How I see it as a Yankee fan

[Halldan1]

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Post writers rank the top Yankees in history
By Post Staff Report


How I would rank them

1 Babe Ruth
2 Lou Gehrig
3A Mickey Mantle
3B Joe DiMaggio
5 Yogi Berra
6 Mariano Rivera
7 Derek Jeter
8 Whitey Ford
9 Reggie Jackson
10 Alex Rodriguez

 

[shu2x79]

Can’t put Arod in top ten.

 

[hallgrad80]

Can’t put Arod in top ten.

Me either. Interesting that the top five , all of which I agree with played in the era from the 30’s to the end of the 60’s .

 

[lr591902]

Would not include Arod nor Reggie. I would use Thurman Munson and Tony Lazzeri.

 

[Johnny Biggs]

How about a “as I see it” BE fan??

 

[hallgrad80]

If managers were included you would have to add Casey to the list.

 

[Section112]

Arod in the top ten is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. How about Guidry for that spot?

 

[JIMSOULS]

Thurman Munson. During the years when they were both active and in their prime, no one thought Fisk was better than Munson. Fisk is in the Hall of Fame. Man on third, one out in the mid-70's. Munson is the guy I would want at the plate. Not the guy on the Yankees. The guy in MLB. Don't let Reggie's Mr. October reputation overshadow Thurman's greatness. As a Dodger fan in that era, Munson is the Yankee I would want on my side if I could choose just one.

 

[Johnny Biggs]

I’d have Bill Dickey #9 and agree no short timers (Reggie, ARod). Tony Lazzeri #10.

 

[Halldan1]

Alex Rodriquez played 12 years for the Yankees. How is that a short timer?

Many hated him and understandably so. And sure he like so many in his era used PEDS and if for that reason you don't want to include him that is also understandable. But anyone denying his ability is foolish. He was, just like Barry Bonds, an all time great. It's just the path he took to that greatness that is the issue. Otherwise, he would be much, much higher on the list.

 

[cernjSHU]

What about Mattingly? If you are talking entire career then I understand ARod. However, as a Yankee, Martingly over ARod.

 

[SHUSource]

A-Rod actually only played one less season for the Yankees than Joe DiMaggio did.

 

[Halldan1]

What about Mattingly? If you are talking entire career then I understand ARod. However, as a Yankee, Martingly over ARod.

He would be a very good choice near the bottom of the list. Remember, this is subjective and the Yankees had a ridicules amount of great players.

Hell, A HOF player like David Winfield isn't even mentioned on anyone's list.

 

[SHUSource]

I'd rank them this way:

1 Babe Ruth
2 Lou Gehrig
3 Joe DiMaggio
4 Mickey Mantle
5 Yogi Berra
6 Whitey Ford
7 Derek Jeter
8 Ron Guidry
9 Mariano Rivera
10 Bill Dickey

Had Thurman Munson's life not been cut short, he had a real shot to get here, too, but I can't have him at the expense of Dickey, who hit .313.

 

[cernjSHU]

He would be a very good choice near the bottom of the list. Remember, this is subjective and the Yankees had a ridicules amount of great players.

Hell, A HOF player like David Winfield isn't even mentioned on anyone's list.

My pet peeve is Dave Winfield. The guy would hit two HR in a 10-0 blowout. But will strike out when all you needed was a hit. No doubt talented but not what I would call a clutch player. 1-21 in WS in. 1981. He is just one of those guys who played a long time. But if you went down his career maybe three great years. He was essentially a .275 25hr 90 RBI guy. Good but not Hall of Fame Worthy.

 

[shu2x79]

It was the disgusting way Arod left, even going so far as bringing lawsuits, before finally admitting guilt. That tarnish is hard to erase.

 

[Halldan1]

My pet peeve is Dave Winfield. The guy would hit two HR in a 10-0 blowout. But will strike out when all you needed was a hit. No doubt talented but not what I would call a clutch player. 1-21 in WS in. 1981. He is just one of those guys who played a long time. But if you went down his career maybe three great years. He was essentially a .275 25hr 90 RBI guy. Good but not Hall of Fame Worthy.

He is far better than you are giving him credit for. Winfield is in the HOF for a reason. And add to his offensive stats below the fact that he was a great defensive player, as well as having one of the best arms in the game.

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=winfida01

 

[Johnny Biggs]

I obviously didn’t look anything up and was wrong to lump ARod in with Reggie who most certainly was a short timer. And, no one mentioned a lack of talent regarding ARod.

 

[HALL85]

Ranking depends on your criteria as well. Is it purely stats or is it the impact they have on the team?

 

[cernjSHU]

He is far better than you are giving him credit for. Winfield is in the HOF for a reason. And add to his offensive stats below the fact that he was a great defensive player, as well as having one of the best arms in the game.

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=winfida01

He batted over .300 four years. Hit 30 or more HRs only three years. This was for a power hitter ! Never had a 200 hit season. Had 8 years of 100 RBI.

Mattingly. MVP, 6 seasons over .300, two 200 hit seasons. 3 seasons with 30 or more HR, 5 seasons 100 RBI.

Not even close who was a better player and a better Yankee.

 

[halltheway]

I believe, Steinbrenner gave Dave Winfield the FIRST major long term contract for 10 yrs.

 

[HALL85]

1 Babe Ruth
2 Lou Gehrig
3 Joe DiMaggio
4 Mickey Mantle
5 Yogi Berra
6 Mariano Rivera
7 Derek Jeter
8 Whitey Ford
9 Don Mattingly
10 Thurman Munson

Next five
11 Reggie Jackson
12 Bill Dickey
13 Ron Guidry
14 Elston Howard
15 Red Ruffing

 

[Section112]

1 Babe Ruth
2 Lou Gehrig
3 Joe DiMaggio
4 Mickey Mantle
5 Yogi Berra
6 Mariano Rivera
7 Derek Jeter
8 Whitey Ford
9 Don Mattingly
10 Thurman Munson

Next five
11 Reggie Jackson
12 Bill Dickey
13 Ron Guidry
14 Elston Howard
14 Alex Rodriquez

I like that list. Bill Dickey should move up to 9th or 10th IMO- he is on the top 10 Yankee hitters lists in batting average 6th (.313) 9th in hits (1969), 8th in RBIs (1209), 10th in doubles (343). Pretty impressive.

Red Ruffing could easily be the 3rd best pitcher the Yanks had (I loved Guidry) with second in wins (231), 1st in complete games (261), second in shutouts (40), 7th in games (426), second in innings behind Whitey at 3168, 5th in strikeouts at 1526. He pitched when starters would pitch most of the game but still pretty impressive stats. Probably does not put him on the top 10 list but top 20 possibly.

I really like the Elston Howard mention - he was really good just followed Yogi which is a tough act to follow.

For the ARod folks, he is only on two top 10 Yankee hitting lists and that included tenth in runs (1012), sixth in HRs (351). So no he does not deserve to be in the Top 10 list at all even though I could not stand him and am even more pissed that he is now defiling Jlo - lol.

 

[HALL85]

I like that list. Bill Dickey should move up to 9th or 10th IMO- he is on the top 10 Yankee hitters lists in batting average 6th (.313) 9th in hits (1969), 8th in RBIs (1209), 10th in doubles (343). Pretty impressive.

Red Ruffing could easily be the 3rd best pitcher the Yanks had (I loved Guidry) with second in wins (231), 1st in complete games (261), second in shutouts (40), 7th in games (426), second in innings behind Whitey at 3168, 5th in strikeouts at 1526. He pitched when starters would pitch most of the game but still pretty impressive stats. Probably does not put him on the top 10 list but top 20 possibly.

I really like the Elston Howard mention - he was really good just followed Yogi which is a tough act to follow.

For the ARod folks, he is only on two top 10 Yankee hitting lists and that included tenth in runs (1012), sixth in HRs (351). So no he does not deserve to be in the Top 10 list at all even though I could not stand him and am even more pissed that he is now defiling Jlo - lol.

Good catch on Ruffing. I missed that one but amended my list...see ya A-Rod

 

[Halldan1]

He batted over .300 four years. Hit 30 or more HRs only three years. This was for a power hitter ! Never had a 200 hit season. Had 8 years of 100 RBI.

Mattingly. MVP, 6 seasons over .300, two 200 hit seasons. 3 seasons with 30 or more HR, 5 seasons 100 RBI.

Not even close who was a better player and a better Yankee.

Mattingly for a short time before his injury was one of the best if not the best player in the American League. Problem was because of back issues he couldn't sustain his play. That's why Winfield is in the HOF and Mattingly is not.

The Hit Man was by far my favorite player during that era so I don't speak through bias when I say Winfield clearly was the better player over his career, which lasted until he was 44 years old. That diluted some of his average stats while adding to his totals.

Now if you want to just keep it to just Yankee years then you have a good argument and I tend to agree.

 

[JIMSOULS]

Winfield knocked in 100 runs eight times, had two other seasons with 97 and one with 92. After missing some time in his first Yankee season, he had RBI seasons of 106, 116, 100, 114, 104, 97 and 107. That's six seasons with 100 RBI as a Yankee to Mattingly's five. As a Yankee, Winfield was .356/.495/.851/134+. Mattingly was .358/.471/.829/127+

More on Winfield's eight Yankee seasons: eight all-star games, five Silver Sluggers, five Gold Gloves, four top 10 MVP finishes (six top 12).

Mattingly's entire Yankee career: six all-star games, three Silver Sluggers, nine Gold Gloves, four Top 10 MVP finishes (next highest was 15).

Winfield was a lot better as a Yankee than some give him credit for. They got their money's worth.

 

[Halldan1]

And as good as their offensive stats were both were as good as any players in the league at their position with the glove.

 

[JIMSOULS]

And as good as their offensive stats were both were as good as any players in the league at their position with the glove.

Dan, How do you assess Rickey Henderson's Yankee tenure? I was at a game where he jogged after a ball that Rangers' catcher Mike Stanley legged out for a triple. Still with a .395 on-base-percentage as a Yankee, 512 runs scored in 596 games.

 

[Section112]

Now if you want to just keep it to just Yankee years then you have a good argument and I tend to agree.

From your first post I have read the list as "just the Yankee years" for any of these players. If its a Yankee list then it has to be read that way IMO and judged on just the Yankee years. I could care less what Arod did in Seattle and Texas for instance.

 

[lr591902]

1 Babe Ruth
2 Lou Gehrig
3 Joe DiMaggio
4 Mickey Mantle
5 Yogi Berra
6 Mariano Rivera
7 Derek Jeter
8 Whitey Ford
9 Don Mattingly
10 Thurman Munson

Next five
11 Reggie Jackson
12 Bill Dickey
13 Ron Guidry
14 Elston Howard
14 Red Ruffing

Look up his stats hard to leave Tony Lazzeri off the top 15

 

[Halldan1]

From your first post I have read the list as "just the Yankee years" for any of these players. If its a Yankee list then it has to be read that way IMO and judged on just the Yankee years. I could care less what Arod did in Seattle and Texas for instance.

Not sure what your point is as to what my posts have entailed. I made a top 10 list of Yankee players. It did not include Winfield or Mattingly.

I eventually brought up the subject of their careers in discussing their impact on the game in response to another post.

 

[Halldan1]

Dan, How do you assess Rickey Henderson's Yankee tenure? I was at a game where he jogged after a ball that Rangers' catcher Mike Stanley legged out for a triple. Still with a .395 on-base-percentage as a Yankee, 512 runs scored in 596 games.

Tremendous physical talent. Especially when he was 100% focused. But he played on so many different teams and really not enough with just the Yankees to be considered on my list as an all time great New Yorker.

 

[Section112]

I was responding to your post to cernj where you said "Now if you want to just keep it to just Yankee years then you have a good argument and I tend to agree." It lead me to believe that your list was not "Yankees only" but it appears it was. Sorry I misunderstood. I know you are a diehard Yankee fan. I still can't believe you put Arod on the top ten list though and as a result I may have to ask to see your Yankee credentials in the future - lol

 

[JIMSOULS]

Tremendous physical talent. Especially when he was 100% focused. But he played on so many different teams and really not enough with just the Yankees to be considered on my list as an all time great New Yorker.

I didn't mean as an all-time Yankee, just his Yankee years in general. The lack of pitching canceled out those three guys, didn't it?

 

[JIMSOULS]

Not sure if Top 15, but an underrated Yankee was Bob Meusel. All those doubles and triples. Perhaps overshadowed just a tad.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/meusebo01.shtml

 

[Halldan1]

I was responding to your post to cernj where you said "Now if you want to just keep it to just Yankee years then you have a good argument and I tend to agree." It lead me to believe that your list was not "Yankees only" but it appears it was. Sorry I misunderstood. I know you are a diehard Yankee fan. I still can't believe you put Arod on the top ten list though and as a result I may have to ask to see your Yankee credentials in the future - lol

ARod is a tough call. Similar to the question about Barry Bonds' HOF credentials.

Rodriquez had top 5 ability, maybe better. But his issues as I noted made him a questionable choice on the list. I split the difference and put him last at #10. But I certainly understand why many would disagree.

 

[Section112]

ARod is a tough call. Similar to the question about Barry Bonds' HOF credentials.

Rodriquez has top 5 ability, maybe better. But his issues as I noted made him a questionable choice on the list. I split the difference and put him last at #10. But I certainly understand why many would disagree.

He could have top 2 or 3 ability frankly in his prime. I think Yankee fans give him credit for finally helping us win a championship but he choked in other big Yankee games before that. I think he had a lot of injury issues with his hips in his last 5 or 6 years as a Yankee and that curtailed his production.

 

[JIMSOULS]

ARod was more of a team guy than he's given credit for. He was the best shortstop the Yankees ever had, yet agreed to play third base for the good of the team. His HOF credentials should not be questioned. Nor should McGwire's or Bonds'. The powers-that-be in baseball approved of what was going on in the so-called steroids era. Owners happily counted the money made for them by these players.

 

[Section112]

ARod was more of a team guy than he's given credit for. He was the best shortstop the Yankees ever had, yet agreed to play third base for the good of the team. His HOF credentials should not be questioned. Nor should McGwire's or Bonds'. The powers-that-be in baseball approved of what was going on in the so-called steroids era. Owners happily counted the money made for them by these players.

Arods hips and career benefited greatly from playing third base. If he played shortstop he plays about two less years. He has said himself he had lots of troubles in his last five years. He plays shortstop and its a lot more wear and tear on your legs and hips vs. third base. He also liked the money so not so sure he did it 100% for the good of the team.

His credentials are only questioned because he did it with performance enhancing drugs and even lied about the extent of that. More the league's fault than his frankly because they tolerated it and looked the other way for so long but still he is tarnished. He and Clemons and Bonds and McGuire and Sosa and lots of others tarnished their own careers by using PEDs and didn't have to - they were all elite athletes before but wanted the extra edge. The HOF is an honor and should be for the elite. He will get in eventually with time IMO.

 

[JIMSOULS]

Arods hips and career benefited greatly from playing third base. If he played shortstop he plays about two less years. He has said himself he had lots of troubles in his last five years. He plays shortstop and its a lot more wear and tear on your legs and hips vs. third base. He also liked the money so not so sure he did it 100% for the good of the team.

His credentials are only questioned because he did it with performance enhancing drugs and even lied about the extent of that. More the league's fault than his frankly because they tolerated it and looked the other way for so long but still he is tarnished. He and Clemons and Bonds and McGuire and Sosa and lots of others tarnished their own careers by using PEDs and didn't have to - they were all elite athletes before but wanted the extra edge. The HOF is an honor and should be for the elite. He will get in eventually with time IMO.

Jeter liked the money, too. It is interesting how some players are selectively placed on a pedestal.

Didn't bat corkers also tarnish the sport? Bonds never tested positive for steroids. He should be in.