23 days remain until Athletics Opening Day at the Toronto Blue Jays on March 27, 2026. With Las Vegas on the horizon, this daily countdown tracks the best A’s players by jersey number.
Today, March 4, 2026, the number is 23.
David Justice, No. 23
David Justice earns the No. 23 spot because this jersey number is full of short stays, and he brings the strongest total career résumé to the list. First, he wins the series tiebreaker, career WAR, by the thinnest possible margin: 40.6 to Virgil Trucks’ 40.5. More importantly, Justice’s value comes from impact offense and sustained star-level production, not a brief cameo or a narrow role.
Justice doesn’t just “edge” this group on a spreadsheet. Instead, he separates himself with a complete offensive profile: a .279 career average, a .378 on-base percentage, 305 home runs, 1,017 RBIs, and a 129 OPS+ across 14 seasons. In other words, he hit like a lineup anchor for a long time, and that kind of career matters most when a number lacks a single long-tenured A’s icon.
Why Justice gets No. 23
Justice gets No. 23 because he combines peak seasons, awards, and October proof in a way the rest of the list cannot match. For example, he won the 1990 NL Rookie of the Year, made three All-Star teams, and helped win two World Series titles. In addition, he delivered MVP-caliber years in his prime, including 1993 (40 home runs, 120 RBIs) and a monster 1997 season with Cleveland, when he hit .329 with a 1.013 OPS.
Just as importantly, Justice brings postseason credibility that fits a “best by number” argument. He won ALCS MVP honors in 2000, and he played deep into October with multiple clubs. So, when you compare a number filled with one- and two-year stops, Justice’s mix of top-end production and big-stage moments makes the pick hold up beyond the decimal point.
Career start and background
Justice was born April 14, 1966, in Cincinnati. He played at Thomas More University, and he debuted in the majors on May 24, 1989.
- Other notable No. 23s
- Virgil Trucks, 1957–1958
- Jurickson Profar, 2019
- Jermaine Dye, 2001–2004
- Shea Langeliers, 2022–2025
Career check
No. 23 has plenty of recognizable names, yet very few players truly “own” it in an A’s context. Because the list is crowded, the clean separator becomes career weight plus star-level proof. Justice checks both boxes: he leads the number in career WAR, he produced a 305-homer career with a 129 OPS+, and he backed it up with major awards and postseason hardware.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
