Above: Eric Davis attended Fremont High in Los Angeles, the most prolific school when it comes to producing MLB players. Davis played 18 years in the big leagues, retiring with 282 home runs.When it comes to producing Major League Baseball talent, California high schools have a tremendous track record. Actually, make that dominant.
In a list of the top 10 high schools that have produced players who have played at the Major League level, 10 of the 11 schools are from California (there was a five-way tie for No. 7). The only non-California entry is Sarasota (Fla.), which comes in at No. 4 with 15 major leaguers.
Fremont (Los Angeles) tops the list with 25, including Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr (pictured below). Next is Long Beach Poly with 19, including one of the Major League's all-time great hitters in Tony Gwynn.
Sacramento is No. 3 with 16, while Sarasota is tied with Compton and Berkeley at No. 4 with 15 players. The five schools tied for seventh with 14 players each are Lakewood, Oakland Tech, Bellarmine Prep, Woodrow Wilson (Long Beach) and Washington (Los Angeles).
High schools with the most all-time Major League players
1. Fremont (Los Angeles) – 25
Fern Bell, Merle Combs, Clint Conatser, Dick Conger, Willie Crawford, Brock Davis, Eric Davis, Bobby Doerr, Dan Ford, Al Grunwald, Doug Hansen, Candy Harris, George Hendrick, Nippy Jones, Chet Lemon, James Lofton, Gene Mauch, Leon McFadden, Catfish Metkovich, Glenn Mickens, Hal Spindel, Bud Stewart, Dwight Taylor, Bobby Tolan, Bob Watson.
2. Long Beach Poly (Calif.) – 19
Milton Bradley, Rocky Bridges, Ollie Brown, Oscar Brown, Chris Gwynn, Tony Gwynn, Brian McCall, James McDonald, Randy Moffitt, Willie Norwood, Nikco Riesgo, Jack Rothrock, Jack Salveson, Tommie Sisk, Vern Stephens, Chuck Stevens, Bobby Sturgeon, Zeb Terry, Chase Utley.
3. Sacramento (Calif.) - 16
Cuno Barragan, Bruce Edwards, Joe Gedeon, Tommy Glaviano, Stan Hack, Drungo Hazewood, Myril Hoag, Mike Howard, Gordon Jones, Alex Kampouris, William McLaughlin, Earl McNeely, Jimmy O'Connell, Jerry Royster, Neill Sheridan, Matt Walbeck.
4. Sarasota (Fla.) – 15
Joe Ayrault, Greg Blosser, Doug Corbett, Ian Desmond, Adrian Garrett, Wayne Garrett, Scooter Genett, John-Ford Griffin, James Houser, Casey Kelly, Derek Lilliquist, Troy Mattes, Jason Miller, Bobby Seay, Joey Terdoslavich, Hugh Yancy.
4. Compton (Calif.) - 15
Bennie Daniels, Dick Davis, Bobby Henrich, Rex Johnston, Odell Jones, Jim Marshall, Carl Nichols, Bob Pate, Don Rowe, Paul Schaal, Dave Skaugstad, Duke Snider, Reggie Walton, Gary Ward, Bob Watkins.
4. Berkeley (Calif.) - 15
Shooty Babitt, Rich Barry, Glenn Burke, Merv Connors, Jack Faszholtz, Augie Galan, Hal Gilson, Chick Hafey, Ruppert Jones, Ray Lamanno, Billy Martin, Jeff Ransom, Earl Robinson, Claudell Washington, Jason Young.
7. Lakewood (Calif.) – 14
Mike Carp, Larry Casian, Floyd Chiffer, Travis D'Arnaud, Bruce Ellingsen, Mike Fitzgerald, John Flannery, Rod Gaspar, Chris Gomez, Craig Grebeck, Dave Marshall, Tony Muser, Jim Strickland, Damion Easley.
7. Bellarmine (San Jose, Calif.) - 14
Joe Albanese, Justin Baughman, Wayne Belardi, Pat Burrell, Bill Connors, Kevin Frandsen, Bob Gallagher, Ed Giovanola, Greg Gohr, Tommy Medica
(pictured, right), Marv Owen, Jim Small, Eric Thames, Jim Wilhelm.
7. Woodrow Wilson (Long Beach, Calif.) - 14
Bob Bailey, Eddie Bockman, Jeff Burroughs, Sean Burroughs, Steve Connelly, Casey Cox, Ed Crosby, Bud Daley, Gabe Gonzalez, Jack Graham, Bobby Grich, Aaron Hicks, Bob Lemon, Jim Pagliaroni.
7. Washington (Los Angeles) - 14
Eddie Bressoud, Jim Brideweser, Dale Coogan, Cliff Dapper, Al Lyons, Hersh Lyons, Eddie Malone, Mickey Owen, Roy Partee, Jerry Priddy, John Rabb, Blackie Schwamb, Bryan Stephens, Lou Stringer.
7. Oakland Tech (Calif.) – 14
Linc Blakely, Bernie DeViveiros, Taylor Douthit, Len Gabrielson (1960-70), Len Gabrielson (1939), Joe Gaines, Bud Hafey, Tom Hafey, Rickey Henderson, Jackie Jensen, Cookie Lavagetto, Terrell Lowery, Jay Porter, Les Powers.
Data according to Baseball-Reference and The Baseball Cube
