Constable: Who wore No. 17 better? Bryant or Grace?

Throughout the 1990s, Mark Grace wore No. 17 as he played first base for the Chicago Cubs. The blue lettering on his jersey brought out the blue in his eyes, and Grace became so popular that you still spot fans wearing his No. 17 shirt around Wrigley Field. But current blue-eyed slugger Kris Bryant also wears 17. Bryant snags line drives at third base, makes catches against the left-field ivy and lofts homers over that wall, and his No. 17 is the best-selling jersey in the National League.

Who wore it better?

Grace, a three-time All Star in his 13 years with the Cubs, had more hits than anyone else in baseball during the 1990s. He won four Gold Gloves, led the league in doubles in 1995, was the emergency pitcher who gave up David Ross' first career homer, and dated Janine Turner of TV's “Northern Exposure” back when that was a big deal. After winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award last season, Bryant, a friend of “Grandpa Rossy,” is poised to lead the league in runs scored and home runs, win this year's Most Valuable Player Award, and marry his longtime girlfriend, Jessica Delp. Bryant wears 17 better.

The choice is tougher with No. 34. Who wears it better - current occupant Jon Lester or Kerry Wood?

The 1998 National League Rookie of the Year, Wood tied a Major League record by striking out 20 batters in just his fifth start. Injuries plagued his career, and Wood never won more than 14 games in a season, finishing with a lifetime Cubs record of 80 wins, 68 losses and 35 saves. Jon Lester is 26-16 in almost two seasons as a Cub, earning All-Star status this season. He's in the running for the 2016 Cy Young Award as the league's best pitcher.

Wood has the advantage now, but if Lester piles up some postseason victories this year en route to a World Series championship, he gets the nod for the No. 34 gold, with Wood taking the silver and the bronze going to Steve Trout, a key Cubs pitcher in the 1980s.

Shortstop Addison Russell wears No. 27 better than any other Cub has. An All-Star in his second season, Russell is a top fielder who should hit about 25 homers and drive in 100 runs this year. The second-best No. 27 is relief ace Phil “The Vulture” Regan, who was the closer on the 1969 team. After that, the No. 27 drop-off is steep, with Tarzan Joe Wallis and Champ Summers as Cubs who made a splash in the 1970s and quickly faded.

Anthony Rizzo wears No. 44 very well, but older fans might note that 1945 MVP Phil Cavarretta wore No. 44 all the way to the World Series. Jake Arrieta and his 2015 Cy Young Award nail down the better No. 49 jersey, ahead of the hot-and-cold reliever Carlos Marmol and 1969 starter Bill Hands. You can make a case for Ben Zobrist for wearing No. 18 best, but other nominees include batting champ Bill Madlock, outfielder Moises Alou, 2008 Rookie of the Year Geovany Soto and, my favorite No. 18, second baseman Glenn Beckert.

In the race for the best No. 24, Dexter Fowler beats Jerry Morales, a productive outfield from 1974 to '83, and flamboyant 1972 first-baseman Pete LaCock, who was a Grace who couldn't hit. But some could push for Lou Brock, who wore that number from 1961 until 1964, before the Cubs traded Brock to St. Louis, where he enjoyed his Hall of Fame career.

Jason Heyward will need a monster postseason in his No. 22 jersey to make fans forget Mark Prior or Bill Buckner. The road is tougher for No. 9, Javier Baez, who would have to outplay every Cubs catcher from Gabby Hartnett to Randy Hundley, as well as Hall of Fame infielder Rogers Hornsby and outfielder Hank Sauer, the 1952 MVP.

No. 12 honors might eventually end up with injured slugger Kyle Schwarber, but Alfonso Soriano and Shawon Dunston compete for that title for now. While there might be some argument from former player and current CSN Cubs analyst Todd Hollandsworth, starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks wears No. 28 well enough to make people forget Hollandsworth, former All-Star Jim Hickman and closers Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams and Randy Myers.

But there is no debate about one jersey: Outfielder Jorge Soler is the greatest (and first) No. 68 in Cubs history.