A deep dive into the history of baseball uniform numbers and the players who wore them!
What uniform number did your favorite baseball player wear? Was it always the same? Did it have any significance to you? Did you wear it all the time when you played, or use it on your video game avatar? Was it your lucky number? What other players wore that number? How long did players wear their numbers? Who was the best player to wear a particular uniform number?
These are the questions I’ve been considering when researching for this project. My goal is to list seven players per post. Each post dedicated to a uniform number, in order from 00 to 99. I don’t really have any specific rules, but I have a few small considerations.
When I’m selecting a player, they need to have worn the number for at least five years, but when that isn’t possible, I’ll try for players who had the number the longest. I also want to have a picture of one of their baseball cards, hopefully with the number showing when possible. If not, I’ll find a picture to use (Creative Commons here I come!). My final consideration is that all seven picks have a career WAR over 40 if possible. Lastly, have fun!
That’s what this is about, it’s about fun. This is something I would have done in 7th grade, collecting cards with my friends. We would have picked players based on numbers, made up some kind of drafting and scoring game, and then playfully argued about the best numbers or picks.
When writing these posts, I might select the best players to wear a number or select players I personally like (spoiler: Cal Ripken will be #1 for uniform number 8), or I might just choose someone because of an interesting story or nickname, of because they played for my favorite team. So expect Red Sox bias and Yankees hatein’ and a lot of goofiness. I’m doing this out of a love of baseball and baseball cards, as one fan to another, to have fun and enjoy the players and facts that come up.
I want to pick seven players for every number. Why seven you may ask, (or you might not, maybe you just don’t care), but if you did ask, seven is my favorite number…that’s why. Now I realize that it may not be possible to list seven but take the journey with me and let’s see what we get. And who knows, sometimes, I may add a player or two just because.
Lastly, I’m hoping for interaction. I want to hear from you, the reader (or hopefully readers, plural). Tell me what you think of the lists, do you have someone you’d add, or take out and tell me why. Let’s have fun with this! And maybe some of these facts will help with your Immaculate Grids.
Here we GO!
Quick Fact: Baseball teams didn’t start putting numbers on their uniforms as standard practice until 1929. Unfortunately, we won’t see players like Cap Anson, Old Hoss Radbourn, Cy Young, Kid Nichols, Silver King, Charlie Buffinton, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, ect…
Update 9/25 Legend Spot: Once I got to uniform number 3, I made a special spot for Babe Ruth, highest career WAR in history, and after I did that, I decided it would be cool to just have anyone with a career WAR over 100 listed as a Legend. In all of history there are only thirty-two players with 100 or more career WAR and three have some significant controversies, asterisks if you will (Bonds, Clemens, A-Rod). I think nine others played prior to uniform numbers (Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Cy Young, Walter Johnson, Honus Wagner, Kid Nichols, Grover Alexander, Nap Lajoie, and Christy Mathewson). I may have to do a post at some point of pre-uniform numbered players (spoiler: those nine will probably be the list). When a Legend comes up in a uniform number, I will feature them separately, and still pick seven additional players.
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