Friday, January 14, 2005
Yankees all-time win shares
It's a little bit tougher (about 20% tougher) to crack than the Red Sox list, but courtesy of Bill James' 2001 Win Shares book, and sources like baseballgraphs.com and hardballtimes.com, here is the updated Yankees top 16:
1. Babe Ruth - 574 - it's amazing that he makes the Red Sox list as well.
2. Mickey Mantle - 565
3. Lou Gehrig - 489 - 1 more than Yaz.
4. Joe Dimaggio - 387
5. Yogi Berra - 375 - it doesn't get much more impressive than the Yankee top 5.
6. Bill Dickey - 314 - the first surprise on the list?
7. Bernie Williams - 292 - Let me be the first to say, "Holy crap!" Bernie's lifetime contribution to the Yankees is this high up? I don't think he'll ever break the top 5 though.
You think of the Yankees, and you think of legend after legend. But in reality, it's really only the top 5 that are legends, the rest of the list includes some great players and some players who were good for a long time. Just like any other team. But for most teams, those 5 legends are reduced to 1 or 2, if any.
8. Red Ruffing - 265
9. Don Mattingly - 263 - He meant a lot to the team, but his total is right there with Edgar Martinez...three years ago.
9. Roy White (tie with Mattingly)
11. Whitey Ford - 261
12. Willie Randolph - 251 - Yes, but how many wins was he worth as a 3rd base coach???
13. Tony Lazzeri - 243
14. Phil Rizzuto - 231
15. Earle Combs - 227
16. Derek Jeter - 219 - He's probably about two years and a couple months from catching Donnie Baseball.
I realize these posts don't say much, but I think it's pretty cool to see how the new guys stack up to the old, and also to think about who were the most valuable "team x" players of all time.
1. Babe Ruth - 574 - it's amazing that he makes the Red Sox list as well.
2. Mickey Mantle - 565
3. Lou Gehrig - 489 - 1 more than Yaz.
4. Joe Dimaggio - 387
5. Yogi Berra - 375 - it doesn't get much more impressive than the Yankee top 5.
6. Bill Dickey - 314 - the first surprise on the list?
7. Bernie Williams - 292 - Let me be the first to say, "Holy crap!" Bernie's lifetime contribution to the Yankees is this high up? I don't think he'll ever break the top 5 though.
You think of the Yankees, and you think of legend after legend. But in reality, it's really only the top 5 that are legends, the rest of the list includes some great players and some players who were good for a long time. Just like any other team. But for most teams, those 5 legends are reduced to 1 or 2, if any.
8. Red Ruffing - 265
9. Don Mattingly - 263 - He meant a lot to the team, but his total is right there with Edgar Martinez...three years ago.
9. Roy White (tie with Mattingly)
11. Whitey Ford - 261
12. Willie Randolph - 251 - Yes, but how many wins was he worth as a 3rd base coach???
13. Tony Lazzeri - 243
14. Phil Rizzuto - 231
15. Earle Combs - 227
16. Derek Jeter - 219 - He's probably about two years and a couple months from catching Donnie Baseball.
I realize these posts don't say much, but I think it's pretty cool to see how the new guys stack up to the old, and also to think about who were the most valuable "team x" players of all time.
# posted by Darlucky @ 6:17 PM 
