top of page
file.jpg
Writer's picturePaul Semendinger

COUNTING DOWN: The Best Yankee At Each Uniform Number (#51)

Updated: Oct 3, 2022

By Paul Semendinger

***

The number is already his, for eternity, I assume.

Bernie Williams.


For now at least, until #52 gets retired for C.C. Sabathia, #51 is the highest of the Yankees retired numbers.


And Bernie was one of the great Yankees.


Absolutely and positively.


Bernie ranks in the Top-10 All-Time in Yankees history in the following areas:

  • WAR (position Players) – 10th

  • Offensive WAR – 6th

  • Games Played – 6th

  • At Bats – 4th

  • Plate Appearances – 5th

  • Runs Scored – 6th

  • Hits – 5th

  • Total Bases – 6th

  • Doubles – 3rd

  • Home Runs – 7th

  • Runs Batted In – 7th

  • Walks – 5th

Bernie Williams was a five-time All-Star. He won four Gold Gloves. He was on four World Championship teams.


Bernie Williams was a leader, the center fielder, during one of the great Yankees eras.


In post season play, Williams hit 22 homers and drove home 80 runs.


Yeah, #51 is his.


One of the best. A Yankees legend. And one of my favorite players of all time.


Bernie Williams – the greatest ever to wear #51.


***

The following players also wore #51, but together all combined, they didn’t have the career that Bernie Williams had:


Frank Leja, Jim Coates, Gordie Windhorn, Pete Mikkelsen, Tony Solita, Ron Klimkowski, Terry Whitfield, Larry McCall, Cecilio Guante, and Chuck Cary.


Wow. It isn’t even close.


At all.

***

Most of the background research for this project came from Baseball-Reference.com.

***


Comments


dr sem.png

Start Spreading the News is the place for some of the very best analysis and insight focusing primarily on the New York Yankees.

(Please note that we are not affiliated with the Yankees and that the news, perspectives, and ideas are entirely our own.)

blog+image+2.jpeg

Have a question for the Weekly Mailbag?

Click below or e-mail:

SSTNReaderMail@gmail.com

SSTN is proudly affiliated with Wilson Sporting Goods! Check out our press release here, and support us by using the affiliate links below:

587611.jpg
583250.jpg
Scattering the Ashes.jpeg

"Scattering The Ashes has all the feels. Paul Russell Semendinger's debut novel taps into every emotion. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll reexamine those relationships that give your life meaning." — Don Burke, writer at The New York Post

The Least Among Them.png

"This charming and meticulously researched book will remind you of baseball’s power to change and enrich lives far beyond the diamond."

—Jonathan Eig, New York Times best-selling author of Luckiest Man, Opening Day, and Ali: A Life

From Compton to the Bronx.jpg

"A young man from Compton rises to the highest levels of baseball greatness.

Considered one of the classiest baseball players ever, this is Roy White's story, but it's also the story of a unique period in baseball history when the Yankees fell from grace and regained glory and the country dealt with societal changes in many ways."

foco-yankees.png

We are excited to announce our new sponsorship with FOCO for all officially licensed goods!

FOCO Featured:
carlos rodon bobblehead foco.jpg
bottom of page