There have been numerous greats to wear No. 24, one in particular got inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as close to unanimously as anyone ever been.
In honor of May 24th long weekend, let's take a look at the top 24 players to ever wear the No. 24 on their back.
24. Whitey Herzog
Starting off by cheating with a skipper who managed two 100-win seasons - each with a different team - and won a World Series.
23. Adrian Gonzalez
Better known for wearing No. 28 with the Boston Red Sox and No. 23 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Gonzalez made his debut with the Texas Rangers wearing No. 24.
22. Mike Cameron
Cameron compiled 50.7 career WAR and retired just three stolen bases shy of 300. Unfortunately, only 7.3 WAR and 51 of those stolen bases came with a 24 on his back.
21. Lou Brock
A Hall of Famer. The only problem is, while wearing a St. Louis Cardinals hat - the hat he wears on his Cooperstown plaque - Brock wore No. 20. He only wore No. 24 as a member of the rival Chicago Cubs.
20. Mark Teixeira
Teixeira wore No. 24 during his short tenure with the Atlanta Braves. Despite playing just over 150 games with the Braves, Teixeira still racked up 5.6 WAR wearing the number.
19. Jerry Koosman
Koosman closed out his storied career wearing No. 24 with the Philadelphia Phillies. As a 41-year-old in his second-to-last season, Koosman pitched 224 innings and was worth 4.7 WAR - 10th-best in baseball that season.
18. Dexter Fowler
With the Cardinals, Fowler had to leave No. 24 behind as it's retired in Herzog's honor. However, Fowler wore the number for a combined seven seasons, including with the curse-breaking Cubs last year.
17. Paul Waner
Waner should arguably be much, much higher on this list. His 74.7 WAR is eclipsed by very few, but, with No. 24 on his back, Waner was actually below replacement level. Thankfully, he only wore it for 20 games.
16. Andrew Miller
Miller has only worn No. 24 as a member of the Cleveland Professional Baseball Team. Most people know those seasons as the ones he changed the complexion of bullpen management and carried the team to an American League Championship.
15. Grady Sizemore
People forget about Sizemore, but for a hot second he was destined for superstardom. The three-time All-Star spent almost his entire career in No. 24, except for his regrettable tenure with the Boston Red Sox, during which he was worth -0.7 WAR in 205 games.
14. Tino Martinez
Martinez wore No. 24 during his storied years with the New York Yankees and his one season with the then-named Tampa Bay Devil Rays. That includes his 1997 season, in which he finished second in MVP voting to a different No. 24.
13. Dick Groat
An oldie but a goodie, Groat wore No. 24 for 14 seasons, including during his MVP campaign in 1970.
12. Brian Giles
Giles donned No. 24 for 11 seasons during stints with the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres, amassing 47.2 WAR over that span.
11. Jimmy Wynn
Points go to Wynn for being the only player on this list to wear No. 24 for the Houston Colt .45s - the first name of the Houston Astros franchise. The three-time All-Star went on to collect 52.8 WAR over his career.
10. Tony Perez
Perez is one of just two players ever to wear No. 24 for two full decades, collecting 56.8 WAR across 20 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds and Montreal Expos.
9. Early Wynn
Wynn is the only player on this list to have won a Cy Young while wearing No. 24. The Hall of Famer eclipsed the 250-innings mark in a season eight times.
8. Robinson Cano
Cano had to stash away his No. 24 when he signed with the Seattle Mariners for reasons that will become apparent shortly. Famously choosing to wear the reverse number of his hero, Jackie Robinson, Cano amassed 35.8 WAR during his eight-season tenure with the Yankees.
7. Dwight Evans
Evans came just barely short of joining Perez as the only players to wear No. 24 for 20 seasons. Alas, during his rookie campaign with the Red Sox, it appears Duane Josephson had that number spoken for. Evans would go on to be worth 61 WAR more than Josephson - yield to the youngster.
6. Manny Ramirez
A 12-time All-Star and nine-time silver slugger, Ramirez was absolutely otherworldly at the dish, posting an OPS above 1.000 nine times. Due to some odious allegations and behavior, Ramirez and his 555 career homers got only 24 percent Hall of Fame support after his first year on the ballot.
5. Barry Bonds
Bonds is much more famous for having worn No. 25. However, No. 24 defines his years with the Pirates - the seasons where he stole 251 bases, hit 176 home runs, and slashed .275/.380/.503 between ages 21-27. Bonds was otherworldly even before he became other otherworldly.
4. Miguel Cabrera
Most famous for being the first hitter to win the Triple Crown since 1967, Cabrera is truly a gift that is too often under-appreciated. The 34-year-old has a career on-base just shy of .400 and a career slugging above .550. He's also hilarious.
3. Ken Griffey Jr.
The Kid is the closest a player has ever come to being unanimously inducted as a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, getting 99.3 percent of the vote. Griffey had a precipitous decline, but those years were spent wearing different numbers. No. 24 Griffey is the worship-level Griffey. The MVP Griffey. The Griffey that went on the cover of this year's edition of MLB: The Show.
2. Rickey Henderson
The best leadoff hitter of all-time, Henderson was so prolific that the Oakland Athletics dubbed the Coliseum "Rickey Henderson Field." He reached base more than 40 percent of the time throughout his career, stole 1,406 bases by the time it was over, and, just for good measure, hit 297 home runs.
1. Willie Mays
Mays wore No. 24 in nearly every single one of his 2,992 career games. Over his 22 seasons, the Say Hey Kid amassed nearly 150 WAR, eclipsing the single-season 10 WAR threshold four times. He won rookie of the year as a 20-year-old, hitting 20 homers, and won MVP twice. He was so gifted defensively that he is the owner of a highlight simply known as "The Catch." The 20-time All-Star appeared in his final All-Star Game as a 42-year-old. Mays is the definitive No. 24.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)
