MLB Number 0s and 00s

We know that 0 and 00 are two seperate and distinct digits but for the sake of interest and having a substantial pool of players to dive into we combined them for this study. The journey to find the most substantial Major League Baseball players that wore the number 0 & 00 on their uniforms starts by looking at who the Baseball Hall of Fame has in their hallowed halls. Enshrined number ones of professional baseball are:

• Billy Hamilton

Another telling clue to find the best is to see who has the MLB number 0 & 00 retired by their respective teams. Unfortunately as of 2021 there are not any number 0s or 00s retired in all of the MLB.

Okay, now it is time to put our knowledge to work and pick the greatest players that wore number 0s and 00s in MLB history based on performance stats. We do not have all of the players from some of the Negro Leagues in place yet but when we do we will certainly update the list so please excuse us on this. The criteria is simple we pulled stats from Baseball-Reference and Stat-Head on some important numbers. Is the player in the Hall of Fame? What were the Wins After Replacement or the team victories gained or lost after they entered the lineup versus the player they replaced? Where do they rank in the following categories in history: Home Runs, Runs Produced, Strike Outs, ERA. We mash this information up and see how many of the criteria rankings they have and then multiply that number (0-6) times the number of years they wore the particular uniform number we are discussing and then add it to bonus points if in the Hall of Fame and for earning any Gold Glove Awards and/or Cy Young Awards. We call that calculated number our Ranked Formula and use it as a basis of Comparison to give you the Top Fifteen at the uniform number. 

1. George Scott
2. Brandon Phillips
3. Bobby Bonds
4. Rey Ordóñez
5. Billy Hamilton
6. Marcus Stroman
7. Al Oliver
8. Jack Clark
9. Bobo Newsom
10. Don Baylor
11. Yunel Escobar
12. John Mayberry
13. Oscar Gamble
14. Cliff Johnson

The stats may not be placing this group in order of importance but what it does do is identify the top 25

Here are our stats and findings:

Special thanks to Baseball-Reference.com, Stathead.com and the most wonderful book by Larry Lester and Wayne Stivers, The Negro Leagues Book, Volume 2.