MLB Number 7s

Mickey Mantle circa 1951 Mickey from the Original News Photograph Used for 1951 Bowman Rookie Card, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

This might be one of the top iconic jersey numbers in all of sports. The journey to find the most substantial Major League Baseball players that wore the number 7 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:

• Al Simmons
• Gabby Hartnett
• Hank Greenberg
• Heinie Manush
• Joe Medwick
• Monte Irvin
• Mickey Mantle
• Freddie Lindstrom
• Al Lopez
• Eddie Mathews
• George Kell
• Rick Ferrell
• Ernie Lombardi
• Billy Williams
• Red Schoendienst
• Tony Lazzeri
• Leo Durocher
• Craig Biggio
• Randy Johnson
• Ivan Rodriguez

Another telling clue to find the best is to see who has the MLB number 7 retired by their respective teams. This list of retired number 7s includes:

• Mickey Mantle the great switch hitting center fielder has his number 7 in a place of honor at Yankee Stadium since the NY Yankees honored him on June 8, 1969.
• Craig Biggio the fine second baseman and catcher is remembered in Houston ever since the Astros retired his number on August 17, 2008.
• Iván Rodríguez the solid catcher and team leader had his number retired by the Texas Rangers on August 12, 2017.
• Joe Mauer the legendary catcher and first base player had his number 7 hung high by the Minnesota Twins on June 15, 2019.

Joe Medwick - Cardinals HOF Outfielder

The Life and Baseball Hall of Fame career biography sketch of Joe Medwick. Joe Medwick. was a Left Fielder, and besides his main fielding spot he played the positions Right Field, First Baseman, and Center Field wearing the number 7 on the St. Louis Cardinals (1933-40), New York Giants (1943-45), and the Brooklyn Dodgers (1940-43)Left Fielder besides left field played the positions Right Field, First Baseme, and Center Field wearing the number 7 on the St. Louis Cardinals (1933-40), New York Giants (1943-45), and the Brooklyn Dodgers (1940-43). Medwick is one of the top MLB players who wore the Number 7 Jersey.

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Okay, now it is time to put our knowledge to work and pick the greatest players that wore number 7 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 players at the uniform number. 

Powered by Stathead.com and Baseball-Reference.com, where is the data and stats to support our rankings of the Greatest MLB players that ever wore the Jersey Number 7.

The photograph in the banner above is courtesy of the Wikimedia Commons collection of public Domain pictures. It is of Babe Ruth circa 1920. It was taken by National Photograph Company.

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.