Miami Marlins Best To Wear Jersey Number Series No. 23: Charles Johnson

When it comes to the best to wear No. 23 for the Miami Marlins, it's been a downhill journey.

After a promising start, it's been pretty thin in terms of standout production. Thirteen players have worn the jersey, and current Marlin Max Meyer's 0.0 career WAR is not anywhere as close to the bottom as of that list as it should be. There have been a couple exciting one season standouts, but for anyone that spent more than a year in South Florida, there's a massive gap between top and bottom.

Though that probably shouldn't come as much of a surprise, given the high bar that was set by the first Miami Marlins player to ever wear the No. 23 jersey, Charles Johnson.

This is a first for Marlin Maniac's Best To Wear The Miami Marlins Jersey Number Series- the first Miami Marlins player to ever wear said number, and also the first player ever drafted, period, by the organization. No one wore it during the inaugural 1993 season, but all that happened after was Johnson bursting onto the scene as a defensive wizard. After a four game cup of coffee in 1994, Johnson racked up one more franchise first with the Marlins first ever Gold Glove award in 1995. Then, just for good measure, he won the award the next three seasons. Technically, that 1998 one counts for the Dodgers, leaving Johnson tied for the Marlins all-time lead for Gold Gloves won with the organization.

Be it three Gold Gloves or four though, there's no denying the fact Johnson remains one of the best defensive players in franchise history.

As for best catcher in team history? That's tougher to argue. Johnson did set a ridiculously high standard with all those Gold Gloves in a Marlins uniform, but 2003 hero Ivan Rodriguez won a staggering thirteen during his Hall of Fame career. Speaking of Hall of Famers, Mike Piazza did technically play here for that week back in 1998, coming over in a trade that included Johnson. J.T. Realmuto, no defensive slouch himself, has a slight edge in Marlins career WAR in addition to having had a much more successful MLB career. Even Benito Santiago would probably get the nod over Johnson in that respect.

On the other hand...none of those guys caught the first three no-hitters in Marlins history. Only Pudge can join Johnson in saying they won a championship with the Marlins, or any other team for that matter. And only Johnson won Gold for his glove in a Marlins uniform.

As for others to wear No. 23 for Miami? My personal favorite among the honorable mentions would be Chuck Smith, who debuted in the majors with the Marlins as a 30-year old in 2000, and proceeded to have a 2.9 WAR season with a 6-6 record and 3.23 ERA. He even had a complete game that season. Javier Vazquez also had an impressive solo stint with Miami, going 13-11 with nearly 200 IP in a 2.8 WAR season in 2011. And fun fact- Vazquez was the last Marlins pitcher to earn a win at the old ballpark.

After those two though, there isn't much to celebrate. Andrew Miller floundered away in the number for a few years after coming over in the Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis trade. Randy Messenger had a good half season, along with two bad ones. The best of the rest probably goes out to Corey Dickerson, who does at least have a postseason homer for the Marlins under his belt. Fingers crossed on Max Meyer making fans fall in love with the number again with a breakout 2026 campaign.

Until that happens though, it's CJ alone at the start, still setting the standard.