Welcome to our second annual Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) Celebration
where we honour MLB players who wore number five. For those who need a quick refresher
course, Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army’s 1862 victory over France
at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War (1861-1867).
Last year we looked at George Brett, Rance Mulliniks, Brooks Robinson,
Hank Greenberg and David Wright. This year’s bunch is just as talented.
Joe DiMaggio, New
York Yankees, 1937-42, 1946-51
An argument could be made for
the “Yankee Clipper" as one of the greatest baseball players of all time. DiMaggio
made his debut with the Yankees in 1936 sporting number nine, but switched to
five the following season. We wore the number until 1942 when he was drafted
into military service during the Second World War. He rejoined the Yankees
after the war ended in 1945 and played from 1946 until 1951.
He had a career .325 batting
average in 1736 games, hit 361 home runs, and had 1537 RBIs. He was the
American League’s MVP three times (1939, 1941 and 1947) while leading the
Yankees to ten AL Pennants and nine World Series Championships. He was inducted
into the Hall of Fame in 1955.
Johnny Bench, Cincinnati
Reds, 1967-83
Bench played his entire career
(17 seasons) with the Reds and wore number five for his whole career. Often described
as the best catcher of his era, he played in 2158 games, had a .267 batting
average while slugging 389 home runs and adding 1376 RBIs. He was the National
League’s Rookie of the Year in 1968 and its MVP twice (1970 and 1972). He was a
14-time All-Star and won ten Gold Glove Awards.
He was a key ingredient in the
Big Red Machine, the nickname given to the Reds in the 1970s when they won six
NL West titles, four Pennants and two World Series (1975 and 1976). Bench was
the named the World Series MVP in 1976 after batting .533 with eight hits,
including two home runs, and six RBIs as Cincinnati swept the Yankees.
Nomar Garciaparra, Boston
Red Sox, 1996-2004
Chicago Cubs,
2004-2005
Los Angeles Dodgers,
2006-2008
Oakland Athletics,
2009
Nomar Garciaparra played 14
years in the Majors with four different teams, but his best years were with the
Red Sox. He won the American League’s Rookie of the Year Award in 1997 while
leading the league in hits with 209. In his nine seasons with Boston, he batted
.323 in 966 games while earning five All-Star Game selections.
Injuries hampered him through the later stages of his career and he was
traded to the Cubs midway through the 2004 season. It’s unfortunate that he
wasn’t a part of the team that finally broke the Red Sox World Series drought.
He finished his career with a .313 career average in 1434 games.
Jeff Bagwell, Houston
Astros, 1991-2005
Bagwell played his entire
15-year career with the Astros and wore number five for the duration. He won
the National League’s Rookie of the Year Award in 1991 and followed that up
with the League’s MVP Award in the strike-shortened season of 1994. He was an All-Star
four times, won three Silver Slugger Awards and one Gold Glove. For his career,
he played 2150 games, collected 2314 hits (a .297 batting average), slugged 449
RBIs and had 1529 RBIs.
He led the Astros to the
postseason six times, including the 2005 World Series (Houston’s only
appearance in the Fall Classic in its history) where they lost in a four-game
sweep to the Chicago White Sox. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017.
Albert Pujols, St.
Louis Cardinals, 2001-2011
Los Angeles Angels,
2012-Present
Pujols was the best player in
baseball during his time with the Cardinals. His first ten years with the club,
he hit over .300 and had more than 100 RBIs in each of those seasons. His final
year with the Cards, he had 99 RBIs and a .299 batting average. He won the NL’s
Rookie of the Year award in 2001 and the MVP Award in 2005, 2008 and 2009. He
made the All-Star Game nine times while in St. Louis and led the Cardinals to
three World Series appearances, including victories over the Detroit Tigers in
2006 and the Texas Rangers in 2011.
After signing with the Angels
prior to the 2012 seasons, Pujols has put up some decent seasons but nothing
that compares to his time in St. Louis. His average has steadily declined over
the past six years but he still boasts a career .308 average (as of April 30 of
this year).
In 77 career postseason games,
he has slugged 19 home runs and has 54 RBIs.
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