It is officially 24 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 24 days until the 2025 MLB Opening Day, we give you the best MLB players to wear #25. 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 #24 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 24 days from now, here are the best players to wear 24 in MLB history!
Best Players to Wear 24 in MLB History
1) Willie Mays, OF (1948, 1951-52, 1954-73)
WAR: 156.2
MLB Draft: 1948, signed in high school to the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro League
24x All-Star | 2x NL MVP | 1x NL Rookie of the Year | 12x Gold Glove Winner | 1x NL Roberto Clemente Award Winner | 1x NL Batting Champion | 4x NL Home Run Leader | 4x NL Stolen Base Leader | Major League Baseball All-Century Team | Major League Baseball All-Time Team | Baseball Hall of Fame (1979)
World Series Champion (1954)
Hit Four Home Runs in a Game (1961)
2) Rickey Henderson, OF (1979-2003)
WAR: 111.1
MLB Draft: 1976, Round 4, Pick 96 to the Oakland Athletics
10x All-Star | 1x AL MVP | 1x ALCS MVP | 1x Gold Glover Winner | 3x Silver Slugger | 12x AL Stolen Base Leader | Baseball Hall of Fame (2009)
World Series Champion (1989, 1993)
Most Stolen Bases in MLB History (1,406) | Most Career Runs in MLB History (2,295) | Most Stolen Bases in a Season (130)
3) Ken Griffey Jr, OF (1989-2010)
WAR: 83.8
MLB Draft: 1987, Round 1, Pick 1 to the Seattle Mariners
13x All-Star | 1x AL MVP | 10x Gold Glover Winner | 7x Silver Slugger | 1x NL Comeback Player of the Year | 4x AL Home Run Leader | 1x AL RBI Leader | Major League Baseball All-Century Team | Baseball Hall of Fame (2016)
4) Manny Ramirez, OF (1993-2011)
WAR: 69.3
MLB Draft: 1991, Round 1, Pick 13 to the Cleveland Indians
12x All-Star | 1x World Series MVP | 9x Silver Slugger | 2x AL Hank Aaron Award Winner | 1x AL Batting Champion | 1x AL Home Run Leader | 1x AL RBI Leader
Most Postseason Home Runs in MLB History (29)
5) Robinson Cano, 2B (2005-20, 2022)
WAR: 68.1
MLB Draft: 2001, signed as an amateur free agent to the New York Yankees
8x All-Star | 2x Gold Glover Winner | 5x Silver Slugger
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