Best Baseball Players by Number: 23-46

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jul 22, 2009

Best Baseball Players by Number: 23-46

No. 23

Famed for his two-out, two-run homer (left) off A's closer Dennis Eckersley to win Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, Gibson stole 284 bases and scored 985 runs during a 17-year standout career. Runner-up: Ryne Sandberg Worthy of consideration: Willie Horton, Don Mattingly and Bobby Thomson (Giants)

No. 24

In the city of San Francisco, May 24 is known as Willie Mays Day. The ''Say Hey Kid'' hit 660 home runs over 19 seasons. Runner-up: Ken Griffey Jr. (Seattle) Worthy of consideration: Barry Bonds (Pirates), Dwight Evans, Rickey Henderson (Yankees, A's), Tony Perez, Manny Ramirez, Early Wynn and Jimmy Wynn

No. 25

Bonds wore No. 24 with the Pirates from 1986 to '92 in honor of his godfather, Willie Mays, but switched to 25 when he arrived in San Francisco. Runner-up: Mark McGwire Worthy of consideration: Jose Cruz, Carlos Delgado (Blue Jays), Andruw Jones, Derrek Lee, Rafael Palmeiro and Jim Thome

No. 26

You forget just how good he was. Boggs, who wore No. 26 during his 11 seasons in Boston, had seven consecutive 200-hit seasons. He was the only batter in the 20th century to do so. He appeared in 12 All-Star games and finished with 3,010 hits and a .328 lifetime average. Runner-up: Billy Williams Worthy of consideration: Boog Powell and Chase Utley

No. 27

One of baseball's dominant pitchers in the '60s, the ''Dominican Dandy'' won 20 games six times and finished his 16-year career (mostly with the Giants) with a 243-142 record. Runner-up: Vladimir Guerrero Worthy of consideration: Carlton Fisk (Red Sox) and Catfish Hunter (A's)

No. 28

No retired pitcher outside the Hall of Fame has more strikeouts (3,701) or shutouts (60). Blyleven won World Series titles with the Pirates (1979) and Twins (1987). Runner-up: Sparky Lyle Worthy of consideration: Steve Blass, Tom Herr, Al Leiter and Randy Myers

No. 29

Whatever his age, Paige was one of baseball's most enjoyable and memorable personalities. The Negro League star became the oldest player to make his major league debut -- at age 42 in 1948. Runner-up: Rod Carew Worthy of consideration: Fred McGriff (Padres and Rays), Dan Quisenberry, Ken Singleton, John Smoltz and Tim Wallach

No. 30

He won 324 games and threw seven no-hitters but he'll always be remembered for one letter: K. Ryan's 5,714 strikeouts are tops among all pitchers. He later switched to No. 34 (retired by the Astros and Rangers) after leaving California. Runner-up: Orlando Cepeda Worthy of consideration: Ken Griffey Jr. (Reds), Dennis Martinez (Expos), Magglio Ordonez, Tim Raines and Maury Wills

No. 31

He looked like an accountant and pitched like an assassin. Maddux was a four-time Cy Young winner and won 355 games over 23 seasons. Runner-up: Mike Piazza Worthy of consideration: Fergie Jenkins and Dave Winfield

No. 32

The left-hander enjoyed a five-year stretch that was perhaps the most dominating of any pitcher in baseball history. Between 1962 and '66, Koufax went 111-34, led the league in ERA each season, pitched four no-hitters -- including a perfect game in 1965 -- and won three Cy Young Awards. Runner-up: Steve Carlton Worthy of consideration: Roy Halladay and Elston Howard

No. 33

Quiet and taciturn with the press, Murray made noise with his bat. He was a seven-time All-Star with the Orioles (he also made an appearance as a Dodger) and finished his career with 3,255 hits, 504 home runs and 1,917 RBIs. Runner-up: Johnny Vander Meer Worthy of consideration: Mike Scott, Jason Varitek and Larry Walker

No. 34

In his 12 seasons with the Twins, Puckett was a 10-time All-Star and a six-time Gold Glove Award winner. He led the Twins to World Series titles in 1987 and 1991 and his .318 lifetime batting average ranked as the highest for any right-handed batter since World War II. He passed away in 2006 at age 45. Runner-up: David Ortiz Worthy of consideration: Rollie Fingers, Nolan Ryan (Rangers, Astros) and Fernando Valenzuela

No. 35

His 1,406 steals and 2,295 runs are both major league records and he's a first-ballot lock for Cooperstown. Henderson won two World Series titles and is considered the greatest leadoff hitter in major league history. He wore No. 35 for the first six years of his career. Runner-up: Frank Thomas Worthy of consideration: Mike Cuellar, Sal Maglie, Mike Mussina and Phil Niekro

No. 36

He won 286 games for the Phillies -- including six 20-win seasons -- and was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1976. Runner-up: Gaylord Perry Worthy of consideration: Joe Nathan and Don Newcombe

No. 37

He gave the Blue Jays mound respectability during his 16 years in the majors. Stieb remains the only Blue Jay to throw a no-hitter (Sept. 20, 1990) and holds the franchise record in wins (176), innings pitched (2,873), strikeouts (1,658), complete games (103) and shutouts (30). Runner-up: Bill Lee

No. 38

His blog (38pitches.com) contains his number. Here are a couple of others: a 216-146 career record, 3,116 strikeouts and two World Series titles with two franchises (Diamondbacks and Red Sox). Runner-up: Rocky Colavito Worthy of consideration: Eric Gagne (Dodgers)

No. 39

''Campy'' won the National League MVP three times and set a single-season record for catchers with 41 home runs in 1951. Runner-up: Dave Parker

No. 40

In 1984, he put together one of the great pitching half-seasons in the modern era: Sutcliffe went 16-1 with a 2.69 ERA and seven complete games after being acquired by the Cubs from the Indians in June of that season. Sutcliffe was a three-time All-Star and won the NL Cy Young in 1984. Runner-up: Don Wilson Worthy of consideration: Bartolo Colon, John Denny, Troy Percival and Frank Tanana

No. 41

A three-time Cy Young Award winner, ''Tom Terrific'' won 311 games and set a National League record with 3,272 strikeouts. Runner-up: Eddie Mathews Worthy of consideration: Victor Martinez

No. 42

His No. 42 was retired by baseball on April 15, 1997, the 50th anniversary of his debut. Robinson wore No. 18 as a basketball player at UCLA. Runner-up: Mariano Rivera Worthy of consideration: Bruce Sutter and Mo Vaughn

No. 43

Eckersley's 24 seasons were broken down by 13 years as a starter and 11 as a reliever. He made six All-Star appearances and won the American League MVP and Cy Young awards in 1992. On Sept. 26, 1998, Eckersely set a major league record by appearing in his 1,071st game, breaking Hoyt Wilhelm's mark. It was his final game. Runner-Up: Jeff Nelson Worthy of consideration: Juan Encarnacion (Marlins and Cardinals)

No. 44

Little known fact: Aaron switched to 44 after wearing 5 in his rookie season of 1954. Good call, Hammer. Runner-up: Willie McCovey Worthy of consideration: Eric Davis, Reggie Jackson, Jake Peavy and Roy Oswalt

No. 45

One of the game's most dominating pitchers, Gibson finished with a 251-174 record with a 2.91 ERA and 3,117 strikeouts. He won two NL Cy Young awards and was a two-time World Series MVP (1964, '67). His 17 strikeouts in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series remain a major league record. Runner-up: Pedro Martinez Worthy of consideration: Carlos Lee, Bobby Jenks and Steve Rogers

No. 46

One of the dominant closers of his generation, Smith retired in 1997 as the all-time leader in saves with 478. The right-hander also established a since-broken NL record with 47 saves in 1991. He finished second to Tom Glavine in the Cy Young award balloting. Runner-up: Andy Pettitte Worthy of consideration: Mike Flanagan and Dave Righetti

Best Baseball Players by Number: 23-46