'Ol DJ > Baseball: A Number's Game

                                                      Guest Writer Wednesday

14 Posts Today: 5 More injury reports - unbelievable!, some great article's, including one by our guest writer - 'Ol DJ, And some fun stuff ...  /  Fantastic Friday, Super Saturday, & Video Sunday15 are coming for your weekend ...  /  Thank you for sliding in to Cowboy's Baseball - Enjoy!  /  Have a Great Wednesday!!!

Until next time, so long everybody ...

Lee [ Cowboy ]

PS/ Please scroll down to ''Older Posts'' or scroll down the right side of the home page for the injury reports. Thank you ...

Baseball: A Numbers Game

For years I have been debating with the boys, over beers, over dogs, at the game, wherever, over who was the best MLB player to wear specific numbers. I have often thought of making a list and sending it out via email to further the banter and when Cowboy Lee asked me to do just that, I had my motivation. Everyone loves Cowboy Lee, and I am happy to oblige.

Since I have been pondering the list for years, I already had sufficient ammo for this article, but rest assured I researched my subject thoroughly and even surprised myself with some of the results. The meat and potatoes of the list are the winners themselves, and while I will give you reasons for the selection, I won’t overload you with a bunch of fluff, just the facts. It is up to you to decide if I am right or not. I have also included those players who received strong consideration but did not win. And no, I am NOT a Yankee fan, it just so happens they have had some pretty darn good ballplayers over the last century or so.

#0 Al Oliver – Outfielder, Montreal Expos. “Scoop” boasts a .303 career batting average and 2,743 hits. He was a 7 time all star and won the NL Batting Title in 1982.

Honorable Mention: None.

#1/8 Eddie Gaedel – Pinch Hitter, St. Louis Browns. The only #1/8 in MLB history, the 3 foot 7 inch Gaedel has a lifetime on base percentage of 1.000.

Honorable Mention: None.

#1 Ozzie Simth – Shortstop, St. Louis Cardinals. “The Wizard of Oz is widely considered the best defensive SS in the history of the game. Smith was a first ballot Hall of Famer, a 15 time All-Star and won 13 consecutive Gold Gloves at shortstop.

Honorable Mention: Pee Wee Reese, *Sadaharu Oh, Lou Whitaker, Billy Martin.

#2  Derek Jeter – Shortstop, New York Yankees. The current Yankee Captain holds a career batting avergage of .314, has 3134 hits and counting, is a 12 time AL All-Star, 5 time World Series Champion, 4 time Silver Slugger award winner, and is the New York Yankees all time leader in hits and stolen bases.

Honorable Mention: Charlie Gehringer, Nellie Fox, Tommy Lasorda

#3 Babe Ruth – Outfielder, New York Yankees. “The Bambino” hit .for an absurd .342 lifetime average, slugged 714 homers, won 7 World Series, and still holds the MLB records for OPS (1.164) and Slugging % (.690). “The Sultan of Swat” is a member of the All-Time Major League Baseball Team and was inducted into the Hall of Fame with over 95% of the vote.

Honorable Mention: Harmon Killebrew, Jimmie Foxx, Dale Murphy, Harold Baines.

#4 Lou Gehrig – First Baseman, New York Yankess. “The Iron Horse” is perhaps most famous for his 2130 consecutive games played streak but Gehrig also posted a .340 career batting average, 493 home runs, 1995 RBI, and 6 World Series Titles before the disease that bears his name took his life prematurely. Lou was named to the MLB All-Time Team at First Base.  

Honorable Mention: Mel Ott, Duke Snider, Paul Molitor.

#5 Joe DiMaggio – Outfielder, New York Yankees. “Joltin Joe” still hold the MLB record with 56 consecutive games with a base hit. “The Yankee Clipper” hit .325 for his career, was named AL MVP 3 times, a 13 time All-Star and 9 time World Series Champion.

Honorable Mention: Hank Greenberg, Albert Pujols, Johnny Bench, George Brett, Brooks Robinson.

#6 Stan Musial – OF/1B, St. Louis Cardinals. Wow. Stan certainly was “The Man”, boasting and incredible 24 All-Star games, 3630 career hits, a .331 career batting average, 475 home runs, 1951 RBI, 7 NL batting titles, 3 World Series Championships, and 3 NL MVP awards. Pat yourself on the back if you knew how good Musial actually was before reading this.

Honorable Mention: Al Kaline, Steve Garvey, Tony Oliva, Ryan Howard.

#7 Mickey Mantle – Outfielder, New York Yankees. “The Mick” was the apple of seemingly everyone’s eyes in 1950s and 60s America. Mantle became one of the country’s most beloved athletes of all-time by swatting 536 home runs and bringing home 3 AL MVP awards. Mantle was also a 20 time All-Star and played for 7 World Series Champions.

Honorable Mention: Al Simmons, Craig Biggio, Ivan Rodriguez, Joe Mauer.

#8 Cal Ripken, Jr. – Shortstop/3^rd Base, Baltimore Orioles. I know I am going to hear from the throngs of Yankee fans out there about Yogi Berra’s astonishing 13 World Series Titles, but that can happen when you play for the Yankees, and Cal’s 2632 consecutive games played streak is equally as amazing as Yogi’s drawer full of rings. On top of “the streak”, “The Iron Man” was a 2 time AL MVP, 19 time All-Star, 2 time Gold Glove Winner, 1983 World Series Champion, and a member of the 3,000 hit club.

\Honorable Mention: Yogi Berra, Willie Stargell, Car Yastremski, Gary Carter.

#9 Ted Williams – Outfielder, Boston Red Sox. Not only is “Teddy Ballgame” considered by most pundits to be the “Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived”, he was also the last player to hit over the magical .400 (.406 in 1941), a 2 time MVP and an All-Star 19 times. Oh, and he has a career batting average of .344, and 521 home runs.

Honorable Mention: Enos Slaughter, Roger Maris, Bill Mazeroski.

#10 Lefty Grove – Pitcher, Philadelphia A’s. A 300-game winner, Lefty was the ace of his era winning the pitcher’s triple crown twice, the 1931 AL MVP, and had the league’s lowest earned run average a record 9 times. Lefty also brought home 2 World Series titles and was named to baseball’s All-Century team.

Honorable Mention: Chipper