The best A's player to wear each number

December 1st, 2021

When you combine the club's stints in Philadelphia, Kansas City and Oakland, the list of legends who have donned an A's uniform becomes quite impressive.

We've compiled a list of the best player to wear each uniform number in A's history. Note: They aren't on this list, but don't forget about the Hall of Famers who played for the franchise before jersey numbers were used, such as Rube Waddell, Chief Bender and Frank "Home Run" Baker.

00: DH
Baylor remains the lone player in A's history to have donned the double zeros. The slugger wore the number for one season, which was also his final Major League season in 1988.

No. 1: SS Eddie Joost
San Francisco native donned the number from 1947-54 with the Philadelphia incarnation of the A's. The shortstop was an All-Star in '49 and '52.

No. 2: DH
Davis went on an elite power run from 2016-18 as the game's most prolific slugger with 133 homers, including a league-leading 48 in '18. He already ranks fifth on the A's all-time home run list with 158 big flies.

No. 3: 1B

Foxx was the first player in franchise history to wear No. 3, and enjoyed a legendary Hall of Fame career. Eric Chavez gets an honorable mention here.

No. 4. SS

Pretty easy call here, with Tejada the 2002 AL MVP and a key piece of Oakland's talented clubs of the early 2000s. Carney Lansford and Sam Chapman also deserve some love here.

No. 5: 1B Dick Siebert

All-Star first baseman who batted .283 in eight seasons with the A's from 1938-45.

No. 6: 3B

A four-time All-Star and the heart of the A's dynasty that won three straight World Series titles from 1972-74, "Captain Sal" remains one of the most popular players in franchise history. Current A's manager Bob Melvin now wears the No. 6 in honor of Bando.

No. 7: OF

Simmons wore No. 6 during his second stint with the A's, but the Hall of Famer was in his prime wearing No. 7 from 1931-32.

No. 8: C Frankie Hayes

Hayes was a four-time All-Star and batted .270 over 11 seasons with the Philadelphia A's. Jed Lowrie gets an honorable mention here.

No. 9: RF

No contest here. Jackson is one of five players to get their jersey number retired by the A's.

No. 10: LHP
An all-time great and arguably the best pitcher in A's history.

No. 11: OF
Though his All-Star season with the A's came wearing No. 20 in 1981, Armas still was a productive player from '77-80 donning the No. 11. The outfielder mashed 35 home runs with 109 RBIs in '80.

No. 12: OF
Stairs crushed 122 home runs over five seasons with the A's. His career-high 38 homers and 102 RBIs in 1999 even earned him AL MVP votes.

No. 13: RHP
Aside from having one of the coolest nicknames in baseball, Blue Moon was also an outstanding pitcher. A member of the A's dynasty that won three straight World Series titles from '72-74, Odom was a two-time All-Star in 12 seasons with the A's, going 80-76 with a 3.53 ERA.

No. 14: LHP
Blue was part of a dominant starting rotation that helped form a dynasty in the 1970s with three straight World Series titles from '72-74. In '71, he became one of just 11 pitchers who have won both the Cy Young and MVP Award in the same year.

No. 15: RHP
Hudson was dominant over six seasons in Oakland, going 92-39 with a 3.30 ERA.

No. 16: 1B
Giambi's ridiculous six-year stretch from 1996-2001 included an AL MVP Award as he slashed .311/.415/.553 with 181 home runs, 221 doubles and 650 RBIs.

No. 17: RHP
Though Darling is remembered primarily for his days with the Mets, the right-hander finished his career in Oakland. Darling went 37-44 with a 4.63 ERA in five seasons with the A's.

No. 18: C/1B Gene Tenace
A key piece of the Swingin' A's, Tenace turned in a legendary performance in the 1972 World Series by slugging four home runs against the Reds to earn series MVP.

No. 19: SS
One of the best players not in the Hall of Fame, "Campy" remains the A's all-time hits leader (1,882) and was a five-time All-Star over 13 seasons with the club.

No. 20: LHP
Went 81-42 with a 3.92 ERA over five seasons with the A's, earning two All-Star selections and a second-place finish in AL Cy Young Award voting for the '01 campaign.

No. 21: RHP Mike Moore
Dwayne Murphy finishes a close second here. Moore played a big role in helping the A's reach the World Series twice, going 66-46 with a 3.54 ERA in four seasons with Oakland from 1989-92.

No. 22: OF
A fan favorite for his all-out hustle, Byrnes batted .270 in six seasons with the A's.

No. 23: 3B
Before he became a Hall of Fame manager, Williams enjoyed a couple of solid years with the Kansas City A's. He batted .276 with 28 home runs and 140 RBIs from 1959-60 with the A's.

No. 24: LF
Not a whole lot of explaining necessary for this one. One of baseball's all-time greats, Henderson is the greatest player to don an A's uniform.

No. 25: 1B
McGwire is Oakland's all-time home run leader (363) and was a nine-time All-Star in 12 seasons.

No. 26: LF
One of the most popular players in club history, Rudi was a three-time All-Star who also won three Gold Glove Awards, with perhaps his greatest defensive moment coming in the 1972 World Series, when he leaped at the wall in left for a game-saving catch in the ninth inning of Game 2.

No. 27: RHP
Hunter became the first player in A's history to have his number retired after a legendary Hall of Fame career that featured six All-Star selections and an American League Cy Young Award in 10 seasons with the A's.

No. 28: 1B
Olson has made quite the impact in a short amount of time, slugging 103 home runs and winning two Gold Glove Awards in his first four full seasons in the Majors.

No. 29: LHP
Young went 65-51 with a 4.33 ERA in 10 seasons with the A's. After retiring, he served as Oakland's pitching coach in two separate stints from 2004-17.

No. 30: LHP Ken Holtzman
Holtzman turned in four seasons of dominance from 1972-75, going 77-55 with a 2.92 ERA. The lefty was also lights out in the postseason, helping the A's to three straight World Series titles as he went 6-4 with a 2.30 ERA in 13 postseason games.

No. 31: RHP
Ziegler's impressive run in Oakland included a streak of 39 consecutive scoreless innings.

No. 32: DH
Cust blasted 97 homers and drew 377 walks over four seasons ('07-10) with the A's. His .381 on-base percentage with Oakland leads all franchise designated hitters.

No. 33: RF
Canseco became the youngest unanimous MVP Award winner in MLB at age 23 with a .307/.391/.569 slash line to go with 40 stolen bases while leading the league in homers (42) and RBIs (124).

No. 34: RHP
Fingers posted a 2.91 ERA with 136 saves over 502 games and remains the all-time leader for innings pitched by an A's reliever (820 1/3). His number was retired by the A's in 1993.

No. 35: LF
Henderson wore No. 35 during his first stint with the A's from 1979-84.

No. 36: C
Steinbach's three All-Star selections are the most of any catcher in A's history. He earned the All-Star Game MVP in '88.

No. 37: 1B/OF
An All-Star in 2014, Moss helped the A's reach the postseason each year he played for the club from '12-14.

No. 38: RHP
Went 9-9 with a 3.95 ERA over five seasons (1980-84) with the A's.

No. 39: RF
Parker hit 34 homers in two seasons with the A's and was a member of the 1989 World Series club.

No. 40: RHP
In seven seasons with the A's, Harden went 40-23 with a 3.65 ERA.

No. 41: RHP Jim Corsi
Corsi went 13-9 with a 2.75 ERA over 159 games in five seasons with Oakland.

No. 42: CF Dave Henderson
Hendu played six seasons with the A's, batting .263 with 104 home runs and 377 RBIs in 702 games. The outfielder earned the lone All-Star selection of his 14-year career in '91 as member of the A's.

No. 43: RHP
Eckersley was the last A's player to wear No. 43, with his number retired in 2005. He is one of three relievers in MLB history to win the MVP and Cy Young Award in the same season (1992).

No. 44: RHP
Isringhausen racked up 75 saves in three seasons (1999-2001) with the A's and did not allow a run in four postseason appearances.

No. 45: RHP Jim Mecir
The A's reached the postseason in four of the five years Mecir spent with the club (2000-04) and the right-hander was solid, posting a 3.91 ERA in 246 relief appearances.

No. 46: RHP
Casilla will be remembered more fondly by fans of the team across the Bay in San Francisco, though he actually played more seasons (8) with the A's, posting a 4.67 ERA in 241 relief appearances.

No. 47: LHP
González was an All-Star in 2011 and went 38-32 with a 3.93 ERA over four years with Oakland.

No. 48: RHP
Cook impressed as a reliever in his four-year stint with the A's, earning an All-Star selection in 2012 and posting a 2.77 ERA over 200 appearances from 2012-15.

No. 49: LHP
Anderson wore No. 49 during his first stint in Oakland from 2009-13, when he went 26-29 with a 3.81 ERA.

No. 50: RHP
The fiery Aussie was the closer of A's clubs that made the postseason in '12 and '13. In three seasons with Oakland, Balfour earned an All-Star selection and racked up 104 saves.

No. 51: LHP
The last A's pitcher to throw a perfect game, Braden remains a popular figure in Oakland as he now works for the club as a broadcaster. The lefty went 26-36 with a 4.16 ERA over five seasons from 2007-11.

No. 52: OF
Yo knows. The Cuban import immediately became a fan favorite in Oakland for his cannon of an arm and towering home runs. Céspedes won back-to-back Home Run Derbies and bashed 66 homers over three seasons (2012-14) with the A's.

No. 53: RHP
Cahill enjoyed some quality years with the A's and even earned an All-Star selection in 2010. The right-hander went 47-39 with a 3.88 ERA in four seasons with the club.

No. 54: RHP
Gray was beloved by the Oakland faithful in his five years (2013-17) with Oakland. An All-Star in '15, Gray went 44-36 with a 3.42 ERA over five seasons.

No. 55: C Ramón Hernández
Hernández made the AL All-Star team in a 2003 campaign that saw him blast a career-high 21 homers and 78 RBIs. He was also involved in a memorable postseason moment in the '03 ALDS, laying down a two-out, bases-loaded bunt that scored Eric Chavez for the game-winning run in the 12th inning against the Red Sox.

No. 56: LHP
Posted a 3.14 ERA over 202 relief appearances in three seasons (2009-11) with Oakland.

No. 57: LHP
Made 73 starts for the A's from 2012-14, going 31-22 with a 3.84 ERA.

No. 58: RHP
It's rare for a non-closing reliever to make an All-Star team, yet Duchscherer did it in 2005, with another selection coming in '08 as a starter. He posted a 2.82 ERA in 219 games over seven seasons with Oakland.

No. 59: RHP
The one year Brown wore No. 59 with the A's was the best of his career as he posted a 3.09 ERA across 31 relief appearances in 2008.

No. 60: RHP
In four seasons (2012-15) with Oakland, Chavez posted a 3.98 ERA across 101 games (47 starts).

No. 61: RHP
Otero had the best two-year stretch of his career with the A's from 2012-13, when he posted a 2.01 ERA in 105 relief outings.

No. 62: RHP
Dooooooooo! That was the echo heard throughout the Oakland Coliseum when Doolittle entered a game for the A's. A fan favorite, the left-hander played six seasons for Oakland and posted a 3.09 ERA with 36 saves.

No. 63 RHP Henry Rodríguez
Posted a 4.26 ERA in 32 relief appearances from 2009-10.

No. 64: RHP
Griffin made 47 starts for the A's from 2012-13 and went 21-11 with a 3.60 ERA.

No. 65: OF
Though he's changed numbers since, Brown rocked No. 65 in 2019, when he made his Major League debut and batted .293 over 26 games.

No. 66: RHP
Dull's best season to date came with the A's in 2016, when he posted a 2.42 ERA across 70 relief appearances.

No. 67: RHP
Straily went 13-11 with a 4.11 ERA in 41 starts for the A's.

No. 70: RHP
Weems was one of the feel-good stories in baseball in 2020 as the former catcher made his Major League debut as a reliever. He appeared in nine games for the A's and posted a 3.21 ERA.

No. 73: LHP
The Mexican-born pitcher is the only player to wear No. 73 in A's history. Rincon was solid over four seasons (2002-05) with a 3.61 ERA in 223 relief appearances.

No. 75: LHP
The 2002 AL Cy Young Award winner, Zito compiled a 102-63 record with a 3.55 ERA over seven seasons with the A's. He's also the only player in club history to wear No. 75.

No. 77: LHP
The lefty made 39 relief appearances in 2012 and posted a 2.77 ERA.

No. 88: 1B
Blanks only played 21 games for Oakland, batting .333 with two home runs and seven RBIs.

No. 99: OF Willie Crawford
The only No. 99 in A's history, Crawford played 59 games for the A's in 1977.