MLB Number 12s

Photo of Joe Medwick, circa 1964 taken by an unknown, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The number 12 in baseball has had its share of talented and substantial pro players too. The Baseball Hall of Fame names the following enshrined people associated with uniform number 12.

• Herb Pennock
• Joe Medwick
• Waite Hoyt
• Freddie Lindstrom
• Al Lopez
• Harmon Killebrew
• Joe Morgan
• Orlando Cepeda
• Wade Boggs
• Roberto Alomar
• Frank Thomas
• Ivan Rodriguez

To firsther study the top people that wore number 12 we beed to also look at any teams that may have retired the jersey number in honor of a player or coach. That list includes:

• Wade Boggs though he played only two seasons with the club had his number 12 retired by the Tampa Bay Rays on April 7, 2000.
• Roberto Alomar the talented Second  Baseman was celebrated by one of his former clubs the Toronto Blue Jays with a retired number on July 31, 2011.

We took our candidates and stats fromt he link above, and now it is time to put our knowledge to work and pick the greatest players that wore number 12 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.

JOE MORGAN

Baseball HOF and Joe Morgan

The select few and cream of the crop that are inducted into the legendary baseball museum in Cooperstown, New York.

Joe Morgan

Learn all about the legendary Joe Morgan in this Society for American Baseball Research biography sketch of the Baseball Hall of Fame player. It is no wonder he makes our list as one of the top MLB players to have worn the Number 8 jersey.

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Joe Morgan Career Stats ‣ Joe Morgan

Check out Joe Morgan's Stats & More with data from Baseball-Reference.com.

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TOP MLB PLAYERS TO HAVE WORN JERSEY NUMBER 12

Baseball HOF and top MLB players to have worn Jersey Number 12

The select few and cream of the crop that are inducted into the legendary baseball museum in Cooperstown, New York.

Al Lopez

Legendary Baseball Hall of Fame player and manager Al Lopez. Born August 20, 1908, in Tampa, Florida, was Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Al Lopez.
He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn Robins / Dodgers, Boston Bees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cleveland Indians between 1928 and 1947, and was the manager for the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox from 1951 to 1965 and during portions of the 1968 and 1969 seasons.
Lopez is one of the top MLB players to have worn Jersey Number 12.

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Jose Mendez

Life and career bio of Jose Mendez. Born January 2, 1885, in Cardenas, Cuba, was Baseball hall of Fame Pitcher, "The Black Diamond," Jose Mendez. Mendez was a well-known and talented right-handed pitcher and manager in baseball's Negro leagues, mostly in the Cuban Leagues, but also played for the Cuban Stars and the Brooklyn Royal Giants. Jose is one of the top MLB players to have worn Jersey Number 12.

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Roberto Alomar

Cleveland Baseball Countdown, No. 11: Roberto Alomar and a 16-year second base carousel.
Born February 5, 1968, in Ponce, Puerto Rico, was baseball hall of Fame Second baseman, Roberto Alomar. Alomar played the position of Hall of Fame, Second Baseman/HD, Shortstop wearing the number on the San Diego Padres (88, 89, 90) Toronto Blue Jays (91, 92, 93, 94, 95) Baltimore Orioles (96, 97, 98) Cleveland Indians (99, 00, 01) New York Mets (02, 03) Chicago White Sox (03, 04) Arizona Diamondbacks (04) for 17 seasons as he batted 0.3 for his career, had an On Base percentage of 0.443, with 210 career Home Runs, and 10 Gold Glove Awarded Seasons. Roberto is one of the top MLB players to have worn Jersey Number 12.

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Wade Boggs

Born June 15, 1958, in Omaha, Nebraska, was baseball Hall of Fame Third Baseman Wade Boggs. Boggs played 18 season of MLB ball mainly with the Boston Red Sox but also had stints on the New York Yankees (93, 94, 95, 96, 97) Tampa Bay Devil Rays (98, 99) as he batted 0.328 for his career, had an On Base percentage of 0.443, with 118 career Home Runs, and 2 Gold Glove Awarded Seasons. He is one o the top MLB players to have worn Jersey Number 26. He is also one o the top MLB players to have worn Jersey Number 12

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The photograph in the banner above is courtesy of the Wikimedia Commons collection of public Domain pictures. It is a graphic of the Toronto Blue Jays retired Number 12 of Roberto Alomar via user Wikimedia Contributor MB27.

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.