It is officially 16 days 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 16 days until the 2025 MLB Opening Day, we give you the best MLB players to wear #16. 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 #16 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 16 days from now, here are the best players to wear 16 in MLB history!
Best Players to Wear 16 in MLB History
1) Ted Lyons, P (1923-42, 1946)
WAR: 70.6
MLB Draft: 1923, Signed as a Free Agent by the Chicago White Sox
1x All-Star | 2x AL Wins Leader | 1x AL ERA Leader | Baseball Hall of Fame (1955)
Pitched a No-Hitter (1926)
2) Hal Newhouser, P (1939-55)
WAR: 62.8
MLB Draft: 1939, Signed as a Free Agent by the Detroit Tigers
7x All-Star | 2x AL MVP | 1x Pitching Triple Crown | 4x AL Wins Leader | 2x MLB ERA Leader | 2x MLB Strikeouts Leader | Baseball Hall of Fame (1992)
World Series Champion (1945)
3) Whitey Ford, P (1950, 1953-67)
WAR: 57.1
MLB Draft: 1947, Signed as a Free Agent by the New York Yankees
10x All-Star | 1x Cy Young | 1x World Series MVP | 3x AL Wins Leader | 2x MLB ERA Leader | Baseball Hall of Fame (1974)
6x World Series Champion (1950, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962)
4) Dwight Gooden, P (1984-94, 1996-2000)
WAR: 53.0
MLB Draft: 1982, Round 1, Pick 5 to the New York Mets
4x All-Star | 1x NL Cy Young | 1x Pitching Triple Crown | 1x NL Rookie of the Year | 1x Silver Slugger | 1x MLB Wins Leader | 1x MLB ERA Leader | 2x MLB Strikeout Leader
2x World Series Champion (1986, 2000)
Pitched a No-Hitter (1996)
5) Dutch Leonard, P (1933-36, 1938-53)
WAR: 48.9
MLB Draft: 1933, Signed as a Free Agent by the Brooklyn Dodgers
5x All-Star
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