It is officially 1 day until the 2025 MLB Opening Day! For our official countdown here on FlurrySports, we will be releasing the best players in MLB history to wear the jersey number of the number of days remaining. Follow along to keep track of how many days until the MLB season, and share who YOU think the best player to ever wear that jersey number is! Click here to see the best MLB players from yesterday.
With 1 day until the 2025 MLB Opening Day, we give you the best MLB players to wear #1. Of course, some of the all-time greats at this number will still be playing this season. They have the ability to continue rising up this list! The official ranking of these players is based on the Wins Above Replacement (WAR) from Baseball Reference.
Please note that every player listed from now until the end of the countdown will only be used once. So, for example, Barry Bonds wore both 24 and 25 in his career, but he will only be chosen for one number. Basically, treat it as when you hear this player’s name, this is the number that you think of. A good rule of thumb is if the player wore a certain number for 10 or more years, they are probably going to be featured, with some exceptions.
Without further ado, here are the all-time best players to wear #1 in MLB history.
When is MLB Opening Day 2025?
You may be wondering when the 2025 MLB Opening Day is! For our countdown here on FlurrySports, we will be listing the five greatest players in MLB history to wear the jersey number that corresponds with the number of days remaining. The 2025 MLB Opening Day is March 27, 2025. With that being 1 day from now, here are the best players to wear 1 in MLB history!
Best Players to Wear 1 in MLB History
1) Ozzie Smith, SS (1978-96)
WAR: 76.9
MLB Draft: 1976, Round 7, Pick 146 to the Detroit Tigers
15x All-Star | NLCS MVP | 13x Gold Glove | 1x Silver Slugger | Roberto Clemente Award | Baseball Hall of Fame (2002)
World Series Champion (1982)
2) Lou Whitaker, 2B (1977-95)
WAR: 75.1
MLB Draft: 1975, Round 5, Pick 99 to the Detroit Tigers
5x All-Star | AL Rookie of the Year | 3x Gold Glove | 4x Silver Slugger
World Series Champion (1984)
3) Pee Wee Reese, SS (1940-42, 1946-58)
WAR: 68.4
MLB Draft: 1935, Signed as a Free Agent to the Boston Red Sox
10x All-Star | 1x NL Stolen Bases Leader | Baseball Hall of Fame (1984)
2x World Series Champion (1955, 1959)
4) Richie Ashburn, OF (1948-62)
WAR: 64.3
MLB Draft: 1945, Signed as a Free Agent to the Philadelphia Phillies
6x All-Star | 2x NL Batting Champion | 1x NL Stolen Bases Leader | Baseball Hall of Fame (1995)
5) Bobby Doerr, 2B (1937-44, 1946-51)
WAR: 51.3
MLB Draft: 1936, Signed as a Free Agent to the Boston Red Sox
9x All-Star | Baseball Hall of Fame (1986)
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