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. Why hes here: The Big Hurtwas one of the top right-handed hitters in history, leading the league in OPS four times and slugging 35 or more homer eight times. In order to find out, let's swing over to Baseball-Reference.com and dig into their uniform number database. Di Maria will be the next to carry on the tradition associated with the #7 at Man U. Wayne Gretzky, the greatest hockey player of all time, can easily be identified by his #99. 1, which is almost universally worn by speedy middle infielders or defensively gifted center fielders, befitting the origins of uniform numbers as matching lineup positions. Tales of numbers on uniforms were common in the late 19th century, but the practice did not receive widespread acceptance until the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees donned them for the 1929 season. 99 for the Dodgers after being traded in July. Through 2022, this is the deepest number, as 57 different players -- from Martinez at 68.4 WAR to Bill Mueller at 10.1 WAR -- have posted at least 10 WAR in the one-one, more than any other number. No. Iconic NBA players with number 23 jerseys include Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis, all Hall of Fame-level players whose career highlights are among the greatest moments in basketball history. 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. Deion Sanders dazzled the nation as he high stepped into the end zone after interceptions and punt returns, frustrating football purists and giving birth to the moniker Prime Time. 81,559 WARNotable names: Carl Yastrzemski, Cal Ripken, Jr., Joe Morgan, Gary Carter, Yogi Berra, Willie Stargell. By the 1930s numbers on uniforms were standard practice for Major League Baseball teams and were common in other sports like football and hockey. So far so good on luck he got the last 3 outs in his last game. ", No. Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. In her two years in the program, she made the All-NEC team both seasons at third base, reaching first-team honors in 1997 and 1998, as the team won the Northeast Conference both seasons. No. Why he's here: Not a lot to choose from. She ranked in the fourth position as Greatest College Softball Player. Why hes here: Maybe the best pure hitter of all time, Williams finished his career with 521 home runs and a.344 average despite missing all or most of five seasons (1943-45 and 1952-53) while serving in the military. 13. Because he wore 24 the most during his career, that number gets full credit for the season, while 14 gets nothing.). Neither did we. Jordans incredible career has inspired hundreds of athletes to wear #23, including LeBron James. Bonds won five of his seven NL MVPs with the Giants and broke pretty much every home run and walks record while wearing No. These numbers are all outlined in blue. ), If a player switches numbers within a season for the same team, the number he wore most in his career receives the full credit. Ryan only wore 30 for the Mets and Angels, not at all for the Astros or Rangers, with whom he spent 14 seasons wearing 34. She was the first softball player inducted into the Hall of Fame, inducted in 1999. CR7, as he is known to many fans around the world, is possibly the greatest player among this current generation of footballers. But do they know who the players were who wore those numbers? Stats. She holds theNCAAcareer records fortotal basesand intentional walks as well as thePac-12career records forbatting averageandslugging percentage. Barry Larkin. The team wonthe national championship of 1999. No. Magics versatility allowed him to play all five positions on the court, and he earned three MVP Awards in both the regular season and NBA Finals. 0 of 10. Jonathan Papelbon (23.3 WAR) was a strong 58, and Livan Hernandez, Bronson Arroyo, and Chan Ho Park all found success in 61. How did we get there? This, we cannot stress enough, is a list of uniform numbers. 1 overall pick in the 2004 WNBA draft finished her time in Storrs with 2,156 points, 648 assists and 628 rebounds. 261,132 WARNotable names: Wade Boggs, Chase Utley, Billy Williams, Amos Otis, Boog Powell. Honorable mentions: Juan Guzman, Gerry Staley. Unfortunately, there's not really any such thing as a record of per-game uniform numbers -- even if there were you don't really want to split WAR on a per-game basis -- and also some players have had multiple numbers in a season. Slow-pitch Softball is a recreational form of the exciting American sport of Baseball, is easier to play than . She Originally comes from Long Beach, California. Lemieux was rewarded for his efforts with a third Stanley Cup, which he won as the owner in 2009. This article was originally published in July 2020, and was updated in December 2022. Then there's Mays, who wore No. 66. The World's Most Entertaining Car Website. In RMU softball history, nine players have immortalized themselves in both the Hall of Fame and on the outfield fence. 24. 22 WAR list, and he'll be there for years to come, because no one's even close. Manager Alfred Lawson chose to put numbers on his teams jerseys in order for fans to easily identify each of the players. Gehrig finished with 493 homers and a .340 career batting average, and he was even better in the World Series the Iron Horse hit .361 and popped 10 homers in 34 games as his Yankees claimed the title six times in seven tries. Like many others, though, it was a happenstance. With another good season in 2022, Kershaw passed Palmer on the No. Forty-nine different players put up at least 10 WAR wearing No. Simply put, Jennie Finch is the most famous softball player of all time to the rest of the sporting world. He is the only player in the history of the league to receive this honor. Hall of Fame center Moses Malone's pro career spanned two decades, over which he played for nine different teams. 35 the year he stole 130 bases), so the full value of his career isn't applied here. The University of Arizona retired Finch's jersey number 27 to honor the best female softball player in the university's history. In Game 7 of the 1934 World Series, Dean threw nine shutout innings to help Gashouse Gang to the championship. No. "Where's the Babe?" 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. No. Why hes here: Damon gets the nod here over Joe Morgan, who only wore the number for seven seasons with Houston, before he became a superstar with the Reds. His accomplishments on the baseball diamond are virtually unparalleled over the course of a century of baseball history. Why hes here: Musial feasted on opposing pitchers during his 22-year career with the Cardinals. Honorable mentions: Jeff Kent, Mark Langston, Dusty Baker. As for her single-season achievements, her 280 strikeouts in 1998 stood as a record until 2015, when Nicole Sleith shattered it with 296. No. No matter what else happens, that's always going to be Kris Bryant. 13. Why hes here: Koufax's numbers from 1962 to 1966 are staggering: Three Cy Youngs, a 113-34 record, five straight ERA titles, three seasons of more than 300 strikeouts. Why hes here: Rapid Robert had already struck out 466 major-league hitters before he turned 20 years old, thats why. In college and in the NPF she pitched for the Tennessee Lady Vols and in the Japan Softball League. for Team USA. Jim Brown?) 5. 8 with the Indians and White Sox, but it wasn't available in Baltimore due to a certain future Hall of Famer. He has been inducted into the Pro and College Football Hall of Fames as well as the Atlanta Falcons ring of honor. Tweet us @USATODAYSports and let us know. No. The switch worked because Magic and the Showtime Lakers won the NBA Title in 1980 and would go on to win four more before the end of Magics career. The Jersey Softball Association has been playing ball in the Island since 1993. Why he's here: Only three players have ever worn No. As far as we know, no one's ever done this before. Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. The Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, LA Lakers, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and the Detroit Pistons are a few of the famous teams to have done so. His .651 winning percentage is 24th all time. No. 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 . In Olympics 2004, Natasha won a gold medal for playing with Americas Olympic team, and in 2008, she won a silver medal. George Herman Ruth, better known as The Babe, the Sultan of Swat, or the Great Bambino was the greatest hitter during one the greatest eras in the history of baseball. Jordan is widely considered to be the greatest basketball player of all-time, with six NBA titles, five MVP awards, and fourteen All-Star Game appearances. This was pretty much an impossible choice, guaranteed to please exactly nobody. She tossed a record four no-hitters at RMU, tied with Tera Prosser-Howe. Why he's here: An excellent starter, Eckersley became an elite reliever with the A's in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Like Dickey and Berra sharing 8 for the Yankees, Maddux and Jenkins each have 31 retired for the Cubs. Originally from Californias Trabuco Canyon. Now we're talking, so far as all-time stars go. Robinson was a six-time All-Star, World Series Champion, and the 1949 National League MVP. Why hes here: Eight seasons into his career with the Red Sox, Boggs owned a .352 batting average and five AL batting titles. Through 2022, only six players have put up even 5 WAR in one of these numbers. Maybe it's No. Three all-time inner-circle legends top this list, though it would have ranked even better had Clemens not worn 12 and then 22 for the Yankees and Astros. When Magic Johnson was drafted with the first overall pick in the 1979 NBA Draft, he had to change his #33 from Michigan State, which belonged to the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 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. Dot Richardson Dot Richardson began receiving attention for her softball skills when she was just 13 years old. Honorable mentions: Dwight Gooden, Hal Newhouser, Ted Lyons. That's nearly a quarter-century, with one team, on the backs of two legends. Why hes here: When you start to look through MLB records for switch-hitters, you begin to put Beltrans stellar career in perspective. 13 in 1955 after arriving in the Majors, then quickly took the 21 that he'd wear for the rest of his career. As you'd expect by this point, we're starting to get into numbers that just aren't worn that often, though there are still some exceptions to this rule. Currently, she is the San Diego State Associate Head Coach. Cat Osterman retired in 2015 but then decided in 2018 that she would take a run atthe 2020 U.S. Olympic softball team. Despite the less-popular numbers here in this group, there's still a number of huge stars to have worn them. It has been a popular jersey number for decades with success of athletes across the board. She tragically passed away just days after the teams 1998 season ended, and the team took the number out of circulation soon after. Honorable mentions Tiffany Hayes, Morgan Tuck, Megan Walker 4: Moriah. Where would baseball be without No. 61,881 WARNotable names: Stan Musial, Al Kaline, Sal Bando, Willie Wilson, Tony Oliva, Steve Garvey. If you were to poll the general population as to which jersey number a person wore as a kid over the last . 77 for just one season, but he's Pudge. The first number to get a big boost from pitchers. The long-time reliever is the best of a mediocre bunch. Honorable mentions: Steve Carlton, Roy Halladay. Her career winning percentage of .835 is the highest percentage recorded by any collegiate softball coach with 800 career wins. She was named to the All-NEC Tournament Team twice. Why he's here: The long-time Yankee lefty was by far the best player who wore No. Why he's here: A first-ballot Hall of Famer with two Cy Youngs and more than 300 wins, Glavine laps the field at No. Over the course of his prolific career, he wore the #80 for three different teams, but is best remembered for wearing it in the red and gold of the San Francisco 49ers. Oh, and hes hit .332 with 16 homers and a 1.115 OPS in 52 career playoff gams. Blyleven had to wait a long time after he retired, but he was eventually elected to the Hall of Fame in 2011. No, let's talk about the numbers themselves. 12 during his managerial career, because growing up in California, he idolized Dodgers outfielder Tommy Davis, who wore the dozen for the team from 1959 through 1966. With over 300 players taking part in the Summer, Winter Indoor and extremely poular Corporate Leagues our aim is to help grow the amazing sport of Softball. Stacey is a retired pro-All-Star, right-handed hittingsoftballplayer and former collegiateNCAA Division I4-time First TeamAll-American, and 3 time Olympic medal-winning star. 3: Kiki Cuyler. Why hes here: The man with one of the greatest nicknames in baseball history the Wizard of Oz earned his reputation as arguably the best defensive shortstop in baseball history during a highlight-filled 19-year career that included 15 All-Star nods and 13 Gold Gloves. Enjoy. Robinson broke Major Leagues Baseball color barrier, becoming the first black man to play in the league since the 1880s. Best all-time MLB players at each jersey number, 1-99 Ryan Fagan and Justin McGuire 85 slides Baseball history is marked by iconic numbers. Dan Marino, practically reversed the belief that 13 is an unlucky number. Carew made the All-Star team in 18 of his 19 seasons in the majors and was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot (1991). Betts was once asked why he wears 50. Students walk by the field every day, but not any of them would know what these numerals stood for unless they went beyond the numbers. 37 as a young pitcher for Cleveland, but when he was traded to Boston in 1975, "Spaceman" Bill Lee already owned it. Not necessarily the players wearing those numbers, as you've certainly seen many lists of in the past. 1 all-time. 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