MLB Number 9s

The 1953 Bowman Bob Feller baseball card, courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Feller was the great Cleveland Indians ace during the era.

The journey to find the most substantial Major League Baseball players that wore the number 9 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:

• Rogers Hornsby
• Paul Waner
• Joe DiMaggio
• Gabby Hartnett
• Billy Hamilton
• Bob Feller
• Ted Williams
• Lloyd Waner
• Chick Hafey
• Ralph Kiner
• Rick Ferrell
• Arky Vaughan
• Enos Slaughter
• Bobby Doerr
• Ernie Lombardi
• Reggie Jackson
• Bill Mazeroski
• Joe Torre

The Great Ted Williams circa 1939, courtesy Wikimedia Commons by and unknown photographer.

Another telling clue to find the best is to see who has the MLB number 9 retired by their respective teams. This list of retired number 9s includes:

• Ted Williams the legendary Boston Red Sox player was forever remembered at Fenway ever since May 29, 1984 ceremonies.
• Reggie Jackson the great clean up power hitter was honored by the Oakland Athletics on May 22, 2004.
• Minnie Miñoso the legendary Left Fielder of the Chicago White Sox had his number placed away in honor on May 8, 1983.
• Enos Slaughter the long time Right Fielder was honored by the St Louis Cardinals on September 6, 1996.
• Bill Mazeroski the 1961 World Series hero had his number retired by the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 7, 1987.
• Roger Maris the standout Right Field player of the New York Yankees had his pin stripe number 9 celebrated on July 21, 1984.

Bob Feller

Born November 3, 1918, in Van Meter, Iowa, was Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher Bob Feller. This legend was a 1948 World Series Champion, Major League Player of the Year, an MLB Triple Crown Winner, and an eight-time All-Star for the Cleveland Indians organization.

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Joe DiMaggio biography sketch

Born November 25, 1914, in Martinez, California, was Baseball Hall of Fame Center Fielder Joe DiMaggio. This legend played his entire career in the MLB for the New York Yankees. During those thirteen seasons, he collected nine World Series rings, an All-Star selection every year he played (he missed three serving his country during WWII), two batting titles, and three MVPS.

Known by many by his nicknames of "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," his hitting streak of 56 consecutive games in 1941 is one of the most iconic records in sports history.

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Okay, now it is time to put our knowledge to work and pick the greatest players that wore number 9 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.

MLB NUMBER 9 JERSEY

MLB Top Number 9s (MLB Number 9 Jersey)

Matt Williams

NIHOF bio on Baseball legend Matt Williams. Matt Williams played the positions of Third Base, Shortstop, and First Base wearing the number 9 on the San Francisco Giants (89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96) Cleveland Indians (97) Arizona Diamondbacks (98, 99, 00, 01, 02, 03) for 15 seasons as he batted 0.268 for his career, had an On Base percentage of 0.489, with 378 career Home Runs, and 4 Gold Glove Awarded Seasons.
MLB Number 9 Jersey

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MLB NUMBER 9 JERSEY

Baseball HOF (MLB Number 9 Jersey)

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

Reggie Jackson

Life and career bio of Mr. October. Born May 18, 1946, in Abington, Pennsylvania, was Baseball hall of Fame slugger, Reggie Jackson. played 21 seasons in the MLB for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and California Angels. Jackson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993. Jackson batted 0.262 for his career, had an On Base percentage of 0.49, with 563 career Home Runs. MLB Number 9 Jersey. MLB Number 44 Jersey.

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Ted Williams

Ted Williams Becomes Last MLB Player To Hit .400
Born August 30, 1918, in San Diego, CA, was Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Ted Williams. Ted Williams wore the number 9 on the Boston Red Sox (1939-42 and after military service 1946-60) for 19 seasons as he batted 0.344 for his career, had an On Base percentage of 0.634, with 521 career Home Runs. William's nicknames included The Kid, Teddy Ballgame, Splendid Splinter or Thumper. Ted was Inducted as Player to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966. He is one of the top MLB players to have worn the Jersey Number 9. MLB Number 9 Jersey

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Bill Mazeroski

The story behind Maz's walk-off WS HR. Mazeroski is best known for being the hero of the 1960 World Series with his walk-off home run in game 7 to help the Pittsburgh Pirates defeat the New York Yankees. Bill Mazeroski played on the Pittsburgh Pirates (1956-72). He is one of the top MLB players to have ever worn the Jersey Number 9. MLB Number 9 Jersey

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Enos Slaughter

A great piece of history of the legend from the Baseball Hall of Fame. Born April 27, 1916, in Roxboro, NC, was Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Enos Slaughter. Slaughter played wearing the number 9 on the St. Louis Cardinals (1938-42 and again after military service 1946-53) for 13 seasons as he batted 0.3 for his career, had an On Base percentage of 0.453, with 169 career Home Runs. He is one of the top MLB players to have worn the Jersey Number 9. MLB Number 9 Jersey

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MLB NUMBER 9 JERSEY

Baseball Legend (MLB Number 9 Jersey)

These people, teams, plays, and eras of the game of baseball that may not be in the Hall of Fame but are significant enough to have influenced the game.

Marquis Grissom

Born: April 17, 1967 in Atlanta, Georgia, was MLB legend Marquis Grissom. Grissom played in Major League Baseball for the Montreal Expos, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Francisco Giants between 1989 and 2005 as a center fielder. Marquis played ball for for 16 seasons as he batted 0.272 for his career, had an On Base percentage of 0.415, with 227 career Home Runs, and 4 Gold Glove Awarded Seasons. He is one of the top MLB Number 9 Jersey players.

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Here is a look at our stats, years played with the uniform number and calculations on the top 25 number 9 pro Major League Ballplayers:

The photograph in the banner above is courtesy of the Wikimedia Commons collection of public Domain pictures. It is a cropped version of the 1953 Bowman Bob Feller baseball card and the 1948 Leaf Ted Williams card.

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.