MacKenzie Gore started by tempering expectations.
But does he know how many pitchers have worn No. 1 in major league history?
“Four?” he guessed. The answer is six. Gore must not have had posters of Matt Young (1990 Seattle Mariners), Jack Jenkins (1962 Washington Senators) or Ed Gallagher (1932 Boston Red Sox) on the wall in his childhood bedroom.
The other three pitchers: Gore, Luis Patiño (2022 Tampa Bay Rays) and Shun Yamaguchi (2020 Toronto Blue Jays). Gore, a 24-year-old lefty, is the first Nationals pitcher to wear any single-digit number. He’s already the first major league pitcher to wear No. 1 in more than one season. And if his career stays on its current track — key part of Washington’s rebuild, potential front-line starter — he will wear it for a long time.
Gore wore the number when he debuted for the San Diego Padres in April 2022. He had worn 89 at his first big league camp, a typically high digit for a young prospect. In the minors, he wore whatever they gave him. But when he was promoted to the Opening Day roster, Padres General Manager A.J. Preller asked Gore if he wanted No. 1 again.
Preller remembered Gore having it when he scouted him at Whiteville High in North Carolina. San Diego eventually drafted Gore with the third pick in 2017, then dealt him along with CJ Abrams, James Wood, Robert Hassell III, Jarlin Susana and Luke Voit for Juan Soto and Josh Bell last summer. On Tuesday night, Gore will face the Padres for the first time since the trade.
“I do think with my body type the single digit does look a lot better,” said Gore, who enters the week with a 3.69 ERA in 46⅓ innings. “Two numbers look big on me. But other than that, it’s kind of whatever.”
Now for some other notes on who has worn No. 1 as a player:
· Eight Nationals since the team moved to Washington in 2005: Gore (2023), César Hernández (2022), Humberto Arteaga (2021), Wilmer Difo (2015-20), Steve Lombardozzi (2011-13), Nyjer Morgan (2009-10), Willie Harris (2008) and Tyrell Godwin (2005).
· Six future managers: Dave Martinez (Gore’s current skipper), Billy Martin, Andy Green, Jerry Manuel, Rick Renteria and Bobby Valentine.
· Eleven players classified as pinch runners by Baseball Reference, fitting the idea that No. 1 is usually worn by speedy utility men.
· A handful of guys with top-notch names: Kiddo Davis (1932 Philadelphia Phillies), Rabbit Warstler (1933 Boston Red Sox), Granny Hamner (1948 Phillies), Snuffy Stirnweiss (1945-50 New York Yankees) and the other Joe Morgan (1960 Phillies).
Mike Wallace, the Nationals’ clubhouse and equipment manager, is in his 50th year working in baseball. The lowest number he has given to a pitcher was No. 10 for Bob McClure on the 1993 Florida Marlins. He wasn’t responsible for Gore’s No. 1 and instead gave credit to equipment manager Dan Wallin, who initially had Gore as No. 50 last year because of Hernández. But Gore never appeared in a game with No. 50 as he recovered from elbow inflammation. By the time spring rolled around, Hernández was gone and Gore had his pick.
Wallace isn’t against single-digit numbers for pitchers, nor is he against experimentation. While with the Marlins, he once issued No. 09 to catcher Benito Santiago, who didn’t want the 9 blocked by the straps for his chest protector. But before the past few decades, Wallace doesn’t remember pitchers asking for single digits or anything above the 60s. Chad Cordero’s No. 62 for the 2003 Montreal Expos felt like a tipping point.
Now, three pitchers wear No. 0: Adam Ottavino for the New York Mets, Marcus Stroman for the Chicago Cubs and Domingo Germán for the Yankees. Blake Snell, Gore’s former teammate with the Padres, wears No. 4. Righty Alek Manoah wears No. 6 for the Toronto Blue Jays. Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Julio Urías sports No. 7, as does Mariners lefty Marco Gonzales.
And then there’s Gore with No. 1 for the Nationals, maybe hoping it matches his spot in future rotations. Call it the numbers version of letting the kids play.
“To each his own,” said Martinez, who wore No. 1 as an outfielder with the Expos, San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers. “Numbers are just numbers. If you like No. 1, wear No. 1, if you’re a pitcher, a catcher. … I don’t know MacKenzie other than him wearing No. 1. He loves it. It’s good.”