Best Royals to wear each uniform number

KANSAS CITY -- There are some uniform numbers synonymous with the players who wore them. No. 5 is for George Brett. You can’t see No. 20 without thinking of Frank White.

But what about all the other numbers worn in Royals’ history? Here are our picks for the best players to wear each uniform number in franchise history, based on their full playing careers:

0: George Scott
Terrance Gore is the fan favorite and was electric on the bases, especially in the Royals’ postseason runs in 2014-15. But if we’re going off full playing careers, Scott gets the nod. The three-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove corner infielder only spent half a year in Kansas City. He posted a .699 OPS in 44 games with the Royals. The bulk of his career came with the Red Sox and Brewers; in 1975, Scott finished eighth in MVP voting after hitting a league-leading 36 home runs and 109 RBIs in Milwaukee.

1: Jarrod Dyson
Dyson got his No. 1 back when he returned to the Royals on a one-year deal for 2021, and he’ll get the nod here over a couple of fan favorites who have worn the number, like Cookie Rojas. That’s what speed do, after all. Dyson has a career 15.9 WAR, according to Baseball Reference, and was a key part of the Royals’ 2014-15 World Series appearances as a fourth outfielder and speedy pinch-runner.

2: Freddie Patek
There have been a few shortstops to wear No. 2, including 2015 ALCS MVP and World Series champion Alcides Escobar. Patek, though, racked up a 24.1 bWAR in a 14-year career, with nine of those coming as the Royals shortstop in the 1970s. Patek was a three-time All-Star and finished sixth in MVP voting in 1971.

3: Harmon Killebrew
Killebrew spent one year as a Royal in 1975, the last of his career. The Hall of Famer accumulated 60.4 bWAR and hit .256/.376/.509 in 22 seasons -- 21 of those with Minnesota before coming to Kansas City. He was a 13-time All-Star and won the MVP in 1969, finishing in the top 10 six other times.

4: Alex Gordon
No. 4 likely will one day be retired, with Gordon’s legacy in Kansas City ranking right next to other all-time Royals greats like Brett and White. An eight-time Gold Glover and two-time Platinum Glove winner, Gordon set the standard for outfield defense, especially at Kauffman Stadium. For all the incredible memories surrounding Gordon’s 14-year career in Kansas City, his game-tying home run in Game 1 of the 2015 World Series stands out, and his pose -- raising his right arm toward the sky as he rounds first base -- would likely be the future statue placed outside the K.

5: George Brett
Brett was the last Royal to wear No. 5 because the Royals retired the number the season after Brett retired. The Hall of Famer was a 13-time All-Star, a three-time Silver Slugger and the AL MVP in 1980, when he posted a 1.118 OPS. Brett hit over .300 in 11 seasons and helped the Royals to the 1985 World Series. No. 5 is synonymous with Brett, who is synonymous with the Kansas City Royals.

6: Willie Wilson
Lorenzo Cain might be on this list soon as he puts the finishing touches on a fantastic career that included a lasting impact in Kanas City. But we’ll put Royals Hall of Famer Willie Wilson at the top here, with a 46.1 bWAR thanks to blazing speed and daring plays in the outfield. A two-time All-Star, Wilson won the 1982 American League batting title hitting .332. He holds the Royals record with 13 career inside-the-park home runs and 612 stolen bases.

7: John Mayberry
Mayberry spent six years of his 15-year career in Kansas City, garnering MVP votes in four seasons and finishing as high as second in 1975, when he led the league in walks (119) and slugged .547 with 34 home runs and 106 RBIs. That year, he became the first Royals player to post a 30-plus home run season, and he posted the Royals’ first three 100-plus RBI seasons.

8: Jim Sundberg
Sundberg didn’t wear a Royals uniform for long, playing just two years for Kansas City. But he did help deliver the Royals’ first championship in 1985, when the catcher hit .245/.308/.381 in 115 games. Sundberg played most of his 16-year career with the Rangers, where he finished 15th in MVP voting twice and won six Gold Gloves as the backstop while appearing in three All-Star Games. Sundberg just edges out Mike Moustakas, who helped the Royals to their second championship, on this list.

9: Lou Piniella
The first Royal to ever wear No. 9, Piniella was selected in the Expansion Draft in 1969 and had a breakout year in the first season of Royals history. The outfielder won Rookie of the Year that season and then went on to hit .286/.327/.404 in five years as Kansas City’s leadoff man. He spent most of his career with the Yankees and accumulated 12.4 bWAR in 18 years, with two World Series rings.

10: Paul Schaal
Only seven players wore No. 10 because the Royals retired it to honor manager Dick Howser after he died in 1987. Schaal spent six years at the hot corner in Kansas City, posting a .728 OPS before being replaced by none other than George Brett in 1974.

11: Hal McRae
The hard-working, aggressive McRae was one of the first to take the designated hitter role to star status. He was a three-time All-Star in Kansas City, where he spent 15 seasons of his 19-year career. McRae finished as high as fourth in MVP voting in 1976, when he led the league in on-base percentage (.407) and OPS (.868).

12: Wally Joyner
The Royals’ first baseman in the early 1990s, Joyner was perhaps known the most for his rookie year with Anaheim, when he hit .290 with 22 home runs and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting and eighth in MVP voting. He improved every year in Kansas City, hitting .269 his first year in 1992 and .310 with an .842 OPS his final year in 1995.

13: Salvador Perez
No. 13 hasn’t been unlucky for the six-time All-Star, five-time Gold Glove winner, three-time Silver Slugger and 2015 World Series MVP. Perez will be a Royals Hall of Famer one day, and he isn’t done carving out his legacy yet. The catcher is determined to get Kansas City back to October baseball after signing a contract extension this year that could make him a Royal for life.

14: Vida Blue
The Royals have had a number of players who had seen the prime of their careers by the time they joined the Royals and wore No. 14, including Bill Buckner, Lee May and Jim Rooker. Blue was a part of that group and probably the best, winning the Cy Young and MVP in Oakland in 1971 with a 1.82 ERA over 39 starts and 312 innings. He was a dominant lefty for many years and joined the Royals from 1982-83, posting a 4.49 ERA in 50 games (45 starts) and 266 1/3 innings.

15: Carlos Beltran
Kansas City was where Beltran’s potential Hall of Fame career started, where he won Rookie of the Year in 1999 and where he finished ninth in MVP voting in 2003 before being traded the next year to Houston. Beltran hit 435 home runs in his 20-year career, finishing as high as fourth in MVP voting and becoming a nine-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glover.

16: Bo Jackson
One of the greatest athletes of all time, Jackson became the first player to be named an All-Star in both baseball and football. That achievement alone should be worth something, and in five years with the Royals, the outfielder hit .250/.308/.480 in 511 games.

17: Wade Davis
Few players become such an integral part of a franchise’s history like Davis did in 2015, when he recorded the final out of the 2015 World Series and brought the first championship to Kansas City in 30 years. Davis was a key piece in the Royals’ bullpen in their 2014-15 World Series runs, posting a 0.36 ERA (one earned run in 25 innings) during those two postseasons.

18: Bret Saberhagen
Saberhagen wore No. 31 for his first Cy Young Award in 1985 but won his second wearing No. 18 in 1989, when he won the ERA title with a 2.16 ERA across 35 starts and 262 1/3 innings. He was also a three-time All-Star and the 1985 World Series MVP. Saberhagen’s skill and mound presence, mixed with precise command, made him the Royals’ ultimate big-game pitcher.

19: Floyd Bannister
Known for his days with the White Sox, Bannister came to Kansas City in 1988-89 and posted a 4.42 ERA in 45 starts before finishing his career in California and Texas. Bannister accumulated 26.4 bWAR in his 15-year career, and his son, Brian, wore the same No. 19 when he was with the Royals from 2007-10.

20: Frank White
Barry Raziano was the last player to wear No. 20 before White took it over in 1974 and wore it for the next 18 years, after which it was retired. One of the most gifted second basemen in history, White was a five-time All-Star, eight-time Gold Glove winner and the 1980 American League Championship Series MVP when he hit .545. In the 1985 World Series, White batted cleanup and led all players with six RBIs. He finished his career second on the Royals’ all-time list in games played (2,324), at-bats (7,859) and hits (2,006).

21: Jeff Montgomery
The Royals’ all-time saves leader, Montgomery spent all but 14 games in a Royals uniform. He debuted with the Reds in 1987 but was traded to Kansas City in ’88, where he turned into one of the most reliable closers in the game. He led the club in saves for a decade, garnering three All-Star Game appearances and finishing 13th in MVP voting in 1993, when he led the AL with 45 saves, also tying a club record. The Royals Hall of Famer became baseball’s 10th pitcher to reach the 300-plus saves mark, and he collected all 304 with Kansas City.

22: Dennis Leonard
Leonard was as durable and dependable as they come, pitching 2,187 innings across 12 years and 312 games (302 starts) with the Royals in the 1970s and ‘80s. The Royals Hall of Famer posted 20-win seasons on three occasions and finished his career leading Kansas City’s all-time list in complete games (103) and shutouts (23) and was second in wins (144).

23: Zack Greinke
Greinke’s amazing career is still going, but his bWAR to date is 73.3, starting first with the Royals and wearing No. 23. In 2009, he won the Cy Young Award with a Major League-best 2.16 ERA across 229 1/3 innings and 33 starts. He’s had some incredible seasons since then, too, finishing in the top 10 of Cy Young voting four different times, winning six Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers, as well as another ERA title (1.66) in 2015 with the Dodgers.

24: Jermaine Dye
Dye was the Royals' right fielder in the late 1990s, winning a Gold Glove and starting in the All-Star Game in 2000, a season which he finished with a .321/.390/.561 slash line. After five years in Kansas City, Dye went on to have a solid career with Oakland and the White Sox, where he finished as high as fifth in MVP voting in 2006.

25: Danny Jackson
This is a tough call between Jackson and Kendrys Morales: Which postseason hero do you choose? We’ll go with Jackson, who had a solid 15-year career, posting a 4.01 ERA as a starter and a reliever later in his career. His career began with Kansas City, where he spent five years and started 107 games. In the 1985 postseason, he helped deliver the Royals their first World Series, allowing just three runs in 26 innings that October.

26: Amos Otis
No one has lived up to Otis’ No. 26 since he left Kansas City in 1983 after 14 years and retired from baseball in ’84 after a 17-year career that gave him five All-Star appearances and three Gold Gloves as a center fielder. He finished in the top 10 of MVP voting four times. He finished his Royals career among all-time club leaders in hits (third with 1,977), home runs (third with 193), runs scored (second with 1,074), stolen bases (second with 340) and games played (third with 1,891).

27: Luis Aquino
Adalberto Mondesi might soon be on this list; even though he’s been around for over five years, it feels like the dynamic shortstop is just getting started. But for now, we’ll go with Aquino, who accumulated 10.3 bWAR in his nine-year career and spent five of those years in Kansas City as a starter and reliever. The right-hander posted a 3.68 ERA across his career in the late 1980s to early '90s with five teams.

28: Jay Bell
Bell only spent one season with the Royals but put up solid numbers as their shortstop in 1997: .291/.368/.461 with 28 doubles, 92 RBIs and 21 home runs. In his 18-year career, Bell went to two All-Star Games and won the 2001 World Series with the D-backs.

29: Mike Sweeney
How does one choose between Sweeney and Dan Quisenberry, both Royals Hall of Famers, both fan favorites and both wearers of No. 29? No one has worn the number since Sweeney left in 2007 after the five-time All-Star ended his Kansas City career ranked second on the club’s all-time list in home runs (197) and slugging percentage (.492), and third in batting average (.299). Sweeney set a club record for RBIs in a single season with 144 in 2000 and posted the club’s second-highest batting average in ’02 with .340. Quisenberry was just as integral to Royals history, setting a then-record 45 saves in 1983, and his emergence in the bullpen was key to the Royals finally capturing their first AL pennant in ’80.

30: Orlando Cepeda
The Hall of Famer spent his last year in baseball with the Royals, only playing in 33 games after a stellar career that saw him win MVP in 1967, lead the Majors in RBIs (142) in 1961 and appear in 11 All-Star Games. Kirk Gibson also wore No. 30 in one year with the Royals (1991). Honorable mention, of course, has to go to Yordano “Ace” Ventura, who was the last to wear No. 30 before Danny Duffy took it over this year to honor his friend and teammate.

31: Ian Kennedy
There’s contract hindsight here, but Kennedy gave the Royals two good years mixed with three mediocre seasons marred with injury. Kennedy was solid in 2016, posting a 3.68 ERA across 195 2/3 innings. When he moved to the bullpen in ’19, he posted a 3.41 ERA. In Kennedy’s 2011 season with the D-backs, he finished fourth in Cy Young Award voting when he went 21-4 and a 2.88 ERA across 33 starts.

32: Larry Gura
The lefty turned his career around in Kansas City and was a part of the Royals turning things around in the late 1970s to early ‘80s. He finished top 10 in Cy Young voting three times and posted a 3.76 ERA across 16 years in the Majors.

33: James Shields
Kevin Seitzer put up impressive numbers his rookie season in 1987, but Shields was one of baseball’s best starters for a stretch and helped the Royals get back to contending. He had a 3.18 ERA in two years in Kansas City and accumulated 31.1 bWAR over 13 years in the Majors.

34: Paul Splittorff
Splittorff became a mainstay on the Royals’ first playoff teams, averaging nearly 15 wins and 220 innings from 1972-80. Part of Kansas City’s first Draft class in ’68, Splittorff finished his 15-year career as the Royals’ all-time leader in wins (166), games started (392) and innings pitched (2,554 2/3).

35: Eric Hosmer
A key piece of the Royals postseason runs in 2014-15, Hosmer was the anchor at first base and catalyst of many of the memories, winning four Gold Gloves, one Silver Slugger and making one All-Star appearance -- where he won MVP -- in seven years with the Royals before going to San Diego.

36: Gaylord Perry
He only made 14 starts with the Royals out of his 690 career starts, and they came in the final year of his 22-year career. But the right-hander is a Hall of Famer, a two-time Cy Young Award winner and five-time All-Star.

37: Charlie Leibrandt
He accumulated 33.4 bWAR and posted a 3.71 ERA across 14 Major League seasons, including six years with the Royals. The lefty was part of the 1985 rotation and made two starts in the World Series that year, posting a 2.76 ERA.

38: Terry Leach
Leach didn’t fare as well in Kansas City, only appearing in 30 games and posting a 4.15 ERA in 1989, but he had a career 3.15 ERA across 11 years in the Majors and won the 1991 World Series with the Twins.

39: Al Fitzmorris
The outfielder-turned-pitcher carved out a solid career as a swingman, with his best stretch coming in 1973-74, when he posted a 2.81 ERA in 49 games (40 starts). He had a career 3.65 ERA in 10 Major League seasons.

40: Kelvin Herrera
A dominant late-inning reliever, Herrera went from a largely unknown international signing to a key piece of the Royals’ 2014-15 postseason runs. He had a 1.26 ERA across seven series those years and did not allow an earned run in the 2015 ALCS and World Series.

41: Lindy McDaniel
His best years came with the Cardinals and Yankees, but McDaniel finished his 21-year career wearing No. 41 for the Royals in 1974-75. The right-handed reliever had a career 3.45 ERA in 2,139 1/3 innings (987 games).

42: Tom Goodwin
He spent four years as a Royal in his 14-year career and finished ninth in Rookie of the Year voting in 1995. The speedy outfielder was also the last to wear No. 42; MLB retired the number in ’97 to honor Jackie Robinson.

43: Bruce Dal Canton
Dal Canton was a solid swingman for five seasons in Kansas City, posting a 3.76 ERA over that time and a 3.67 ERA in his 11-year career. Many of the other Royals who wore No. 43 were journeyman players who never wore the number for more than a year.

44: Chili Davis
Davis made his career elsewhere, like with the Giants and Angels, but he spent 1997 with the Royals and hit .279/.386/.509. The longtime outfielder and DH was a three-time All-Star and posted an .811 OPS in 19 years in the Majors.

45: Steve Balboni
Not a ton to choose from here, but Balboni set the Royals single-season home run record in 1985 with 36, which stood for 30 years until Mike Moustakas (38) broke it in 2017 and Soler (48) set a new record in ’19.

46: Ryan Madson
Madson did not play in the Majors from 2012-14, but he made a comeback with the Royals in ’15 -- and was a crucial piece of that World Series bullpen. The right-hander accumulated 13.7 bWAR and posted a 3.48 ERA in 13 Major League seasons.

47: Johnny Cueto
Cueto only threw 81 1/3 innings for the Royals in 2015 and was not particularly good in the postseason that year -- except for his start in Game 2 of the World Series against the Mets, when he hurled the first complete game by an AL pitcher in the Fall Classic since Jack Morris in 1991. But he has been good elsewhere -- three top-10 Cy Young finishes and a 3.43 ERA across 14 years and counting.

48: Joakim Soria
He finished seventh in Rookie of the Year voting in 2007, then made his first All-Star Game in ’08, then finished 10th in Cy Young voting in ’10. The right-hander had 162 career saves for the Royals over seven seasons.

49: Warren Cromartie
After nine years with the Expos, Cromartie returned from Japan to hit .313 with an .801 OPS in 69 games with the Royals in 1991.

50: Jose Rosado
Rosado was stellar in four seasons with the Royals, earning two All-Star Game appearances and finishing fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 1996. But he couldn’t stay healthy beyond that, ending his career after five Major League seasons.

51: Jason Vargas
He was a big part of the Royals’ World Series run in 2014 and then went to the All-Star Game in 2017, when he also led the Majors with 18 wins. The lefty finished his 14-year career with a .500 record -- 99-99 -- and a 4.29 ERA.

52: Mike Boddicker
He wasn’t at his best during his two seasons with the Royals in 1991 and ’92, but the right-hander was an All-Star, a Gold Glover and the 1983 ALCS MVP. He also won the ERA title in ’84 with the Orioles with a 2.79 mark.

53: Melky Cabrera
The outfielder had a breakout year in 2011, his one full season with the Royals, when he hit .305/.339/.470 with 18 home runs and 87 RBIs. He’d go on to hit .285 in 15 seasons.

54: Ervin Santana
Santana is proving to be valuable in the Royals ‘pen in 2021 at 38 years old as he puts the finishing touches on a stellar career: 16 years, two All-Star appearances, a no-hitter and a 4.09 ERA over 2,452 innings (and counting).

55: Kevin Appier
He made more Opening Day starts (seven) than any Kansas City pitcher before him and won the ERA title in 1993 with a 2.56 mark over 34 starts. The Royals Hall of Famer finished his career among the Royals top 10 in almost every pitching category, including wins (115), ERA (3.49), games started (275) and innings pitched (1,843 2/3).

56: Greg Holland
One more member of the vaunted ‘pen of the 2014-15 Royals, Holland is a three-time All-Star and has 156 saves with the Royals -- and counting in 2021 -- with a 2.95 ERA across 11 Major League seasons.

57: Mike Magnante
The lefty posted a 4.08 ERA across 12 Major League seasons, including six with the Royals, two with the Astros, one with the Angels and three with Oakland.

58: Hector Carrasco
The right-hander only threw 34 2/3 innings as a Royal in 1997, but he did accumulate 9.2 bWAR in his 12-year career.

59: D.J. Carrasco
His 4.5 career bWAR ranks high among the group of Royals who have worn No. 59; the right-hander started his eight-year career with the Royals and posted a 4.81 ERA in three seasons in Kansas City.

60: Hunter Dozier
Dozier and Foster Griffin are the choices here, even though Dozier switched to No. 17 when he became an everyday player for the Royals

61: Kevin McCarthy
He has a 3.80 career ERA across five seasons with the Royals and is in the Red Sox Minor League system in 2021.

62: Al Alburquerque
The right-hander only pitched 10 innings for the Royals, but he has a very respectable 3.16 ERA in seven Major League seasons and a 5.1 career bWAR.

63: Josh Staumont
The Royals' closer of the future (and present) has burst onto the scene with an electric fastball and beautiful curveball. In 2020, he struck out 37 in 25 2/3 innings.

64: Matt Strahm
Dealt to the Padres in 2017, Strahm now has a 3.61 ERA in five seasons, including his 2.61 mark in 2020 with San Diego’s fast-rising team.

65: Jakob Junis
One of two players to have worn No. 65 (Josh Rupe in 2010 is the other), Junis now wears No. 24 as a versatile swingman for the Royals.

66: Ryan O’Hearn
Two negative bWAR players are our choices here, but O’Hearn has flashed some power with the Royals and could be promising as a lefty bat off the bench if he finds that power again.

67: Chien-Ming Wang
He had some excellent years with the Yankees, finishing second in Cy Young voting in 2006, when he posted a 3.63 ERA and won 19 games. The right-hander only pitched one year (2016) with the Royals, but he has a 12.5 bWAR.

68: Jake Newberry
Wilking Rodriguez is the only other player to wear No. 68, and Newberry has been in the league for four years.

69: Eric Skoglund
He’s the only player to have worn No. 69, and the lefty Minor League pitcher switched to No. 53 soon after.

71: Carlos Hernández
Hernández has barely broken into the Majors and only wore No. 71 in 2020, but we already chose Wade Davis for No. 17.

72: Meibrys Viloria
The catcher wore No. 72 in his brief stints in the Majors over the past few years. He’s currently on the Royals’ Triple-A roster.

91: Hideo Nomo
Nomo is the only Royal to have worn a number higher than No. 72. He wore it in 2008, when he allowed nine runs in 4 1/3 innings. But he did have some pretty good years with the Dodgers early in his career, including winning Rookie of the Year in 1995.