Not only the best MLB athlete, but the best Professional athlete to ever wear the jersey number 41 is Tom Seaver. Seaver, who spent most of his career with the New York Mets, is generally considered one of the best starting pitchers to ever take to an MLB mound. He began his major league career with the statistics to support his expectation as a pitching phenom. During his rookie season he racked up 16 wins, 170 strikeouts in 251 innings pitched, and a 2.76 ERA to go with 2 shutouts. Not too ...