What's in a #

[Halldan1]

The greatest numbers from 1 to 55 in baseball history
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id...ll-fix-greatest-numbers-1-55-baseball-history

1: Ozzie Smith
Best defensive shortstop ever

2: Derek Jeter
Top-four shortstop.

3: Babe Ruth
Best hitter ever, as many shutouts (17) as Pedro Martinez

4: Lou Gehrig
Best first baseman

5: Joe DiMaggio
Three MVPs, top four center fielder

6: Stan Musial
Most underrated superstar player

7: Mickey Mantle
Top-three center fielder

8: Yogi Berra
Second-best catcher ever, three MVPs, three seconds

9: Ted Williams
Higher career OPS than best single-season OPS of any active player

10: Chipper Jones
Top-four third baseman

11: Barry Larkin
Amazingly athletic shortstop

12: Roberto Alomar
Best defensive second baseman I've ever seen

13: Alex Rodriguez
One of five with 600 homers, 3,000 hits

14: Pete Rose
The Hit King

15: Carlos Beltran
Borderline Hall of Famer

16: Whitey Ford
Won 236 games, posted a .690 winning percentage

17: Dizzy Dean
Went 59-19 in 1933-34

18: Johnny Damon
2,769 hits, 522 doubles, 480 steals

19: Tony Gwynn
A .338 lifetime hitter, 297 three-hit games, one three-strikeout game

20: Mike Schmidt
Best third baseman ever

21: Roberto Clemente
A .318 lifetime hitter, best defensive right fielder ever

22: Clayton Kershaw
Three Cy Youngs, lowest ERA (2.44), 2,200 innings pitched, 1920-on

23: Ryne Sandberg
Nine Gold Gloves, 282 homers

24: Willie Mays
Second-best player all time

25: Barry Bonds
Top-three hitter

26: Wade Boggs
Lifetime .328, seven 200-hit seasons in a row

27 Mike Trout
Three MVPs, more to come

28: Bert Blyleven
Hall of Famer, top-three curveball

29: Rod Carew
A magician at the plate, .328 lifetime

30: Nolan Ryan
Greatest power pitcher, hardest pitcher to hit ever

31: Greg Maddux
Career value, best pitcher I've ever seen

32: Sandy Koufax
Peak value, best lefty ever. Went 97-27 in his last four seasons

33: Eddie Murray
One of six with 500 homers, 3,000 hits

34: David Ortiz
Big Papi

35: Rickey Henderson
No list is complete without him

36: Gaylord Perry
Gaylord Perry: Most wins by any pitcher in the 1960's and 70's combined

37: Keith Hernandez
Wore it with Cardinals, best defensive first baseman

38: Curt Schilling
Should make it to Cooperstown this year

39: Roy Campanella
Three-time MVP

40: Bartolo Colon
Had 247 wins, Cy Young, one amazing home run

41: Tom Seaver
Top 10-15 pitcher

42: Jackie Robinson
For all he did

43: Dennis Eckersley
More saves than baserunners allowed 1989-90

44: Hank Aaron
We still don't appreciate his greatness

45: Bob Gibson
Most ferocious pitcher I've ever seen

46: Lee Smith
Hall of Fame closer.

47: Tom Glavine
Had 305 wins, two Cy Young, five 20-win seasons

48: Torii Hunter
We need more of him in our game

49: Hoyt Wilhelm
Top-five reliever, best knuckleball ever

50: J.R. Richard
Won 20 once, 18 three times, started 1980 All-Star game

51: Randy Johnson
Top-10 pitcher all time, most intimidating left-hander ever

52: CC Sabathia
Someday, he will be in Cooperstown.

53: Don Drysdale
Posted 209 wins, nine All-Star games

54: Goose Gossage
Top-five reliever ever

55: Orel Hershiser
59 consecutive scoreless innings in an all-time record

 

[Halldan1]

This guy picked the wrong number for inclusion to this list

 

[Vegas pj]

Sorry, #19 should be HOFer Bob Feller. Not even close.

 

[ed odowd]

Schilling on list but not Rivera got be brain fog.Mariano most saves and 0.72 era in
post season.Come on man.

 

[SHU_Pirate1]

This guy picked the wrong number for inclusion to this list

No bigger Yankee or Mariano fan than I and started to think this but for Jackie Robinson I could live with it. I bet Mariano would too. I think the gist is not just greatest players at each number but significance of the number.

 

[donnie_baseball]

I'm gonna go Mattingly over Sandberg (shocker).

 

[hinson32]

I am a Reds fan, but #5 is John Bench. He re-invented the catcher position. Then again, he didn’t marry Marilyn Monroe, so maybe DiMaggio.

 

[Halldan1]

Love Bench but there are not going to be a lot of baseball historians who would chose Bench over Joe D. And I'm not even listing his 56 (edit) game hitting streak below.

Both great defensive players.

Bench
WAR 75.2
BA .267
H 2048
HR 389
R 1091
RBI 1376
SO 1278


DiMaggio
WAR 79.1
BA .325
H 2214
HR 361
R 1390
RBI 1537
SO 369

 

[SHU_Pirate1]

I am a Reds fan, but #5 is John Bench. He re-invented the catcher position. Then again, he didn’t marry Marilyn Monroe, so maybe DiMaggio.

Bench was a great player and you're right he didn't marry Marilyn ...and while we're at it Simon and Garfunkel didn't immortalize him in a song either...terrific player but there's only one Joe D. When most baseball fans think of #5 they think DiMaggio, not Bench.

 

[SHU_Pirate1]

PS, stats aren't everything, even if what Dan listed shows Joe D's superior numbers...any baseball historian would know that Joe gave up 3 seasons in the prime of his career due to WWII.

 

[Halldan1]

How the heck does a player come to bat 6821 times and only strike out 369 times?

Was he playing slow pitch softball?

 

[SHU_Pirate1]

Good point, for players like Joe D. and I'd say Ted Willams too, probably seemed like softball when they were hitting. Remember the story about Willams reading the stitches on the ball as it was coming to the plate...I'm sure it was similar with Joe.

 

[hinson32]

However, Bench was a catcher. No offensive stats of catchers match OFs. Their career WAR is close. Again, I am a Reds fan, so completely biased.

You could also make a good case for Albert Pujols with a career war of 100.5

 

[jim34238]

There should have been 42 and a 42*. Mariano's record is incomparable. Robinson gets it for his social contributions Mariano for his pitching.

 

[halltheway]

I can understand about # 19

How the heck does a player come to bat 6821 times and only strike out 369 times?

Was he playing slow pitch softball?

Check out #19 Tony Gwynn's Batting stats....'being a Yankee fan...still Tony Gwynn( in the back of my mind )was my favorite besides the Mick.
Mr. Gwynn 9288 at bats with 434 strike outs...played 20 years...just one reason why his number was picked.

 

[LeftCoastPirates]

Love Bench but there are not going to be a lot of baseball historians who would chose Bench over Joe D. And I'm not even listing his 64 game hitting streak below.

Both great defensive players.

Bench
WAR 75.2
BA .267
H 2048
HR 389
R 1091
RBI 1376
SO 1278


DiMaggio
WAR 79.1
BA .325
H 2214
HR 361
R 1390
RBI 1537
SO 369

sorry Dan, hate to call you out like this. But it was a 56 game hitting streak for Joltin Joe.

kind of an iconic number in baseball history. Gotta get that one right if you are making an argument in favor of Joe D.

what’s interesting is the very next game he started another 17 game hitting streak.

73 out of 74 is insane.

 

[TheHall87]

There should have been 42 and a 42*. Mariano's record is incomparable. Robinson gets it for his social contributions Mariano for his pitching.

If not for Jackie Robinson, more than 20 players on this list don't get to play in the major leagues.

 

[MBF72]

I'd give no. 15 to Munson and 37 to Casey Stengel.
42 has to go to Robinson. Love Mariano but Jackie's is the only number retired throughout all of baseball.
What about Yaz or Joe Morgan at no. 8?
Trivia: How many of these guys did not wear their number [here] throughout the entire career?

 

[TheHall87]

I'd give no. 15 to Munson and 37 to Casey Stengel.
42 has to go to Robinson. Love Mariano but Jackie's is the only number retired throughout all of baseball.
What about Yaz or Joe Morgan at no. 8?
Trivia: How many of these guys did not wear their number [here] throughout the entire career?

Hard to argue Munson over Beltran simply due to longevity. Obviously Munson's career was cut short but it's tough to project how much longer he would have been an effective player given he was 32 when he passed and he had already started to decline. A terrific player who is rightly revered by Yankee fans but there's a reason he only received more than 10% of the Hall of Fame vote once in 15 years on the ballot.

As for Stengel, it's pretty clear this is a players only list and Stengel was no great shakes as a player. He wasn't a regular after WW I ended at the mid-point of his 14-year career . He also didn't wear a number as a player since his career ended in 1925 and the Yankees didn't start the practice of uniform numbers until 1929. Even as a manager he was a sub. 500 manager in three of his four major league stops. Excluding his tenure with the Yankees he was 390 games below .500 as a manager (756-1146)

 

[donnie_baseball]

Bench was a great player and you're right he didn't marry Marilyn ...and while we're at it Simon and Garfunkel didn't immortalize him in a song either...terrific player but there's only one Joe D. When most baseball fans think of #5 they think DiMaggio, not Bench.

Certainly not the ones in Cincinnati.

 

[Setonwestern]

Seeing this made me think of Gooden and Strawberry. Both could've been on this list if their careers weren't derailed by substance abuse.

 

[hinson32]

Certainly not the ones in Cincinnati.

Yep. For me #5 is only Johnny Bench.

 

[donnie_baseball]

Yep. For me #5 is only Johnny Bench.

Ah, did you work at Krylon? ;-)

 

[SHU_Pirate1]

Ah, did you work at Krylon? ;-)

Lol, good throwback reference, actually was part of my previous company.

... no drips, no runs... but putting Bench on the level of Joe D...that’s an error!

 

[SHUTAPS76]

Love Bench but there are not going to be a lot of baseball historians who would chose Bench over Joe D. And I'm not even listing his 56 (edit) game hitting streak below.

Both great defensive players.

Bench
WAR 75.2
BA .267
H 2048
HR 389
R 1091
RBI 1376
SO 1278


DiMaggio
WAR 79.1
BA .325
H 2214
HR 361
R 1390
RBI 1537
SO 369

Bench was one of my all time favorites, and he did reinvent his position.
You are nevertheless correct here. There was only one Joe DiMaggio. There are guys nowadays that have more strikeouts in a season than he had in his career.

BTW this is one heck of a piece of work overall, Dan. Thank you.

I only have one beef.
You refer to my all time hero, Tom Seaver, as "a top 10-15 pitcher".
I feel strongly that he is top 5. He lost countless 1-0 and 2-1 games because his early career was spent with a pitifully weak hitting team. He also had more than his share of seven or eight inning no decisions because of the same issue. With just a tiny bit more run support he would have won more games that Warren Spahn.

 

[MBF72]

Regarding what-ifs of Gooden and Strawberry, it would depend on who votes. W-L percentage-wise and World Series stats, it's hard to imagine even a substance-free Gooden coming near Whitey (#16).

Seems, too, as if some on the list benefitted wearing not-in-demand numbers: Damon and J.R. Richard jump out.

 

[TheHall87]

Bench was one of my all time favorites, and he did reinvent his position.
You are nevertheless correct here. There was only one Joe DiMaggio. There are guys nowadays that have more strikeouts in a season than he had in his career.

BTW this is one heck of a piece of work overall, Dan. Thank you.

I only have one beef.
You refer to my all time hero, Tom Seaver, as "a top 10-15 pitcher".
I feel strongly that he is top 5. He lost countless 1-0 and 2-1 games because his early career was spent with a pitifully weak hitting team. He also had more than his share of seven or eight inning no decisions because of the same issue. With just a tiny bit more run support he would have won more games that Warren Spahn.

It's an ESPN piece written by Tim Kurkjian.

Regarding what-ifs of Gooden and Strawberry, it would depend on who votes. W-L percentage-wise and World Series stats, it's hard to imagine even a substance-free Gooden coming near Whitey (#16).

Seems, too, as if some on the list benefitted wearing not-in-demand numbers: Damon and J.R. Richard jump out.

These pieces are written largely to generate discussion (and content in slow times).

I agree with the point that some are on here because they wore less used numbers. Keith Hernandez as No. 37 leaps out as do Damon and Torii Hunter although they all had fine careers.

Gooden is a great what-if. He was 58-19 (.753) with a 2.28 ERA and 744 strikeouts in 744.2 IP through his first three seasons (1984-86). Even through 1991 which was his last truly good season as a pitcher, his career won-loss record was 132-53 (.713). Had he stayed clean and most importantly healthy he might have challenged Ford. Gooden's career winning percentage was still .634 after taking into account he was a sub.500 pitcher for the last half of his career.

 

[Halldan1]

I only have one beef.

You refer to my all time hero, Tom Seaver, as "a top 10-15 pitcher".
I feel strongly that he is top 5.

Right church, wrong pew. That wasn't my info it was the writer's from the article.

And yes, in his prime Seaver was a freak.

 

[SHUTAPS76]

Right church, wrong pew. That wasn't my info it was the writer's from the article.

And yes, in his prime Seaver was a freak.

The ESPN link should have been my first clue LOL

I would have been the worst detective ever.