Often baseball fans will argue topics like who they feel is the best pitcher of all-time is or who is the best shortstop. You'll even here debates about whether the shift works, whether or not sabermetrics are valid, or if MLB Network host Brian Kenny is just a shaved Monchichi.
One topic you don't hear a whole lot is, who is the best player to wear (insert jersey number here). I bring you this list...The best player to wear each number (minimum X seasons with that number) and a couple of alternatives.
00 - Jeffrey Leonard wore this jersey number for 4 seasons and playing in two all-star games with it...alternatives: Bobo Newsom and Rick White
0 - Al Oliver wore 0 for 8 seasons while winning 3 Silver Slugger Awards and playing in 4 all-star games...alternatives: Oddibe McDowell and Adam Ottavino
1 - Ozzie Smith wore number 1 and played better defense that any other shortstop of all-time...alternatives: Lou Whittaker and Pee Wee Reese
2 - Derek Jeter wore number 2 while hitting for a career average of .310 and accumulating 3,465 hits...alternatives: Charlie Gehringer and Nellie Fox
3 - Babe Ruth, enough said...alternatives Harmon Killebrew and Dale Murphy
4 - Lou Gehrig, the Iron Horse was the cleanup hitter on a team that had Babe Ruth...alternatives: Rogers Hornsby and Paul Molitor
5 - Joe DiMaggio wore this jersey while leading the Yankees post Ruth/Gehrig, only taking a break to fly planes in World War II...alternatives: George Brett, Johnny Bench, Brooks Robinson, Albert Pujols, and Jeff Bagwell
6 - Stan Musial was "The Man" while leading the Cardinals through their golden years...alternatives: Al Kaline and Sal Bando
7 - Mickey Mantle wore this number and still slugged over 500 homers despite an alcohol addiction...alternatives: Ivan Rodriguez and Craig Biggio
8 - Carl Yastrzemski won a batting title and manned leftfield for the Red Sox for 23 years...alternatives: Yogi Berra, Willie Stargell, Cal Ripken Jr, Gary Carter, Bill Dickey, and Joe Morgan
9 - Ted Williams wore number 9 while being arguably the best left-handed hitter of all-time...alternatives: Minnie Minoso and Graig Nettles
10 - Lefty Grove won 300 games exactly in his career...alternatives: Chipper Jones and Ron Santo
11 - Barry Larkin played shortstop for the Reds during their last World Series victory and eventually made it to the Hall of Fame...alternatives: Carl Hubbell and Luis Aparicio
12 - Wade Boggs wore 12 while finishing his career with the Yankees and then the Devil Rays...alternatives: Roberto Alomar and Mark Langston
13 - Billy Wagner is arguably one of the best closer in MLB history...alternatives: Omar Vizquel and Lance Parrish
14 - Ernie Banks is still the most recognizable Chicago Cub of all-time...Paul Konerko and Pete Rose
15 - Red Ruffing had 273 career victories while playing for the Yankees, Red Sox, and White Sox...alternatives: Dick Allen and Tim Salmon
16 - Ted Lyons is one of the best White Sox pitchers of all-time...Alternatives: Whitey Ford and Hal Newhouser
17 - Todd Helton once started at quarterback over Peyton Manning, but chose to play baseball instead...alternatives: Lance Berkman and Mark Grace
18 - Joe Morgan wore 18 while playing for the Astros...alternatives: Moises Alou and Brett Saberhagen
19 - Bob Feller was one of fiercest pitchers of all-time...alternatives: Tony Gwynn and Robin Yount
20 - Frank Robinson won a triple crown and hit 586 homers in his career...alternatives: Mike Schmidt, Don Sutton, and Lou Brock
21 - Roger Clemens was arguably the best pitcher of all-time, winning 7 Cy Young Awards...alternatives: Robert Clemente, Warren Spahn, and Bob Lemon
22 - Roger Clemens, that's right, he wore 22 while pitching with the Yankees and Astros for 9 seasons...alternatives: Bert Blyleven and Jim Palmer
23 - Ryne Sandberg is arguably one of the best second basemen of all-time...alternatives: Luis Tiant and Ted Simmons
24 - Willie Mays is arguably one of the top players in MLB history and godfather to another player who wore this number well...alternatives: Barry Bonds, Rickey Henderson, Ken Griffey Jr, Miguel Cabrera, and Tony Perez
25 - Barry Bonds is the all-time home run leader in MLB history...alternatives: Jim Thome, Andruw Jones, and Tommy John
26 - Wade Boggs wore 26 during his years with the Boston Red Sox...alternatives: Chase Utley and Billy Williams
27 - Carlton Fisk wore this number during his Red Sox years...alternatives: Vladimir Guerrero, Juan Marichal, and Catfish Hunter
28 - Bert Blyleven is perhaps the best Dutch baseball player in history...alternatives: Vada Pinson and Wilbur Wood
29 - Rod Carew was a hit machine and one of the closest players to come to a .400 batting average since Ted Williams...alternatives: Adrian Beltre and John Smoltz
30 - Nolan Ryan is the all-time leader in MLB history with strikeouts and wore this number while tossing 4 no-hitters...alternatives: Tim Raines, Willie Randolph, and Orlando Cepeda
31 - Greg Maddux won 4 straight Cy Young Awards in his career and over 300 games...alternatives: Fergie Jenkins, Dave Winfield, Mike Piazza, Hoyt Wilhelm, and John Franco
32 - Sandy Koufax could have been the best pitcher of all-time if injuries didn't cut his career short...alternatives: Steve Carlton and Elston Howard
33 - Eddie Murray accumulated over 3,000 hits in his career while hitting over 500 homers...alternatives: Larry Walker and Luis Tiant
34 - Nolan Ryan wore this number his rookie year, and while playing for the Astros and Rangers...alternatives: Kirby Puckett, Felix Hernandez, and David Ortiz
35 - Rickey Henderson wore this jersey number while breaking the single season record for stolen bases...alternatives: Frank Thomas, Phil Niekro, and Mike Mussina
36 - Gaylord Perry is a Hall of Famer most famous for his spitball...alternatives: Robin Roberts and David Cone
37 - Dave Stieb took many no-hitters into the 9th inning, only ever able to complete 1 of them...alternatives: Keith Hernandez and Kenny Rogers
38 - Curt Schilling wore this jersey number while pitching with a bloody sock...alternatives: Robin Roberts and Rick Aguilera
39 - Dave Parker won multiple Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers while wearing 39...alternatives: Roy Campanella and Larry Jackson
40 - Frank Tanana wore this number at a time when he was one of the better pitchers in the AL...alternatives: Bartolo Colon and Rick Sutcliffe
41 - Tom Seaver wore this number while winning over 300 games in his career...alternatives: Eddie Matthews and Darrell Evans
42 - Jackie Robinson is the only player to have his jersey number retired with every team...alternatives: Mariano Rivera and Dave Henderson
43 - Dennis Eckersley was the prototype for a pitcher to begin his career as a starter and end it as a closer...alternatives: Raul Mondesi and Ken Forsch
44 - Hank Aaron, duh...alternatives: Reggie Jackson, Willie McCovey, David Cone, Roy Oswalt, and Jake Peavy
45 - Bob Gibson once had a season ERA of 1.12...alternatives: Pedro Martinez and Steve Rogers
46 - Andy Petite wore 46 while being one of the core players of the Yankees last dynasty...alternatives: Lee Smith and Burt Hooton
47 - Tommy Glavine was the left-handed ace of a team that featured 3 Hall of Fame starting pitchers...alternatives: Jack Morris and Lee Smith
48 - Rick Reuschel wore a journeyman pitcher who often found himself leading pitching staffs for the Giants, Cubs, and the Pirates...alternatives: Waite Hoyt and Tori Hunter
49 - Ron Guidry led the Yankees' pitching staff during the World Series appearance in the '70s and '80s...Tim Wakefield, Tom Candiotti, and Charlie Hough
50 - Jaime Moyer wore this number while pitching up to age 49...alternatives: Adam Wainwright and J.R.Richard
51 - Randy Johnson is second all-time in strikeouts and had over 300 wins...alternatives: Ichiro Suzuki, Bernie Williams, Trevor Hoffman, and Willie McGee
52 - CC Sabathia wore this number while winning a Cy Young Award and being in the running for 4 others...alternatives: Yoenis Cespedes and Mike Boddicker
53 - Don Drysdale was a Hall of Famer overlooked because of Koufax...alternatives: Bobby Abreu and Joaquin Benoit
54 - Goose Gossage wore this number during the heart of his Hall of Fame career...alternatives: Aroldis Chapman and Ervin Santana
55 - Orel Hershiser broke the scoreless innings pitched streak while leading the Dodgers to their last World Series victory...alternatives: Kevin Appier and Russell Martin
56 - Mark Buerhle is the definition of an innings eater who led the White Sox to their last World Series victory...alternatives: Darren O'Day and Brian McCrae
57 - Johan Santana looked like a sure Hall of Famer until injuries knocked him down...alternatives: Francisco Rodriguez and John Smiley
58 - Jonathan Papelbon has made multiple all-star appearance while wearing this jersey number...alternatives: Doug Fister and Chad Billingsley
59 - Todd Jones wore this jersey number while closing for 7 different teams in his career...alternatives: Carlos Carrasco Ismael Valdez
60 - Dallas Keuchel won the Cy Young Award last season while sporting this jersey number...alternatives: Jon Rauch and Scott Schoeneweis
61 - Livan Hernandez was the Cuban born pitcher who put together some all-star worthy seasons...alternatives: Josh Beckett and Bronson Arroyo
62 - Scot Shields had a 3.18 career ERA over a 10 year career...alternatives: Joba Chamberlain and Bob Howry
63 - Rafael Betancourt had 31 saves for the Colorado Rockies in 2012...alternatives: Jake Diekman and Kevin Gregg
64 - Emilio Bonifacio...alternatives: Mike Fiers and A.J. Griffin
65 - Phil Hughes...alternatives: Nate Jones and Trevor May
66 - Juan Guzman...alternatives: Rick Ankiel and Gerry Staley
67 - Francisco Cordova...alternative: Dan Straily
68 - Dellin Betances...alternatives: Cam Bedrosian and Jorge Soler
69 - Bronson Arroyo (only player to wear this number for 3 or more seasons)
70 - George Kontos...alternative: Jumbo Diaz
71 - Scott Linebrink
72 - Carlton Fisk wore this jersey number as the catcher for the White Sox
73 - Ricardo Rincon
74 - Kenley Jensen
75 - Barry Zito wore this number while pitching for the A's and Giants...alternatives: Francisco Rodriguez and Alan Mills
76 - No players eligible for this number
77 - Reggie Willits...alternative: Jack Armstrong
78 - No players eligible for this number
79 - Jose Abreu
80-83 - No players eligible for these numbers
84 - Prince Fielder
85-87 - No players eligible for these numbers
88 - Rene Gonzalez...alternative: Kyle Blanks and Josh Outman
89-90 - No players eligible for these numbers
91 - Alfredo Aceves
92-95 - No players eligible for these numbers
96 - Bill Voiselle
97 - Joe Beimel
98 - No players eligible for this number
99 - Mitch Williams wore this number while he was the closer for the Philadelphia Phillies during their last World Series appearance...alternatives: Turk Wendell and Hyun-jin Ryu
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