Best player with every uniform 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. 

2 – Charlie Gehringer (until Derek Jeter is eligible in 2020)

Source: USA Today

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Keywords:

Number (sports) • Number (sports) • Jackie Robinson • Baseball color line • Major League Baseball • Major League Baseball • National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum • History of the Brooklyn Dodgers • Baseball • Mariano Rivera • National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum • Mike Mussina • Roy Halladay • Edgar Martínez • Harold Baines • Lee Smith (baseball) • Mariano Rivera • New York Yankees • Mariano Rivera • Baseball positions • Number (sports) • National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum • Baseball positions • Number (sports) • Ozzie Smith • Carlton Fisk • Charlie Gehringer • Derek Jeter •