A Collective Baseball Biography for Readers in Grades 2-5 and more.

This book is dedicated to the Cedar Rapids Reds 8U Red (2021) who wear the numbers of these baseball greats. But especially for #1 – a kid who will change the world with his energy, curiosity, talent, and kindness.

Baseball Greats by the Number

Introduction

In baseball, the uniform number is a number worn on the uniform of a specific player. No two players on the same team can wear the same number. Numbers were not generally used until 1929 when the New York Yankees and the Cincinnati Reds made the use of numbers standard for their team. In the beginning the number indicated the batting order, hence Babe Ruth at #3 and Lou Gehrig #4. Numbers began to be synonymous with the player’s persona. And over time the significance of the number changed. Batting order changed – but numbers did not. There were no real rules however.

In the beginning single-digit numbers were worn by position players, except pitchers. They did not wear single digits. But in 2018, pitcher Blake Snell, wearing #4, pitched in that year’s All-Star Game. Regular players seldom wore a number above 60. But when Carlton Fisk moved from the Boston Red Sox to the Chicago White Sox, his Red Sox number 27 was not available with the White Sox so he opted to wear the reverse of that number, #72.
Today the number on a player’s uniform has become a source of superstition, emotional attachment, and in the case of young players a number chosen is often chosen in honor of someone to be admired. If you are reading this, and you are a baseball player – just as there is a story behind your given name, perhaps there is a story behind your chosen uniform number. What’s your story?

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The Book: Baseball Greats by the Number

Eleven great baseball players are profiled in this collective biography which focuses on the career of individuals who made the number they wore on their uniform one to remember. The number an athlete wears can become iconic if the player becomes a legend in the sport they play. In 1929, the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians led the way in putting numbers on their baseball teams' uniforms.

Some numbers hold a special place in the history of the game. Numbers of specific athletes are retired from use and placed in the rafters to be an inspiration to others. Young aspiring players in the game of baseball often select their number to emulate the success of the iconic player who made the number synonymous with personal success.

A player's public image is often inseparable from their on-field persona and the uniform that they wear. The numbers in this book highlight a successful player that has made their number iconic. Included in this book are the numbers/players: 1 Ozzie Smith, 3 Babe Ruth, 4 Lou Gehrig, 5 Hank Greenberg, 8 Cal Ripken, Jr., 9 Ted Williams, 10 Chipper Jones, 18 Ted Kluszewski, 19 Bob Feller, 22 Clayton Kershaw, and 44 Hank Aaron.

The book contains a brief introductory chapter for each player, highlighting the players career and their association with a specific number, abbreviations and terms used, and a brief discussion of why the players were selected to represent individual numbers

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