Yankee fans - Greatest Yankee ever?

#1
J

JTrainDavis

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#1
Myself and a good buddy of mine, over the course of a conversation about Nomar's legacy, ended up shooting points back and forth about the "Greatest Yankee Ever"...discounting Ruth, of course because personally and statistically it renders the conversation pointless.

#2, #5, #7. All baseball fans can reply, but if you need to google numbers, go away.

I put Dimaggio #1, as my grandfather, a lifelong Yankee fan, said he was the 2nd best player he ever saw (The other prowled the outfield below the Green Monster)

I put #2 slightly ahead of #7 as far as "Greatest Yankee" goes, i guess because he has been there for my entire adult life, and has begrudgingly earned alot of respect from me over the years. Statistically he will never be Mick, but he will have a plaque in Cooperstown that says "Captain of the Yankees".
 
#2
#2
Personally I think it's Mick.

I think his lore and legend is what puts him up there for me.

Joe is a close second, but if Jeter can close with another title or two, you've got to really think about where his legacy really ranks. Especially in today's game.
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#3
#3
Also, as a Yankee fan I really am grateful that Jeter has been such a stable post and the face of the Yankee Organization.

However, you can ask anyone close to the team and they will tell you that he is the Captain, but Mo is the glue.
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#4
#4
As great as Rivera is, I fail to see how a guy who is on the field for under 80 innings a year can be as important to a club as the everyday SS....

JMO
 
#5
#5
JTrainDavis said:
As great as Rivera is, I fail to see how a guy who is on the field for under 80 innings a year can be as important to a club as the everyday SS....

JMO
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In most cases and teams that's the norm. With all the egos and NY problems, Mo is that stable rock.
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#7
#7
JTrainDavis said:
fair enough
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Guys like Mo don't come around very often.

But back to the original topic. I would have loved to seen what Mick's career numbers would have been like if he had been on two healthy knees.
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#8
#8
indeed, or with a healthier lifestlyle...Imagine Willie, Mickey, and the Duke with todays fitness programs and such.
 
#9
#9
JTrainDavis said:
indeed, or with a healthier lifestlyle...Imagine Willie, Mickey, and the Duke with todays fitness programs and such.
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That's true.

3.1 seconds from the box to first base was no joke. Especially when that same guy hits 500' moon shots.
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#10
#10
Or Teddy Ballgame back when athletes were men and not prima donnas, and went to fight, man, to be alive to see the WW2 era guys work in their day
 
#11
#11
JTrainDavis said:
Or Teddy Ballgame back when athletes were men and not prima donnas, and went to fight, man, to be alive to see the WW2 era guys work in their day
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My Grandfather grew up a Yankees fan, hated the Red Sox with a passion and spent a lot of his life in the NY area.

Yet, he spoke more highly of Teddy Ballgame than anyone not named Mantle.

Teddy was a damn player.
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#12
#12
My grandfather remembered going to Yankee Stadium in 1946, (he was a Yankee fan) and Williams hit a home run, the crowd booed, and Ted rounded second with 2 arms up and one finger raised on each hand...

back before the media blew things like that up, he always laughed about it...today it would be a controversy
 
#13
#13
JTrainDavis said:
My grandfather remembered going to Yankee Stadium in 1946, (he was a Yankee fan) and Williams hit a home run, the crowd booed, and Ted rounded second with 2 arms up and one finger raised on each hand...

back before the media blew things like that up, he always laughed about it...today it would be a controversy
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That's the truth.

Ted never cared to let what was on his mind be known.
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#14
#14
True, that probably accounts for his boy being a scumbag. I figure the war made him jaded, so he kept his brain going by thinking about hitting, then fishing.

If you notice, theres a light in his eyes in pre-war photos that isnt there afterwords.
 
#15
#15
JTrainDavis said:
True, that probably accounts for his boy being a scumbag. I figure the war made him jaded, so he kept his brain going by thinking about hitting, then fishing.

If you notice, theres a light in his eyes in pre-war photos that isnt there afterwords.
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His son is a certified piece of trash.
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#17
#17
I'm only 24 and Jeter has been my favorite player since I was 7 and saw him playing in A ball with the Greensboro Hornets, so I'm slightly unqualified for this discussion...

But I've gotta think Mantle was #1, just the way so many revered him and hated Maris for getting the record is pretty crazy, especially because he was a drunk and that never matters to anyone.

Then DiMaggio, and Gehrig right behind him. My darkhorse though- the Yogi. Man, he's got a helluva lot of rings.
 
#18
#18
UTLCA said:
I'm only 24 and Jeter has been my favorite player since I was 7 and saw him playing in A ball with the Greensboro Hornets, so I'm slightly unqualified for this discussion...

But I've gotta think Mantle was #1, just the way so many revered him and hated Maris for getting the record is pretty crazy, especially because he was a drunk and that never matters to anyone.

Then DiMaggio, and Gehrig right behind him. My darkhorse though- the Yogi. Man, he's got a helluva lot of rings.
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Yogi's got the rings and I love the guy to death.

But he was the recipient of being on some damn good teams.

One of the all-time great personalities of the game, though.
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#19
#19
Lofton4Three said:
My Grandfather grew up a Yankees fan, hated the Red Sox with a passion and spent a lot of his life in the NY area.

Yet, he spoke more highly of Teddy Ballgame than anyone not named Mantle.

Teddy was a damn player.
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You got that right, greatest hitter ever.
 
#20
#20
Wow, lots of Jeter talk, he doesn't belong in the conversation, great player but let's be real.

Joe, Mick, Lou....I mean really?
 
#21
#21
GahLee said:
Wow, lots of Jeter talk, he doesn't belong in the conversation, great player but let's be real.

Joe, Mick, Lou....I mean really?
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If he gets a couple more titles, he's in the conversation.
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#22
#22
Lofton4Three said:
If he gets a couple more titles, he's in the conversation.
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IMO he's nowhere close. He's more in the realm of Yogi Berra - a good player on some great teams but not quite in the Gehrig/Mantle category.
 
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#23
#23
GAVol said:
IMO he's nowhere close. He's more in the realm of Yogi Berra - a great player on some great teams but not quite in the Gehrig/Mantle category.
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He will never surpass the greats, but his name will at least be in the mix.

His numbers alone are just not there to put him in that elite of company.
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#24
#24
GAVol said:
IMO he's nowhere close. He's more in the realm of Yogi Berra - a good player on some great teams but not quite in the Gehrig/Mantle category.
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1996, 1998, 1999 weren't exactly All Star teams. Certainly not 1996.

I agree that he's not in the Gehrig/Mantle pantheon but you have to figure how different the sports world is today and his ability to be the heart and soul of the team in such a volatile market as well as coming up with some insanely clutch plays.

The flip may be my favorite play of all time.
 
#25
#25
GAVol said:
IMO he's nowhere close. He's more in the realm of Yogi Berra - a good player on some great teams but not quite in the Gehrig/Mantle category.
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Agreed.

Baseball, more than any other sport looks at stats to determine greatness.

Overall Jeter is a Hall of Fame player. No question about it.

His greatest stat will be hits and his batting average.

His average season he hits .317, 17 HR, 81 RBI, and 23 SB...very solid, he was a Gold Glove caliber SS for many years, he has since declined to the point of being average at best at defense, which is expected with his age and the number of games he has played.

He is a winner, and a leader, his greatest assets, but he honestly isn't in the top 10 Yankees of all-time.
 
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