Playing the numbers game

From 1-99, what Marlin wore it best?

Over 31 National League seasons, 717 players have appeared in at least one regular season game for the Marlins.

They’ve worn every uniform number from 1-99 with the exceptions of 69, 82, 85, 97 and 98.

The number worn most frequently? 50, by 22 different Marlins, from Terry McGriff for 3 games in 1993 to Shawn Morimando for 4 games in 2021.

Every uniform number below 71 has been worn by at least 2 players with the exception of the never-worn 69. And every number below 67 has been worn by at least 4 players with the exception of 42, which was worn by 3 Marlins before it was retired by MLB in 1997 to honor Jackie Robinson.

The lone Marlins players to wear 42: Rich Rodriguez (1993), Jeremy Hernandez (1994-95) and Dennis Cook (1997).

So who most distinguished himself as a Marlin wearing each uniform number? We asked our distinguished VIEW FROM THE BLEACHERS panel, and we’ll share their consensus in a 3-part series beginning today.

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1-Luis Castillo (1997-2005)

Photo courtesy of AP.)

No Marlin has appeared in more games or collected more hits, triples, runs scored, walks or stolen bases than Luis Castillo, who was a 3-time All-Star and a 3-time Gold Glove recipient during his time in Miami. He was part of both Marlins championship teams, although he did not appear in the postseason in 1997. Castillo wore #34 when he debuted in 1996, before shifting to #1 in 1997.

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2-Hanley Ramirez (2006-2012)

While some Marlins fans hope Jazz Chisholm, who currently wears #2, will one day earn this honor, there’s no debate that Hanley Ramirez is the greatest #2 in club history. The 1996 Rookie of the Year and 2009 MVP runner-up, Hanley was a 3-time All-Star at 2-time Silver Slugger and won the 2009 NL batting title as a Marlin. In his first 5 seasons in Miami, from 2006-10, he batted .313 with a .906 OPS and averaged 187 hits, 40 doubles, 25 homers, 39 stolen bases and 112 runs scored. In that 5-year span, he was 3rd in the NL in WAR behind only Albert Pujols and Chase Utley.

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3-Edgar Renteria (1997)

Edgar Renteria takes this honor based on wearing #3 when he delivered the World Series-winning hit in Game 7 in 1997, even though ‘97 was the only one of his 3 seasons in Miami in which he wore the number. The Colombian shortstop wore #16 in 1996 (when Quilvio Veras was wearing #3) and returned to that number in 1998 (when Ryan Jackson wore 3). Honorable mention goes to Jorge Cantu, who enjoyed big offensive years for the Marlins in 2008 and 2009 before a slow start to 2010 and an eventual trade to the Giants.

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4-Alfredo Amezaga (2006-09)

Only 3 players wore #4 in Miami for more than one season, and this is anything but a slam dunk call. Alfredo Amezaga gets the edge over Greg Colbrunn and Mark Kotsay in large part because of his stellar defense wherever he played and for his popularity among fans during his 3-plus seasons as a Marlin. Kotsay only wore #4 for a season and a half before shifting to #7.