MLB Number 37s

The journey to find the most substantial Major League Baseball players that wore the number 37 on their uniforms starts by looking at who the Baseball Hall of Fame has in their hallowed halls. Enshrined number ones of professional baseball are:

• Burleigh Grimes
• Lloyd Waner
• Rick Ferrell
• Larry Doby
• Tony Perez
• Dennis Eckersley
• Ryne Sandberg
• Pedro Martinez

Another telling clue to find the best is to see who has the MLB number 37 retired by their respective teams. This list of retired number 35s includes:

• Casey Stengel    Yankees    August 8, 1970
• Casey Stengel    Mets    September 2, 1965

Larry Doby Baseball HOF Slugger

Lawrence Eugene Doby, "Larry" to the world, etched his name in baseball history as both a fearless trailblazer and a talented slugger. Born in 1923, Doby first starred in the Negro Leagues, leading the Newark Eagles to a championship in 1946. In 1947, he became the second African-American player in the Major Leagues, following Jackie Robinson, when he debuted for the Cleveland Indians.

He faced the brunt of racism and hostility, but Doby persevered, batting .270 with 14 home runs in his rookie season. The next year, he hit a team-high 27 home runs and helped the Indians capture the American League pennant. Doby went on to play 13 seasons in the Majors, primarily with Cleveland, showcasing his power with 253 career home runs and finishing with a solid .283 batting average.

Beyond his statistics, Doby's legacy resonates because of his courage and leadership. He paved the way for future generations of Black players, earning induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. After his playing days, Doby served as a scout and executive, further contributing to the game he loved. Larry Doby, the quiet giant, forever stands tall as a symbol of resilience and progress in baseball history.

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Casey Stengel

Born July 30, 1890, in Kansas City, Missouri, was Baseball Hall of Fame Outfielder, Casey Stengel. Stengel reached the major leagues, as an outfielder, for the Brooklyn Dodgers playing for Brooklyn's 1916 National League championship team. Stengel was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1918; however, he enlisted in the Navy that summer, for the remainder of World War I. After returning to baseball, he continued his pay disputes, resulting in trades to the Philadelphia Phillies (in 1919) and to the New York Giants (in 1921). This legend of the game was on the World Series Champions New York Giants in 1921, 22. Stengel also was the manager of the New York Yankees was the won the World Series seven times. He is also famously the New York Mets' first manager.

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Okay, now it is time to put our knowledge to work and pick the greatest players that wore number 37 in MLB history based on performance stats. We do not have all of the players from some of the Negro Leagues in place yet but when we do we will certainly update the list so please excuse us on this. The criteria is simple we pulled stats from Baseball-Reference and Stat-Head on some important numbers. Is the player in the Hall of Fame? What were the Wins After Replacement or the team victories gained or lost after they entered the lineup versus the player they replaced? Where do they rank in the following categories in history: Home Runs, Runs Produced, Strike Outs, ERA. We mash this information up and see how many of the criteria rankings they have and then multiply that number (0-6) times the number of years they wore the particular uniform number we are discussing and then add it to bonus points if in the Hall of Fame and for earning any Gold Glove Awards and/or Cy Young Awards. We call that calculated number our Ranked Formula and use it as a basis of Comparison to give you the Top Fifteen at the uniform number. 

1. Keith Hernandez
2. Ryne Sandberg
3. Kenny Rogers
4. Pedro Martinez
5. Max Scherzer
6. Dennis Eckersley
7. Larry Doby
8. Tony Perez
9. Burleigh Grimes
10. Rick Ferrell
11. Lloyd Waner
12. Tony Oliva
13. Dave Stieb
14. Sixto Lezcano
15. Vic Davalillo

The stats may not be placing this group in order of importance but what it does do is identify the top 25

Here are our stats and findings:

The picture in the banner above is from the Wikipedia Commons photo collection of the Public Domain of the 1933 Goudey baseball card of Lloyd Waner of the Pittsburgh Pirates #164.

Special thanks to Baseball-Reference.com, Stathead.com and the most wonderful book by Larry Lester and Wayne Stivers, The Negro Leagues Book, Volume 2.