The most legendary numbers in Pittsburgh Pirates history

The Pittsburgh Pirates are one of baseball’s most storied franchises, with five World Series titles and many Hall of Fame players in their history, including greats such as Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell. When you think of the best Pirates to ever put on a uniform, certain numbers come to mind.

While some jersey numbers are mainly associated with one player like Bill Mazeroski, others have been worn by several legends in their own right. Here are the top five jersey numbers in Pirates history, based on their career accomplishments and statistical value, with some honorable mentions.

For my purposes, I was looking for multiple players who were impact contributors and wore the same number in order to construct this list. No. 39, for example, would only feature Dave Parker. Nick Gonzales could get there someday.

5 Most Important Jersey Numbers in Pittsburgh Pirates History

Honorable Mentions:

No. 34 (Kris Benson, A.J. Burnett, Esteban Loaiza, Trevor Williams)

No. 51 (David Bednar, Mike González, Steve Pearce, Tony Womack)

No. 55 (Josh Bell, Matt Capps, Russell Martin, Michael McKenry)

5. No. 25

Most Pirates fans my age remember the highs and lows of Gregory Polanco well, the once highly regarded prospect that showed flashes but never fully put it together. His best season was as the everyday right fielder on the 2015 squad that won 98 games and lost to Jake Arrieta and the Cubs in the Wild Card Game. Bobby Bonilla, who will continue to be paid by the Mets every July 1 until 2035, had some great years with the Bucs, leading the team offensively with Barry Bonds and winning three consecutive NL East titles. He was the runner up in MVP voting in 1990 and third in 1991.

After coming over from the Braves in the Mike González trade, Adam Laroche was with the Pirates for two and a half productive seasons, putting up a combined 366 hits, 58 home runs and 213 runs batted in during this span. Bruce Kison was a rookie and pitched well on the 1971 World Series team, and became a valuable member of their rotation throughout the decade, culminating in a 13-win, 3.19 ERA stretch in 1979, earning his second championship ring.

Bob Friend is best known for donning No. 19, but wore No. 25 his first two years in the big leagues, from 1951 to 1952. Others worth mentioning include Upper St. Clair native Sean Casey, who in 2006 hit .296 in 59 games before getting shipped off to Detroit, and Derrek Lee, who hit .337 in a brief stint in 2011. Middle infielder Alika Williams wore No. 25 for the 2024 season.