In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees. By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues. Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.
Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #17. 79 different players have donned #17 while playing in Chicago, 42 for the White Sox and 37 for the Cubs.
Mark Grace moved to his iconic #17 during his rookie campaign in 1988. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting while hitting .296 with 7 home runs and 57 RBIs. In 1989, he garnered some MVP consideration as the Cubs took home a surprising NL East title. Grace hit .314 with 13 home runs and 79 RBIs during the regular season, before hitting .647 with a 1.799 OPS during the 5 game NLCS against the Giants.
In 1990, Grace began a decade of excellence, collecting the most hits, 1,754, and doubles, 364, of any player during the decade. He won 4 Gold Glove awards, was named to 3 All Star teams, earned down-ballot MVP support in 3 different seasons. Following the 2000 season, he left the Cubs, finishing that portion of his career with 2201 hits, 456 doubles, 148 home runs, 1004 RBIs, and a .308 average.
As the White Sox made their run towards the World Series title in 2005, general manager Kenny Williams attempted to acquire Ken Griffey Jr. from the Reds, but was rebuked when Reds ownership decided to veto the deal. 3 years later, with the White Sox again looking to make a run at a division title, he was finally able to acquire the aging superstar at the trade deadline in exchange for pitcher Nick Masset and second baseman Danny Richar. At the time of the trade, the White Sox held a tenuous 1.5 game lead over the Twins. Wearing #17, Griffey, who had spent most of the previous few seasons in right field to lessen the strain on his body, moved back to center field for the White Sox, displacing the disappointing Nick Swisher. Griffey appeared in 41 games for the White Sox, hitting a decent .260 with only 3 home runs and 18 RBI. His most important contribution came defensively, during the tie-breaking game 163 between the White Sox and the Twins, when he gunned down Michael Cuddyer, who was trying to score on a fly out to center, preserving the shutout and helping the White Sox win the division and advance the playoffs. In the ALDS, Griffey appeared in 3 games against the Rays, garnering only 2 hits as the White Sox fell 3 games to 1. Following the season, the White Sox declined Griffey’s $16 million option for 2009, making him a free agent.
Special bonus shout out to outfielder Carlos May, who played with the White Sox from 1968-1976. May, who wore #17 for his entire White Sox career, is the only player in baseball history to wear his birthday, May 17th, on his jersey.
Our Throwback Thursday feature continues, as we point the wayback machine back to the 1990s and put our focus on the offensive leaders of that decade. As a reminder, I’ve identified 32 games that I attended during this time period, when I would have been ages 15 through 24.
