The thing about baseball and numbers, though, is that it's hard to stop. He's a long shot to ever make the Hall of Fame, but the same could have been said for Harold Baines, who just got in - and Oliver was a better player than Baines.
In his best season, as a 35-year-old playing for the Expos, he led the National League in batting average, hits, doubles, RBI and total bases. He collected 2,743 hits and 1,326 runs batted in over his 18-year career, good for 57th and 100th on the all-time lists. A seven-time All-Star, Oliver won three Silver Slugger awards, finished in the top 20 of MVP voting 10 times and in the top 10 three times. Turns out the career leader in Wins Above Replacement for players who wore No. When he takes the mound for the first time in the Bronx, he'll become the first Yankee ever to wear that number - also the only single-digit number in franchise history that's not yet retired.Īll that excitement over zero got me wondering: Who's the best player to ever wear a single bagel on his uniform? Who's the king of nil/nul/nol/cero/ziro/zewo/efes?
No, what thrust Ottavino into the Yankees history book was the team's announcement that he would wear No.
Not by saying he would strike out Babe Ruth every time (though I would pay to see Ruth battle any of today's pitchers who throw high-90s fastballs with wipeout breaking pitches). Adam Ottavino made history when he signed with the Yankees.
