Who wore it best? Top Baseball Hall of Fame member with every jersey number
It's only a number.
Or is it?
No. 42. It's not just another number in baseball. It's the jersey number of Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947.
MLB retired the Hall of Famer's number in 1997 – 50 years after his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Now, the last player to wear the No. 42 – Mariano Rivera – will follow in Robinson's footsteps into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, along with Mike Mussina, the late Roy Halladay, Edgar Martinez, Harold Baines and Lee Smith.
Rivera wore No. 42 when he began his career with the New York Yankees and was permitted to keep the number until he retried in 2013.
And like Rivera and Robinson, many other elite players are identified by their jersey number.
Here are the best Hall of Fame players at each uniform number – from Ozzie Smith at No. 1 to Carlton Fisk at No. 72.
1 – Ozzie Smith
2 – Charlie Gehringer (until Derek Jeter is eligible in 2020)
3 – Babe Ruth
4 – Lou Gehrig
5 – Joe DiMaggio (Honorable mention: Johnny Bench, Brooks Robinson, George Brett)
6 – Stan Musial
7 – Mickey Mantle (Honorable mention: Ivan Rodriguez)
8 – Cal Ripken Jr. (Honorable mention: Yogi Berra, Gary Carter, Joe Morgan, Willie Stargell, Carl Yastrzemski)
9 – Ted Williams
10 – Chipper Jones (Honorable mention: Lefty Grove)
11 – Barry Larkin
12 – Roberto Alomar
13 – None (apologies to Alex Rodriguez)
14 – Ernie Banks (apologies to Pete Rose)
15 – Red Ruffing
16 – Whitey Ford
17 – Dizzy Dean
18 – None
19 – Tony Gwynn (Honorable mention: Bob Feller, Robin Yount)
20 – Frank Robinson (Honorable mention: Mike Schmidt)
21 – Roberto Clemente (apologies to Roger Clemens)
22 – Jim Palmer
23 – Ryne Sandberg
24 – Ken Griffey Jr. (Honorable mention: Willie Mays, Rickey Henderson; apologies to Barry Bonds)
25 – Jim Thome (apologies to Barry Bonds)
26 – Wade Boggs
27 – Juan Marichal (Honorable mention: Vladimir Guerrero)
28 – Bert Blyleven
29 – Rod Carew (Honorable mention: John Smoltz)
30 – Tim Raines
31 – Greg Maddux (Honorable mention: Dave Winfield)
32 – Steve Carlton (Honorable mention: Sandy Koufax)
33 – Eddie Murray
34 – Nolan Ryan (Honorable mention: Kirby Puckett)
35 – Rickey Henderson (Honorable mention: Frank Thomas)
36 – Gaylord Perry (Honorable mention: Robin Roberts)
39 – Roy Campanella (Honorable mention: Hoyt Wilhelm)
41 – Tom Seaver
42 – Jackie Robinson (Honorable mention: Mariano Rivera )
43 – Dennis Eckersley
44 – Hank Aaron
45 – Pedro Martinez (Honorable mention: Bob Gibson)
47 – Tom Glavine
51 – Randy Johnson
53 – Don Drysdale
54 – Goose Gossage
72 – Carlton Fisk