry Recco, both of whom completely disagreed. "In your heart of hearts, you can't believe that."

Monument Park Debate

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The Yankees announced on Thursday that O'Neill, Martinez, Joe Torre and Rich "Goose" Gossage will be receiving plaques this season in Monument Park. Torre's No. 6 jersey will also be retired during a ceremony at Yankee Stadium.

"They just minimized being out there," said Carton, who believes the honor should be reserved for immortal Yankees, not the pretty-darn-good guys. "If I'm Babe Ruth, I want out. Babe Ruth's in there saying, 'Hey, Lou Gehrig, my man. Hey, Mickey Mantle, what's cooking, good looking? What is this Paul O'Neill doing here? ... What is this, Tino Martinez here? What, you're just visiting, right?' "

Carton said Torre, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer for managing the Yankees to four titles and six American League pennants in 12 seasons, "shouldn't be there either."

"Joe Torre with the Cardinals was a loser," Carton said, referring to one of Torre's previous jobs as skipper. "Give Joe Girardi the '96 Yankees, guess what? He wins the World Series, too. Give my mother the '96 Yankees and she's winning 120 games."

But he wasn't 100 percent negative. Carton said a spot would be well-deserved for Bernie Williams, who the Yankees plan to honor in 2015.

Martinez arrived in 1996, winning a World Series ring that year and three more from 1998-2000. He hit .276 with 192 home runs over seven seasons in New York. O'Neill, considered the heart and soul of that era, batted .303 with 185 home runs in a nine-season Yankees tenure that started in 1993.

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