Jace Peterson makes Oakland A’s first in over a decade

Jace Peterson is set to do something no one on the Oakland A’s has done in over a decade.

The A’s have announced jersey numbers for several of their newer players. Peterson will be wearing number 6, a number that has not been worn since Travis Buck in 2010.

Jace Peterson hoping for better history with new uniform number

The number 6 has been worn by 54 players in A’s history, most notably by Al Simmons in 1940 during his second of three stints with the team. Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog also wore the number with the A’s in 1960 before being traded to the Orioles. Sal Bando is the most notable player to wear the number, making four All Star Games while winning three championships and finishing in the top four of the AL MVP vote three times.

Aside from Bando, it is also a number that has not been used by one player for any real length of time. Only seven other players wore the number 6 for at least three seasons, with Mitchell Page having the second longest tenure in that number.

While Buck wore the number 6 from 2007 through 2010, he did not have much success with it. His tenure with the A’s lasted 170 games over those four years as he produced a .250/.330/.424 batting line with 18 homers and 36 doubles. Most of that production came in his rookie campaign in 2007 as he spent those final three years with the A’s battling injuries and bouncing between Triple-A and the majors.

For Peterson, it is a chance to bring some life back to what had been a somewhat illustrious number for the organization. While he is never going to be someone on the same level as Bando or Simmons, Peterson is a solid player in his own right. If that continues, he could give that number a boost back into circulation once more.

Jace Peterson is set to do something that has not happened since 2010. He will be the first player since Travis Buck to wear number 6.