Willie Crawford was the only player in Oakland A's history to wear number 99, doing so in 1977. He is set to have some company in 2023.
According to Martin Gallegos from MLB.com, Jesus Aguilar is set to wear number 99 for the A's this season. He had first worn that number last season during his time with the Marlins and Orioles.
Jesus Aguilar hoping for better luck with 99 for Oakland A's
Aguilar did not exactly perform well in his first season with that number. He posted a .235/.281/.379 batting line in his 507 plate appearances between the Marlins and Orioles, hitting 16 homers and 19 doubles. That was not the type of production that either team had hoped for based on his past performance.
One can understand why both the A's and Aguilar would anticipate that he will rebound in 2023. It was not that long ago that he was an All Star, slugging 35 homers in 2018 as he earned MVP votes. While he has not reached that plateau since, Aguilar has still be a viable power threat in the lineup.
He would not have to do much to be the best A's player to wear that number. Crawford was a solid player but was in the midst of his final major league season when he came to Oakland. He had posted a .184/.277/.272 batting line with one homer and seven doubles in his 157 plate appearances in 1977. The A's are certainly hoping for more than that from Aguilar this year.
Jesus Aguilar is set to wear number 99 for the Oakland A's in 2023, becoming the second player to do so in franchise history. Hopefully, his stint goes better than the previous one.