What is the most athletic shirt number?

Craig Kimbrel was officially introduced as a member of the Chicago Cubs on Friday afternoon. The bulk of his introductory press conference was devoted to important press conference activities such as shake hands with the team's president, Theo Epstein, to answer questions about his role in the team's run towards a NL center title.

Part of that work has been devoted to jersey numbers – and that's where things got really interesting:

Craig Kimbrel, new Cubs, is getting closer to the choice of uniform number 24: "This looks like an athletic number."

– Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) June 7, 2019

Kimbrel has worn 46 throughout his career at the MLB, but on the north side, this number currently belongs to Pedro Strop, the new companion of Bullpen and fashion icon. Kimbrel therefore decided to change the game by opting for number 24 – arguably the most important figure in baseball history, from Mays to Griffey.

But Kimbrel did not land on his new number because of his story or what the idol of his childhood was wearing. He chose it for a totally different reason. You know how some numbers just look athletic? Like, you see the back of the uniform, and you just think "oh, yeah, this person is a baseball player with whom I do not want to play with"?

That kind of effect is what Kimbrel wanted. Did he choose the more sports number at baseball in number 24, though? Or should he have looked elsewhere? First, let's tighten the field a bit.

Any number greater than 35: too high

There is just something irrefutably silly and non-threatening about it, like the kid who is put in the right field because that's where the ball goes the least often. The No. 66 Yasiel Puig is what brings us closer, because its repetition means that it does not attract attention to its high number and that 66 is objectively made of metal. The question is who bears the number 99: Squints or Aaron Judge?

(Why 35 years old, ask yourself? There must be a limit at one point, and once you reach the mid-30s, you come across respectfully muscular numbers. Also, you try to tell Frank Thomas that 6 feet 5 inches are good: it does not do that well.)

In the 10s: too soft

Just like the Big Hurt 35, the good two-digit number is bulky without being awkward. A two-digit number starting with a 1 has died on arrival; there is no opening statement more than a straight line, not to mention that it gives an impression of imbalance.

Zero or double zero: absolutely not

In all respect for Adam Ottavino, there is nothing that looks like an athlete about a hole in the back. A cool statement, but cool in a metaphysical way, not in a style "please, do not make me face this launcher".

So, that leaves us with the following: 1-9, 20-35. Eliminate a little more – really, does anyone go to the carpet for No. 29? – and we are at the cream of the crop. So what is the answer? Do not think too much of this:

Even the best two-digit numbers are too busy, a little too far from the territory chosen last in Little League. And while numbers starting with 1 are asymmetrical, the number alone is perfect: elegant, clean, imposing, like a lightning crackling in the back. You're number 1 and you feel like you're about to hit three homers and throw seven scoreless innings at the same time.

You can quibble and say that it's a number almost exclusively associated with intermediate players, but think about it: Shortstop has always been the prestige position – the star of your Little League team, the place that demanded the most athletics and garnered the most glory. . So, Craig, if you start badly in your new house, remember: the number 1 is currently unoccupied.