Brooks Robinson

Hit it toward third base and start regretting your decision. Brooks Robinson made the hot corner look like his personal property, spending his entire major-league career in Baltimore and turning Orioles No. 5 into a defensive warning sign. Sixteen straight Gold Gloves is the kind of number that sounds fake even when you know it isn’t, and his performance in the 1970 World Series became the showcase for everything fans loved about him. Robinson’s problem in this league is obvious: defense doesn’t always scream as loudly as home runs, scoring, or championships. Albert Pujols can overwhelm you with offense. Joe DiMaggio comes wrapped in mythology. Robinson has to win differently. His argument is that owning a number means becoming inseparable from a franchise, a position, and a way of playing. George Brett gives him a fascinating baseball rival on that front. One team. One number. Decades of loyalty. Whose 5 feels more permanent?