13
Welcome back to Baseball by the Numbers. Today we are looking at lucky uniform number 13. Only 367 players in history wore this number, which makes me think that superstitions may be at play. And it might be justified because only eight players with uniform number 13 have a career WAR over 40, and one of them, the legend, is filled with controversy. Due to this, I will be using a couple of players with under 40 career WAR for this post. Sixty-four players who wore number 13, wore it for five years or more. The legend is a player who is 16th in career WAR yet has never been voted into the Hall of Fame. The reason involved his positive test and subsequent admission to and suspension for the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). I’m sure most of you can guess who it is.
The Legend:
One of the greatest players of all time, Alex Rodriguez played shortstop and third base for twenty-two years. From 1994 to 2016, “A-Rod” played for the Seattle Mariners (1994 -2000), Texas Rangers (2001-2003) and the New York Yankees (2004-2013, 2015-2016). He missed 2014 due to a suspension from baseball. He is 16th all-time in career WAR with a 117.4 and he wore uniform number 13 for twelve seasons while with the Yankees. Rodriguez also wore number 3 the rest of his career and I mentioned him in that post, but left the legend spot to The Babe.
On September 3rd, 2008, Alex Rodriguez smashed his 549th home run. The two-run bomb came in the 9th inning off Tampa pitcher Troy Percival. Tampa manager Joe Maddon thought the ball went foul and contested it. For the first time in MLB history the umpires used instant replay, the home run was ruled fair, and the Yankees won the game 8-4. This 2009 Upper Deck Highlights card commemorates that event, and it has his number 13 showing so a win-win!
A-Rod was a 14-time All-Star with ten Silver Slugger Awards, two Gold Gloves and he won the American League Hank Aaron Award four times. He batted over .300 in nine seasons, leading the league in 1996 with a .358 average. He led the league in home runs 5 times, with over 40 home runs in five seasons and over 50 in three seasons. He was the American League MVP in 2003, 2005 and 2007. He is also a member of the 40-40 club when in 1998 he had 42 home runs and 46 stolen bases. A-Rod was a member of the World Series Champion New York Yankees in 2009 along with star shortstop Derek Jeter, pitcher CC Sabathia and closer Mariano Rivera.
A-Rod was suspended for the entire 2014 season due to his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal related to performance enhancing drugs. He would come back in 2015 as a DH for the Yankees, but in 2016 he would be regulated to pinch hitting and after 65 games, Rodriguez retired as a player.
Rodriguez’s overall stats are amazing, placing in the top 50 in many categories. He has a career batting average of .295 with 3,115 hits (24th all-time), 548 doubles (33rd) and is 5th all-time in home runs with 696. A-Rod is 8th in runs (2,021), 4th in RBIs (2,086), 29th in SLG (.550), 43rd in OPS (.930) and 7th in Total Bases (5,813). He also has a career OBP of .380 and 329 stolen bases.
Due to the controversies surrounding his suspension and use of PEDs, Rodriguez has not been voted for the Baseball Hall of Fame. His number is not retired either. He is currently 50, and is a businessman and has been a baseball analyst and host for a number of networks.
Number 1:
Another active player to make the lists, Manny Machado is entering his 15th season in the Majors. He has played shortstop and third base since 2012. Machado started his career with the Baltimore Orioles until he was traded to the Dodgers during the 2018 season. Machado only stayed with the Dodgers for 66 games. He signed a 10-year, $300 million contract (the largest at the time) with the San Diego Padres in 2019 which would run through the 2028 season. He currently has a career WAR of 61.7 (9th best of all active players) and aside from that half season with the Dodgers (number 8), he has worn number 13 for fourteen years.
I thought this 2024 Topps Heritage card was a great one to use for the post. Machado is in the Padres cool City Connect uniform, with his number visible on the front. I think this is a nice-looking card with a vintage feel, cool photo and of course the number showing.
Machado has been selected for the All-Star team seven times in his career. He has 2 Gold Glove Awards, 1 Platinum Glove, and is a 3-time Silver Slugger. He has seven seasons with 30 or more home runs and nine with 30 or more doubles, leading the league once in doubles with 51. He is also a 2-time All-MLB First Team member.
Machado is currently 33 years old. He plays for the Padres and should remain with them through 2028. In 2025, he was an All-Star and batted .275 with 169 hits, 33 doubles, 27 home runs, 95 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.
Number 2:
Omar Vizquel played 24 seasons as a shortstop and third baseman from 1989-2012. He played for the Seattle Mariners (1989-1993), Cleveland (1994-2004), San Francisco Giants (2005-2008), Texas Rangers (2009), Chicago White Sox (2010-2011) and Toronto Blue Jays (2012). He had a career WAR of 45.6 and wore uniform number 13 for twenty-two seasons.
I’m always happy to use a card from my collecting days. 1990 Donruss never disappoints. It was such a popular set when I was a kid, mainly due to the poor quality control and the dozens of error cards that we all thought were going to be worth a fortune (spoiler: they weren’t). This card of Vizquel works perfectly. It’s a nice photo that shows his uniform number on the front.
Vizquel was a 3-time All-Star known more for his outstanding defense than his hitting. He was an 11-time Gold Glove Award winner and led the league’s shortstops in putouts once and fielding percentage six times. He went 95 games without an error between September 1999 to July of 2000, a record at the time. In 2000, he tied the record for lowest number of errors in a season at shortstop with 3.
Vizquel retired after the 2012 season. His career 2,877 hits are 44th all-time. He has a career .272 batting average with 456 doubles, 77 triples, 80 home runs, 1,445 runs, 951 RBIs and 404 stolen bases. He has the highest career fielding percentage of all shortstops in history at .9847. He also has the most double plays made at short and is fifth all-time in assists at all positions.
Vizquel is a member of the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame.
Number 3:
In the history of the World Series there have only been a handful of low hit games. One of those came in 1945 between the Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers. In game three, Claude Passeau of the Cubs threw a complete game, one-hit gem against the Tigers. He got a nice win, but the Tigers eventually won the series 4 games to 3.
Claude Passeau had a short but productive thirteen-year career from 1935-1947. He was a right-handed pitcher who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1935), Philadelphia Phillies (1936-1939) and the Chicago Cubs (1939-1947). He wore uniform number 13 for ten seasons and had a career WAR of 45.1.
I couldn’t find many cards of Passeau, so I grabbed this photo off creative commons. It’s a nice action shot from 1936. In 1936, Passeau was with the Phillies and wore uniform number 48. He went 11-15 that season with a 3.48 ERA in 217 innings. He also had 8 complete games.
Passeau was a five-time All-Star who led the league in strikeouts in 1939 with 137. Like many pitchers at the time, he pitched a lot of innings, over 200 eleven times, leading the league with 292 in 1937. He also had 10 or more complete games ten times.
He would finish his career with a .519 w/l% going 162-150. He had a career ERA of 3.32 with 1,104 strikeouts in 2,719.2 innings.
Claude Passeau passed away in 2003 at the age of 94.
Number 4:
A career Cincinnati Red, Dave Concepción played shortstop for nineteen seasons from 1970-1988. He and fellow shortstop Barry Larkin are tied for most seasons with the Reds. He wore uniform number 13 his entire career and has a career WAR of 40.1.
I love this 1979 Topps card. I like the set, and the design is great with the little Topps logo in the corner, and the team’s name in the banner under the photo. This is a beautiful photo of Concepción, and I love when the uniform number is on the front of the jersey.
Concepción was an All-Star in nine seasons winning the All-Star game MVP in 1982. He won five Gold Glove awards and two Silver Sluggers. He was a strong defender and led the league in assists twice, putouts once and fielding percentage once. He was a member of The Big Red Machine, a Reds team that won the World Series in 1975 and 1976. The team was managed by the great Sparky Anderson and featured Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, George Foster, Ken Griffey Sr. and Johnny Bench.
He retired at age 40 after the 1988 season with a .267 career batting average, 993 runs, 2,323 hits, 389 doubles, 48 triples, 101 home runs, 950 RBIs and 321 stolen bases.
Concepción is a member of the Reds Hall of Fame, and his uniform number 13 was retired by Cincinnati in 2007. He is also a member of the Venezuelan Hall of Fame.
Number 5:
One of my favorite players growing up, Lance Parrish played catcher for nineteen seasons from 1977-1995. He played for the Detroit Tigers from 1977-1986, which is when I started collecting his cards. I loved the Tigers in the mid 80’s and Parrish, along with “Sweet Lou” Whitaker, were my favorites on the team. Parrish also played for the Philadelphia Phillies (1987-1988), he was traded to the California Angels in 1988 and stayed with them until 1992. He then bounced around a lot playing for the Seattle Mariners (1992), Cleveland Indians (1993), Pittsburgh Pirates (1994) and Toronto Blue Jays (1995). He wore uniform number 13 eighteen seasons and had a career WAR of 39.5.
I just loved this 1987 Topps photo of Parrish. I’m a huge 1987 Topps fan, it was my first full set of cards as a kid and holds such a strong place in my nostalgic filled heart. This card is so awesome. Parrish is decked out in his full catcher’s gear, the cool Tigers logo is in the top corner (I love the team logo on the front of the cards!), and his name is in the blue box at the bottom of that familiar wood border.
Parrish was nicknamed “Big Wheel”. Fantastic Nickname! He was a strong defensive catcher who could also hit the ball. He made the All-Star team eight times, won six Silver Slugger awards and was a three-time Gold Glove winner. He led the league’s catchers in double plays three times, assists once, caught stealing twice and caught stealing percentage twice. On the offensive end, he had six seasons of 20 plus home runs and had 114 RBIs in 1983. He was a member of the Detroit Tigers 1984 World Series Championship. The team was managed by Sparky Anderson (who I mentioned earlier with Dave Concepción) and included Kirk Gibson, Alan Trammell, Chet Lemon, Lou Whitaker, Darrell Evans and pitcher Jack Morris.
After bouncing around a bit his last few seasons, Parrish played his final game in 1995. He had a career .252 batting average with 1,782 hits, 305 doubles, 324 home runs, 1,070 RBIs and a .991 lifetime fielding percentage.
Now 69 years old, Parrish has been involved in coaching and managing and is a special assistant in the Tigers organization.
Number 6:
“The Perfect Storm”, Carl Crawford played leftfield for fifteen years from 2002 to 2016, most notably with the Tampa Bay Rays (2002-2010). He also played with the Boston Red Sox (2011-2012) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (2013-2016). He had a career WAR of 39.2 and wore uniform number 13 for ten seasons.
Crawford was a speedy player. The four-time All-Star led the league in stolen bases and triples four times each. He had over 40 stolen bases in seven seasons, eclipsing 50 four times and had 60 stolen bases in 2009. He batted over .300 in six seasons and won both a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger award in 2010.
He finished his career with a lifetime .290 batting average, 1,931 hits, 989 runs, 309 doubles, 123 tiples, 136 home runs, 766 RBIs and is 43rd all-time with 480 stolen bases.
Crawford is a member of the Tampa Bay Rays Hall of Fame.
He is currently the CEO of record label 1501 Certified Entertainment who signed then newcomer Megan Thee Stallion in 2018.
Number 7:
Although he has a lower career WAR then most of the players I’ve chosen in this series (27.7), “Billy the Kid” deserves a spot on this list. He is also the first relief pitcher I’ve featured. Billy Wagner was an elite closer who played sixteen seasons from 1995 to 2010. From 1995 to 2003 he played for the Houston Astros until he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies (2004-2005). He then played for the New York Mets (2006-2009), the Reds Sox (2009) and the Atlanta Braves (2010). He wore uniform number 13 for his entire career.
The left-handed closer was an All-Star seven times. He won the Rolaids Relief Man Award in 1999.
Wagner is 8th all-time with 422 saves. He pitched for 903 innings and had 47 wins. His lifetime ERA is 2.31, with 1,198 strikeouts and .998 WHIP. Among pitchers with at least 800 innings, he has the highest k/9 (11.9) and strikeout rate (33.2 %) and only a .187 average against him.
Wagner is a member of the Houston Astros Hall of Fame, and they retired his uniform number 13 in 2025.
Wagner was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025.
Final Score:
This was the first time I’ve dipped below the 40 career WAR threshold since my first two posts (00 and 0), but it was well worth it, especially since I got to feature Parrish. There were a few players who I could have put on this list ahead of Wagner, but the Hall of Fame closer deserved a place.
A few great players wore uniform number 13 for short periods of time. Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente (95 WAR, 1955/Pirates), Pitcher Zack Greinke (77.4 WAR, 2011-2012/Brewers), pitcher David Cone (62.3 WAR, 1986/Royals) and current Atlanta Brave Matt Olsen (39.7 WAR, Athletics/2016).
Infielder Hanley Ramírez wore uniform number 13 for eight seasons. He was the ROY in 2006 and was a 3-time All-Star who played fifteen seasons with a career WAR of 38.3. Nine-time All-Star and current Kansas City Royals great Salvador Perez wore 13 for his entire fourteen-year career thus far. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention John Valentin who wore uniform number 13 from 1992-2001 while with the Boston Red Sox and has a career WAR of 32.5.
As always, I could go on all day. If I missed someone that you like feel free to give them a shoutout in the comments. Thanks for reading and please hit the subscribe. Stay tuned for uniform number 14!
Sources:
https://www.baseball-almanac.com/
https://www.baseball-reference.com/
Jaffe, Jay (December 19, 2017). “Billy Wagner’s dominance gives him a surprisingly strong Hall of Fame case”. Sports Illustrated.
Rodriguez makes history Ninth-inning home run becomes first replay 9/4/2008 The Spokesman Review
https://www.sabr.org
Shout out to all the cool cards and creative commons for my pictures! Thanks Topps and Fleer and Donruss and Upper Deck and all the rest.
** Originally published on my blog weeklywindup.com **
Really loved this deep dive into #13. The superstition angle is fascinating when you look at how few players actually wore it compared to other numbers. A-Rod's omission from the Hall despite being 16th in career WAR is one of those situatinos where stats and ethics collide in a way baseball still hasn't fully worked out. Grew up watching Parrish too, and that 1987 Topps card absolutley nails the nostalgia factor. The whole Big Wheel thing was peak 80s baseball nicknames.