Checklist
17
Welcome back to Baseball by the Numbers. Today we are looking at uniform number 17. I like this number in general, probably because it has a 7 in it. I will often go out of my way to grab a locker or a parking spot with 7 in it, so 17 is often the spot I will pick. Apparently, baseball players also like the number, as nearly 900 players have worn 17 in history. 105 of those players kept 17 for over 5 seasons. No player who wore 17 had a WAR over 100 and only thirty-seven had a 40 plus WAR. Although no Legends had number 17, the amazing Ken Griffey Jr. wore 17 for 1 season in 2008 while with the Chicago White Sox.
Number 1:
In 1997, rookie third baseman Scott Rolen played 153 games for the Phillies. He batted .283 with 159 hits, 35 doubles, 21 home runs, 92 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. He also led all National League third basemen with 144 putouts. He won the NL Rookie of the Year. Rolen would remain in the Majors for seventeen seasons from 1996 to 2012. After his amazing debut with Philadelphia (1996-2002) he was traded in 2002 to the Cardinals where he stayed for six seasons until 2007. He was traded to the Blue Jays (2008-2009) for Troy Glaus and eventually finished his career with the Cincinnati Reds (2009-2012). He had a career WAR of 70.1 and wore uniform number 17 for six seasons, all with Philly.
Aside from winning the Rookie of the Year, Rolen was a seven-time All-Star. He has the fourth most Gold Gloves of any third basemen with eight, trailing only Brooks Robinson, Mike Schmidt and Nolan Arenado. He hit 20 or more home runs in ten seasons, had over 100 RBIs five times and won a Silver Slugger award in 2002. He was a key contributor to the Phillies 2006 World Series Championship team.
Rolen’s final game was in 2012. He finished his career with .281 batting average, 1211 runs, 2077 hits, 517 doubles, 316 home runs, 1287 RBI and 118 stolen bases.
He is a member of both the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fames. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023.
Number 2:
Todd Helton wins the uniform number 17 triple crown. He played first base for 17 seasons (1997-2013) and wore uniform number 17 for all 17 seasons played. He played exclusively for the Colorado Rockies and had a career WAR of 61.8.
Helton was a five-time All-Star. He batted over .300 in twelve seasons and won four Silver Sluggers. He was 5th in MVP voting in 2000 when he led the league in season WAR (8.9), batting average (.372), hits (216), doubles (59), RBIs (147), OBP (.463), SLG (.698) and OPS (1.162) while also hitting 42 home runs. (It’s crazy he was 5th : Jim Edmonds, Mike Piazza, Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent (winner) were ahead of him.) Helton had over 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in five seasons each and won three Gold Glove Awards. He won the Hank Aaron award in 2000.
Helton retired after the 2013 season. He ended his career with a .316 batting average, 2519 hits, 1401 runs, 369 home runs and 1406 RBIs. He was in the top 50 all-time in several categories. He had 592 doubles (20th), 1335 walks (38th), OBP .414 (29th), SLG .539 (38th) and OPS .953 (24th).
In 2014, his uniform number 17 was the first number retired by Colorado. Helton’s is one of only three retired numbers, including fellow player Larry Walker (33) and of course Jackie Robinson (42). Team president Keli McGregor (KSM) was also honored.
Todd Helton was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024.
Number 3:
Whenever Keith Hernandez comes up I must ask myself, “Was it really Roger McDowell, or did Keith Hernandez spit on Kramer and Newman?” Aside from his infamous appearance on Seinfeld, Hernandez is also well known for his dry humor as the Mets color commentator on SNY.
Hernandez played first base for seventeen seasons from 1974 to 1990. He started his career with the St. Louis Cardinals (1974-1983), then was traded to the Mets (1983-1989) and played his final games with the Cleveland Indians (1990), He had a career WAR of 60.4 and wore uniform number 17 for eight seasons while with the Mets and Cleveland.
Hernandez was a five-time All-Star with two Silver Slugger Awards. He was the National League MVP in 1979 when he batted a league leading .344 with 210 hits, 11 home runs and 105 RBIs. He also led the league in doubles (48) and runs (116) while winning a Gold Glove. He won 11 Gold Gloves in his career. Hernandez was a member of two World Series Champions. In 1982 he was a member of the Cardinals Championship team managed by Whitey Herzog and featuring Jim Kaat, Ozzie Smith and Bruce Sutter and in 1986 he won a ring with the New York Mets along with future Hall of Famer Gary Carter. (Yes the one against the Red Sox!)
Hernandez retired in 1990 after having played only 43 games with Cleveland. He ended his career with a .296 batting average, 2182 hits, 1124 runs, 426 doubles, 162 home runs and 1071 RBIs.
Hernandez is a member of both the Cardinals and the Mets Hall of Fame. His number 17 was retired by the New York Mets in 2022.
Aside from Seinfeld, Hernandez appeared in Sesame Street, Law and Order and a couple of movies. He’s also written and contributed to multiple books and, as mentioned above, is a well-liked color commentator.
Number 4:
“Shotime” is currently 15th in career WAR for active players at 51.8. The two-way Japanese star has made a huge impact since entering the league in 2018. In only 9 seasons (2018-present), he has been an All-Star both at the plate and on the mound. He started his career with the Los Angeles Angels (2018-2023) then signed the largest contract in sports history, 10 years/$700 million to play with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ohtani was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2018 when he batted .285 with 93 hits, 21 doubles 22 home runs, 61 RBI and 10 stolen bases to go with a 4-2 record 3.31 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 51 innings. Ohtani is a five-time All-Star. He’s won 4 MVP awards and has been voted for the All-MLB First Team 6 times. He has 4 Silver Sluggers and 3 Hank Aaron Awards. Ohtani has led the league in runs twice, home runs twice (hitting over 50 twice), RBIs once, triples once, OBP twice, SLG, OPS, OPS+ and Total Bases three times each. He was a member of two World Series Championships with the Dodgers (2024 and 2025). He is the only member of the 50-50 club (2024). He also hit for the cycle in 2019.
He is currently playing for the Dodgers and continues to play at an All-Star level. He currently has a career batting average of .281 with 1069 hits, 720 runs, 194 doubles, 45 triples, 285 home runs, 679 RBIs and 165 stolen bases. He has a 41-20 record (.672 W/L%) with a 2.91 ERA, 1.066 WHIP, 146 ERA+ and 688 strikeouts in 546.2 innings. With his dominate two-way play, Ohtani is a generational talent often compared to the great Babe Ruth.
Number 5:
When I was a young fan, Lance Berkman was a personal favorite. I loved collecting the “Killer Bees” of the Houston Astros: Lance Berkman, Jeff Bagwell, and Craig Biggio. Berkman played outfield and first base for fifteen seasons from 1999-2013 primarily with the Astros (1999-2010), then with the Yankees (37 games in 2010), the Cardinals (2011-2012) and finally with the Texas Rangers (2013). He had a career WAR of 51.9 and wore uniform number 17 for eleven seasons.
Berkman was a six-time All-Star and was voted the comeback player of the year in 2011 as a key member of the St. Louis Cardinals World Series Championship team.
Berkman retired after the 2013 season with a .293 career batting average, 1905 hits, 1146 runs, 422 doubles, 366 home runs and 1234 RBIS.
Berkman is a member of the Houston Astros Hall of Fame. Since his retirement Berkman has been coaching college baseball.
Number 6:
Kevin Appier was a right-handed pitcher for sixteen seasons from 1989 to 2004. He played for the Kansas City Royals from 1989-1999 and 2003-2004. In 1999, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics and played with them until 2000. He then played for the Mets (2001), and the Anaheim Angels (2002-2003). He had a career WAR of 54.5. Appier wore uniform number 17 for five seasons with the Royals.
While he only had one All-Star appearance (1995), he was a solid pitcher, especially in the beginning of his career. He had 3 seasons with under 3.00 ERA, leading the league in 1993. He won two Roberto Clemente Awards (1996 and 1998). At the end of the 2001 season, he was traded from the Mets to the Angles for Mo Vaughn and was a member of their 2002 World Series Championship team.
He ended his career after the 2004 season with a .552 W/L% (169-137), 3.74 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 1994 strikeouts and a 121+.
Appier is a member of the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame.
Number 7:
Left-handed first baseman Mark Grace played for sixteen seasons from 1988 to 2003 with the Chicago Cubs (1988-2000) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (2001-2003). Grace wore number 17 his entire career save for the first half of his rookie season and had a career WAR of 46.5.
In 1988, he was second in ROY voting, losing to the Reds Chris Sabo in a close vote. A three-time All-Star, Grace had the most hits and the most doubles of any player in the 90’s. I remember how popular he was during the decade, we all predicted a Hall of Fame career. Grace was also a strong defender winning four Gold Gloves. He won a World Series Championship in 2001 with the Diamondbacks.
Grace retired in 2003. He had a career batting average of .303, 2244 hits, 1179 runs, 511 doubles, 173 home runs and 1146 RBIs.
Grace is a member of the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame. He never did get into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Since retiring, Grace has been a color commentator and analyst for several networks.
Final Score:
Aside from Griffy Jr. mentioned in the introduction, several other standout players wore 17 for short periods. Pitcher David Cone (WAR 62.3, 3 years), Dazzy Vance (60.4, 1yr), Jim Bunning (59.5, 1yr) and Sammy Sosa (58.6, 1 Yr). One of my favorite pitchers, Bret Saberhagen wore number 17 six seasons with my Boston Red Sox and with the Mets. I almost wrote him in this post, but (spoiler alert), he will be in the next post, so I skipped him this time.
From a longevity standpoint; right fielder Shin-Sho Choo (15 seasons), Brewer’s infielder Jim Gantner (15 seasons) and seven-time All-Star pitcher Camilo Pascual (14 seasons).
As always, thank you for reading and please leave a comment, suggestion or give it a like…and subscribe to receive an email update for number 18.
Sources:
https://www.baseball-almanac.com/
https://www.baseball-reference.com/
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