Baseball's Best Number 5's

DiMaggio will always be linked with number five

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, here are the five best players who wore the number five (for at least five years, which means Hank Aaron and Mel Ott are excluded.

1. Joe DiMaggio
The Yankee Clipper actually wore the number nine (same as future foe Ted Williams) in 1936--his rookie year--because Frankie Crosetti was number five. DiMaggio became five the next year and responded with the best year of his Hall of Fame career (meanwhile, Crosetti became number one). Joltin' Joe became one of the best centerfielders of all-time, winning three MVP awards and leading the Yankees to ten pennants and nine championships in his 13 seasons. His number was retired the year after DiMaggio's final season (1951), meaning no Yankee has worn the number five for over 60 years.

2. Albert Pujols
Pujols has worn the number five in all of his 14 seasons, even after switching teams prior to 2012. "The Machine" is one of the greatest righthanded hitters of all-time and ranks with Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig as one of baseball's best first basemen. The three-time MVP just eclipsed 500 home runs, and at 34 still has plenty of time to ascend the career leaderboards. His career is far from over, but he's already a first-ballot Hall of Famer. The Cardinals, who won two World Series with Pujols, have not given away his number since he left and will likely retire it.

3. George Brett
Widely acknowledged to be the second-best third baseman of all-time behind only Mike Schmidt. Brett was number 25 in his first two seasons, when one-time All-Star Richie Scheinblum was number five, but wore the number five for the remaining 19, all with Kansas City. Brett, of course, was a phenomenal hitter who batted .305 for his career, compiled 3,154 hits (1,119 of which went for extra bases), won three batting titles in three different decades and nearly batted .400 in 1980. A well-rounded player, he also stole 201 bases and played a great (and underrated) third base in his early years, even winning a Gold Glove in 1985. The Royals retired his number in 1994.

4. Johnny Bench
The best catcher of all-time (sorry, Yogi Berra fans) wore number five for all of his 17 years behind the plate with Cincinnati. A ten-time Gold Glove winner who made 14 All-Star teams and slugged 389 home runs, Bench is the best two-way catcher who ever lived. He was at the heart of the Big Red Machine, winning two MVP awards and helping power the Reds to four pennants and two championships in the 1970s. Fittingly, his number was retired in 1984.

5. Jeff Bagwell
Bags donned numero cinco in every one of his 15 years manning first base for the Houston Astros. He isn't in the Hall of Fame yet, but he should be. Though he didn't have the longevity of some of the other guys at the position (Rafael Palmeiro, Tony Perez, Willie McCovey), he crammed enough into his playing days that he still ranks as one of the five-best first baseman of all-time since 1900 (according to JAWs). One of the most complete first-sackers ever, he was an asset on the basepaths (swiping 202 bases) and played solid defense, winning a Gold Glove in 1994--the same year he won the NL MVP award unanimously. One of just three Astros to wear the number (along with Steve Henderson and Hal King), Bagwell will also be the last, for his number was retired in 2007.

Honorable Mention: Brooks Robinson, Hank Greenberg, Nomar Garciaparra

Chipper's Cooperstown-Worthy Career

With the bitter aftertaste of Cooperstown's most recent voting fiasco still lingering in my mouth, I wanted to examine the career of Chipper Jones, a shoo-in to gain entry on the first ballot when he comes up for election in 2018.

According to JAWS, Jones ranks as the fifth best third baseman of all time, behind only Mike Schmidt, George Brett, Wade Boggs and Eddie Mathews. The lifelong Atlanta Brave is also one of the best switch-hitters who ever lived. Along with his stellar career numbers, Jones was also a class act who played the game the right way for 20 years. A quiet, humble man, he did not show up pitchers, admire his 468 home runs or loaf to first base.  Most importantly, there's no PED-created cloud hanging over his career, even though he played at a high level past his 40th birthday.

Like Dale Murphy before him, he was the face of baseball in the South for generations of fans who admired his humble personality, beautiful swing and marvelous consistency. Like Mickey Mantle, he played through aches and pains while dealing his share of issues off the field. Like David Ortiz, he struck fear into New York fans with his knack for delivering big hits at the expense of their team.

Our final memory of Jones as a player is a fitting one; sprinting down the first base line, legging out an infield single with Atlanta down to its final out in the 2012 National League Wild Card playoff game. Hustling all the way as Daniel Descalso's throw pulled Allen Craig off the bag. A competitor to the very end.

So in honor of number 10, here are ten of his resume's most impressive credentials:

1. He was the first overall pick of the 1990 draft, which produced Mike Mussina, Carl Everett, Jeromy Burnitz, Tony Clark, and Rondell White. Atlanta almost selected future mega-bust Todd Van Poppel, but TVP said he would not sign with them.  Jones went on to become the youngest player in the league when he debuted on September 11th, 1993. Originally a shortstop, Jones moved to the hot corner in the minors
2. After missing all of 1994 with a torn ACL, he came back strong and was the '95 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up to Hideo Nomo, the Japanese sensation who led the league in strikeouts, shutouts and K/9 rate. Jones got the more coveted hardware when Atlanta won the World Series by defeating the Cleveland Indians in six games. The Braves returned to the Series the following year to defend their title, but were dispatched by the New York Yankees, who swept Atlanta in a rematch three years later
3. In 1997 he recorded the last hit at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, home of the Braves since 1966
4. Chipper Jones made eight All-Star teams, but was not an All-Star in 1999, the year he won his only Most Valuable Player award (and his age 27 season).  Matt Williams and Ed Sprague (?) were chosen over Jones, who got off to a slow start but still finished the first half with 21 homers, 57 RBI and a .313/.422/.589 triple slash line. Jones continued to rake after the Break and topped a stacked MVP ballot highlighted by monster seasons from Jeff Bagwell, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Larry Walker, Mike Piazza, and Barry Bonds. While I'm on the subject, Jones made just one All-Star team in his nine seasons between 2002 and 2010, his lone appearance coming in '09 when he posted the highest batting average (.364) and OBP (.470) in the major leagues. It boggles the mind considering he averaged a .937 OPS and compiled nearly 40 bWAR during that timeframe. For instance, Jones did not make the team in 2007, when he placed sixth in the MVP race and topped the league in OPS and OPS+
5. Jones was one of those rare switch-hitters without a major platoon split. From the left side he batted .303/.405/.541, nearly identical to his .304/.391/.498 figures batting right-handed. The only other switch-hitter to bat .300 from both sides over the course of his career was Frankie Frisch, who starred in the 1920s and '30s when .300 batting averages were commonplace.
6. His 1,623 RBI lead all third baseman and rate second to Eddie Murray among switch-hitters. Jones had nine seasons with at least 100 RBI, including eight straight from 1996-2003. Interestingly, Jones scored nearly as many runs (1,619) as he knocked in
7. He is the only switch-hitter with a .300 career batting average and at least 400 home runs. Mickey Mantle, with his 536 dingers and .298 average, just missed being the first
8. Is one of five players, along with Stan Musial, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Lou Gehrig, with at least 2,500 hits, 500 doubles, 450 home runs, 1,500 runs, walks, and RBI with a .300/.400/.500 batting line. Just goes to show how well-rounded he was as a hitter, but perhaps the best reflection of his hitting ability is that he never struck out 100 times in any season
9. He was the only player named Chipper in baseball history until last year, when the Miami Marlins drafted Chipper Smith, a pitcher, out of Cumberland University. Smith has some pretty big shoes to fill...
10. Like contemporaries Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, and Manny Ramirez, Jones practically lived in the postseason. He was a mainstay in October from his first full season to his last, helping Bobby Cox's teams win the division every year from 1991 through 2005 (minus '94, when the player's strike wiped out the playoffs). Although Atlanta has failed to win the NL East since (coinciding with the departures of Cox, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, and Andruw Jones), they made the postseason via the Wild Card in 2010 and 2012 sandwiched around a historic meltdown in 2011. For all their regular season success, the Braves have not won a postseason series since 2001. Jones, like Jeter, developed a clutch reputation early on in his career that allowed him to skirt criticism whenever he struggled in October

Best Offensive Baseball Season of the 1980s

1980 George Brett (9.6 bWAR)


The Royals third baseman had already been a tremendous hitter during the latter half of the 1970s, and was coming off an 8.9 bWAR year in which he finished third in the AL MVP race.  He'd made four straight All-Star teams and battled Reggie Jackson's Yankees in October, so it's safe to say that he was an established young star at the time. But 1980 was his age-27 season, and his numbers took off accordingly.  After starting slow out of the gates he caught fire during the summer, and by late August he was batting north of the magical .400 mark.  Even though Rod Carew had flirted with it just three years before by batting .388, America still turned its attention to Kansas City to see if the sweet swinging third-sacker  could become the first player since Ted Williams to accomplish the feat.  He peaked at .407 on August 26th, but when the dust settled in early October his average stood at .390, a modern record for third basemen and the closest anyone came to reaching .400 between 1941 and 1994--when Tony Gwynn hit .394 in the strike-shortened season.  In addition, he helped lead KC to 97 wins and their fourth postseason berth in five years (I doubt any baseball fan under the age of 35 will believe that), although the Royals fell to Mike Schmidt's Phillies in the Fall Classic.  Brett, as always, came up big in October with a 1.242 OPS in the ALCS victory over the Yankees and a 1.090 OPS in the World Series.

Injuries limited him to just 117 games and suppressed his counting stats, so he didn't lead the league in any of the sexy power categories (although his 24 dingers, 118 ribbies and 298 total bases were still excellent).  Sure, Reggie Jackson slugged more home runs, Rickey Henderson stole 100 bases, and Robin Yount had all those extra base hits, but Brett was the complete package.  His rate stats reflected his dominance; he topped the majors with his .390/.454/.664 line along with his 1.118 OPS, 203 OPS+, and lofty bWAR total.  For his efforts he was rewarded with the American League Most Valuable Player award, the Hutch Award (honoring the most competitive player), the Sporting News ML Player of the Year, and the first Silver Slugger ever awarded to an AL third baseman (he only won two more--go figure).  More importnantly, his career year catapulted him into the national spotlight and cemented his status as an elite player and future Hall of Famer.  He put it all together, the power, speed, defense, and incomparable hitting prowess, and the result was a season for the ages, a gold standard against which generations of third basemen will be measured.  He never had another season like it, but then again, how could he?

Check out some more fun facts from his phenomenal season:

-For the only time in his career, he finished a season with more home runs (24) than strikeouts (22), a truly remarkable feat.
-Drove in 118 runs (a career high) while playing just 117 games, but that's not surprising when you look at his numbers with runners in scoring position; .469/.542/.815
-He missed a month in the middle of the season and ten games in September (45 games in all, more than a quarter of the season).  Just to give you an idea about how productive he was on a per-game basis, check out his 162 game projections; 120 runs  242 hits  45 doubles  12 triples  33 home runs  163 RBI  20 steals  412 total bases
-If you like FanGraphs, his wOBA was .479 and his wRC+ was 200
-From May 27th through August 30th, he triple slashed .469/.516/.746.  Not only are those video game numbers, but he accomplished them during the heart of the oppressive Kansas City summer.  Baseball's dog days didn't pose much of an obstacle, as he batted .472 in June, .494 in July and .430 in August
-Was batting .400 as late as September 19th, but hit "just" .304 over the final two weeks of the season and saw his average tumble to .390
-Brett won three batting titles (1976, 1980 and 1990), each one in a different decade.  Off the top of my head I believe he is the only player to do so.