MLB Number 27s

The journey to find the most substantial Major League Baseball players that wore the number 27 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:

• Lloyd Waner
• Earl Averill
• Joe Sewell
• Juan Marichal
• Ernie Lombardi
• Catfish Hunter
• Tommy Lasorda
• Don Sutton
• Carlton Fisk
• Frank Thomas
• Vladimir Guerrero

Another telling clue to find the best is to see who has the MLB number 27 retired by their respective teams. This list of retired number 27s includes:

• Carlton Fisk    Red Sox    September 4, 2000
• Catfish Hunter    Athletics    June 9, 1991
• Juan Marichal    Giants    July 10, 1983

David Ortiz

Born November 18, 1975, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, was Baseball Hall of Fame Designated Hitter David Ortiz. This legend was a ten-time MLB All-Star and won three World Series Championships. Ortiz was also a Silver Slugger winner and a Home Run Derby Champion. His explosive power with a bat in his hand helped elevate the Boston Red Sox to the top spot in the MLB rankings for much of his career. 541 Career Home Runs with 2472 hits and a .286 Batting Average make David Ortiz a great player in the game's history. Ortiz played for the Minnesota Twins and the Red Sox during his 20-year career in the Bigs.

More Information

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Okay, now it is time to put our knowledge to work and pick the greatest players that wore number 27 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. Scott Rolen
2. David Ortiz
3. Paul Blair
4. Curt Flood
5. Anthony Rizzo
6. Carlton Fisk
7. Derrek Lee
8. Darin Erstad
9. Catfish Hunter
10. Buck Leonard
11. Vladimir Guerrero
12. Juan Marichal
13. Andy Messersmith
14. Don Sutton
15. Joe Sewell
16. Earl Averill
17. Ernie Lombardi
18. Lloyd Waner
19. Frank Thomas
20. Matt Kemp
21. Tommy Lasorda
22. Bobby Murcer
23. Dean Chance
24. Trevor Bauer
25. Jim Lonborg
26. Mike Trout

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:

The picture in the banner above is from the Wikipedia Commons photo collection of the Public Domain of the 1924 World Series
Original Caption: New York Giants player safe at home plate, in a World Series game against the Washington Senators, 1924. Image Courtesy of the New York Public Library (NYPL.org), "The Pageant of America" Collection / v.15 - Annals of American sport / (unpublished photographs) / Baseball.

Wide World Photos, Inc. -- Photographer

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.