Honorable mentions: Mike Schmidt, Don Sutton, Lou Brock. Why he's here: The pitcher wore No. 30 with the Angels, meaning some of his most spectacular years didn't come at 34. 13987 WARNotable names: Alex Rodriguez, Omar Vizquel, Dave Concepcin, Lance Parrish, Manny Machado. Uniform numbers hold a special place in telling the story of the sport, so we thought wed take a look at the best players (Hall of Famers in most instances) who wore each uniform number. The #7 shirt at Liverpool has a long and storied history that has seen some of the clubs best players wear the number. He'd then play for seven more teams after leaving the Giants, and, when he could get it, he'd wear 36 for each and every one of them. No. Why hes here: The Hall of Famer won the Cy Young in both leagues, registered 314 wins and struck out 3,534 batters. 1. No. He was also 12-time All-Star . "When I was looked at it, I was just happy it was lower than 53, which is the number I wore in Spring Training. 7 and 9. Why he's here: There's a reason MLB retired No. Players carefully cultivate their public images in order to maximize their value on and off the field of play. Scott Eklund . Gretzky won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers during the 1980s, before he was dealt in a blockbuster deal to the Los Angeles Kings. That's going to make this something more of a "very good estimate" than "an exact accounting," but let's put two rules into place to account for that: If a player gets traded and changes numbers in a season, each number gets the appropriate WAR credit. No. Disagree with our picks? Finch was the 2001 winner of the Womens College World Series and was a leader of Team USA in the Summer Olympics 2004 and in the Summer Olympics 2008 in silver. Elway retired following two consecutive Super Bowl wins and appeared in five Super Bowls. He has worn the iconic #7 for Manchester United as well as the Portuguese National Team and his current club Real Madrid. How about 3? Why he's here: The 2015 AL Cy Young winner is the easy choice after just four MLB seasons. 111,837 WARNotable names: Edgar Martinez, Barry Larkin, Luis Aparicio, Toby Harrah, Carl Hubbell. Best all-time MLB players at each jersey number, 1-99, Best current players at each jersey number, 1-97. And is No. As time passes, these athletes will be remembered for the accomplishments achieved while wearing their preferred numbers. This one may not rate quite as high as some others, but 32 just looks like a baseball number, doesn't it? No one looks back at Belle's two-year Oriole career fondly, but he did put up some big numbers for the Birds. No. While sporting the #66, he helped the Penguins lift the Stanley Cup twice, won three Hart Trophies, and earned six Art Ross Trophies as the leagues leading scorer. By the time he was finished, Robinson had a pair of MVP awards for Cincinnati in 1961 and for Baltimore in 1966and he had collected 586 career home runs. Time magazine described her as the worlds most famous softball player.Her MLB training camps and All-Star games even take her talents to challenge the best of baseball. Today, we will go beyond the numbers to look back at the careers of the players honored forever by RMU softball. Michael Jordan's #23. Ortiz had No. No. 181,487 WARNotable names: Mel Harder, Johnny Damon, Ben Zobrist, Gene Tenace, Jason Kendall. This one starts out hot -- just look at all those Hall of Famers -- before falling off somewhat. Aside from "the best players, and the most players, usually wear the lowest numbers," which you already knew, look at how many players are actually afraid of wearing No. Former outfielder Mallex Smith explains that he chose it because he has "zero cares" about how others feel about him, which we respect, but most of the 0s do it as a play on their own names, considering it not a "zero" so much as an "O." She was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003 and was likely the last player to wear #1 when she graduated. Why he's here: An excellent starter, Eckersley became an elite reliever with the A's in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Marichal won 191 games and rolled up a 2.57 ERA in 328 games (320 starts) during the 1960s for the Giants. 5. Hes not in the Hall of Fame yet, but he will be one day soon (he was just 23 votes shy of being part of the Class of 2016). The next eight numbers were all honored on October 6, 2018, in a ceremony that honored the remaining softball players enshrined in the RMU Athletics Hall of Fame. But when he joined the Giants, that number had obviously been retired in honor of Mays, so Bonds chose the number 25 his father wore while Mays teammate. Why he's here: The long-time Angels Reliever is the best of a so-so group who wore No. 211,760 WARNotable names: Roger Clemens, Warren Spahn, Roberto Clemente, Sammy Sosa, Arky Vaughan. The last player to wear 25 for the Colonials was Megan Lynch in 2009. 41998 WARNotable names: Tom Seaver, Eddie Mathews, John Lackey, Darrell Evans, Pat Hentgen, Seager is so synonymous with 41, the only number he wore for any of the four teams he played for, that in 2022, his hometown of Fresno, Calif., honored him by renaming part of Highway 41 the "Tom Seaver Memorial Highway. Ferrari-Urbanskys name is scattered throughout the RMU career record books, as she was one of the better hitters during the early years of the program. Richardson has played with the UCLA Bruins and won the first NCAA National Championship in 1982. Notable names: Albert Pujols, George Brett, Jeff Bagwell, Brooks Robinson, Johnny Bench, Joe DiMaggio To be honest, we were surprised by this, since most pitchers don't wear single-digit numbers, and so we figured a number that both hitters and pitchers would wear would be at the top. Eighty-eight years ago this week, the New York Yankees became the first professional sports team to permanently wear numbers on their uniforms. Why he's here: The other choices are Ryan Madson and Justin Masterson. Not necessarily the players wearing those numbers, as you've certainly seen many lists of in the past. Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. Richardson has played with the UCLA Bruins and won the first NCAA National Championship in 1982. "Because I was a second baseman," Rose said in 2016 when the Reds retired his 14, "and 27 wasn't a good number for a second baseman, so I got 14." She was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007, and nobody has worn #14 since before her induction. He contributed 101 WAR to 21 with Boston and Toronto, then 38.5 more WAR to 22, by our formula. 5 is a total murderers' row. Honorable mentions: Warren Spahn, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa. Basketball stars have had success with the number as well with Shaquille O'Neal, Karl Malone, and Julius Irving thriving with the number 32 in the . As for the 0, note that this is different than the 00. It's not weird anymore. 47. Hunter had worn 48 for the first 16 years of his career, but it was owned by Rick Porcello when the outfielder signed with Detroit after the 2012 season. In 2006, Enquist decided to retire from UCLA. In 67 career playoff games, Rose hit .321 and helped his teams to three World Series titles (1975-76 with the Reds and 1980 with the Phillies). Vizquel, as well as fellow Venezuelan shortstop Ozzie Guillen, each claimed they wore 13 to honor Concepcin, a nine time All-Star who was the shortstop on the Big Red Machine Cincinnati teams of the 70s. 251,720 WARNotable names: Barry Bonds, Jim Thome, Rafael Palmeiro, Buddy Bell, Tommy John, Mark McGwire. When it comes to delivering impressive performances at the plate, there are only jerseys worth remembering: Nos. In addition to those legends already named, there's Lou Boudreau, Hank Greenberg, Nomar Garciaparra, Freddie Freeman and on and on. This was pretty much an impossible choice, guaranteed to please exactly nobody. Why he's here: Belle wore No. No. Robinson's #42 will never be worn by another Major League baseball player. 74 for his entire six-season career. This article was originally published in July 2020, and was updated in December 2022. Then again, No. Mario Lemieux is a hero to many hockey fans, but not only because of his contributions to the Pittsburgh Penguins on the ice. Dot Richardson, a two-time gold medal winner from Orlando, Florida, is a right-handedshortstop softball player, an American physician. Robinson was a six-time All-Star, World Series Champion, and the 1949 National League MVP. Honorable mentions: Reggie Jackson, Willie McCovey. No. The long-time reliever is the best of a mediocre bunch. Why hes here: Clearly, baseballs all-time hit king 4,256 of them, to be precise is eligible for this list. Jim Brown?) The No. Why he's here: After just two seasons, the Cuban slugger has established himself as by far the best player at this number. No. Why he's here: Rincon wore No. Dot Richardson Dot Richardson began receiving attention for her softball skills when she was just 13 years old. The two-time MVP was a first-ballot Hall of Fame selection. Why hes here: The first-ballot Hall of Famer was just the third player in MLB history to register 3,000 hits and 500 homers. Oh, and hes hit .332 with 16 homers and a 1.115 OPS in 52 career playoff gams. These numbers are all outlined in blue. 55. No. Regional Mcbride 16u - GA He was also the second most prolific passer in NFL history, with 51,475 career passing yards, despite only leading the NFL in passing yardage once. This is a stacked number, but its still such an easy choice to go with Mays, who is in the conversation about the greatest players in the history of the sport. Greatest catcher in Cubs history (1922-40) and a Hall of Famer. Jeter was the cornerstone of the Yankees during their tremendous success in the 1990s and 2000s. 271,498 WARNotable names: Mike Trout, Juan Marichal, Vladimir Guerrero, Kevin Brown, Giancarlo Stanton, Carlton Fisk. Finch ended her 2001 season with Arizona Wildcats with a pitching record of 32-0 and establishing the NCAA record. 73 for 11 seasons. The shortstop was a pivotal part of the Cincinnati Reds 1990 World Series team and won the 1995 NL MVP award. Walt Frazier is definitely one of the greatest players to put on a Knicks uniform, and he can even be considered the best NBA player to wear the number #10 on his jersey. MJ also helped bring basketball to the . Did you know Musial briefly wore 19 in Spring Training? As far as we know, no one's ever done this before. He still could get there, and he's the most talented player to put on No. 301,330 WARNotable names: Tim Raines, Willie Randolph, Orlando Cepeda, Mel Stottlemyre, Nolan Ryan. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his nine NFL seasons, led the league in rushing eight times, and earned four MVP awards. 1 - Warren Moon, QB, Houston (1984-93), Minnesota (1994-96), Seattle (1997-98), Kansas City (1999-2000) A nine-time Pro Bowler (and a five-time Grey Cup champion in his six seasons in Canada), Moon. She ranked in the fourth position as Greatest College Softball Player. Pro Football Hall of Famers by Jersey Numbers Class of 2004 inductee Bob Brown wore #76 with the Eagles, Rams, and Raiders. Not a bad run for the five-one in the Pacific Northwest. No. 32. Baker has continued wearing No. No. In 2018, then-Pirates pitcher Chad Kuhl said that he felt bad taking 39 because of Dave Parker, and that he "tried to change it, but they said it was too late to change it. Jill Spargo was an excellent hitter during her time at RMU, sporting a .340 career batting average, and a member of the star-studded 2005 and 2006 teams. 13 in 1955 after arriving in the Majors, then quickly took the 21 that he'd wear for the rest of his career. Dickinson is, perhaps, the greatest all-around player the softball program has ever had, spending 1999-2002 in the red, white, and blue and dominating while doing it from both sides of the ball. How does a number led by those two legendary aces not rank higher? Why he's here: Gibson was an elite pitcher, and he just barely edges out fellow elite pitcher Pedro Martinez for the top spot due to a longer career. 27 during his first Spring Training with the Reds in 1963, but when he showed up for Opening Day of that season, there was a 14 in his locker. Mark Buehrle, for example, put up 60 WAR in his 56, and Johan Santana posted 52 WAR in his 57. No. Honorable mentions: Carl Yastrzemski, Yogi Berra, Willie Stargell, Joe Morgan. Foster, a five-time All-Star, led the league in RBIs in three consecutive seasons from 1976-78. As the Athletic detailed, 43 was issued by the clubhouse manager, which Eckersley would wear for the rest of his career, except for his Cubs debut in 1984, which had him wearing 40 before he was able to switch back. Through 2022, only six players have put up even 5 WAR in one of these numbers. 261,132 WARNotable names: Wade Boggs, Chase Utley, Billy Williams, Amos Otis, Boog Powell. 321,123 WARNotable names: Steve Carlton, Sandy Koufax, Roy Halladay, Milt Pappas, Jon Matlack. 341,129 WARNotable names: David Ortiz, Kirby Puckett, Flix Hernndez, Fernando Valenzuela, Nolan Ryan. Honorable mentions: Clayton Kershaw, Will Clark, Roger Clemens. Natasha Watley is a former collegiate 4-time First TeamAll-American, two-time medal-winningOlympian, retired 7-time pro-All-Star, left-handed-hittingsoftballplayer. 44, and rightfully so. Honorable mentions: Minnie Minoso, Reggie Jackson, Bill Mazeroski. He captured the nations attention with his prodigious power three years after Wally Pipp led the AL with nine home runs, for example, Ruth swatted 54 for the Yankees in 1920 and engaging personality. Why he's here: He's the only player to wear No. Why hes here: Because it's the Internet, and the Internet loves Bartolo. 25-29 jersey range. No. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012 and coached on the team staff from 2014-17. 1. Foyt, Racing; Ernie Banks, MLB; Y.A. you yell incredulously. She is the only pitcher to strike out 15 batters twice and struck out 10+ batters 13 times, and the only pitcher to throw double-digit shutouts twice. He is the only player in the history of the league to receive this honor. She was drafted#1 and played professional softball from 2015 to 2018, winning the title during the 2018 final season for the USSSA Pride National Pro Fastpitch. Manager Alfred Lawson chose to put numbers on his teams jerseys in order for fans to easily identify each of th. Paul Goldschmidt, the 2022 NL MVP, wore 44 with Arizona, but he took 46 upon his trade to the Cardinals, saying that it was the closest number to 44 available, because 44 was taken at the time and 45 was retired for Bob Gibson. #23 is now retired by both the Chicago Bulls and North Carolina Tar Heels. Baseball history is marked by iconic numbers. 99 for the Dodgers after being traded in July. Why hes here: Only one player in baseball history (Jeff Kent) ever hit more home runs as a second baseman than Sandbergs 277 career dingers at the position, and in 1990 he became the second NL second baseman since the legendary Rogers Hornsby to ever hit at least 40 home runs in a season. 54 is especially interesting because it's a pitcher's number, and only a pitcher's number. The World's Most Entertaining Car Website. 40881 WARNotable names: Bartolo Colon, Madison Bumgarner, Frank Tanana, Andy Benes, Rick Sutcliffe. 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