I think Mattingly is a HOFer too. I feel like a real HOFer was the best player in the game at some point in their career. There are plenty of HOFers who never were. But Mattingly was that player. That makes him a HOFer in my opinion even if he didn't hit the milestone numbers. For example, Puckett and Sandberg were never the best player in the league but they both got in.
I don't think saying Mattingly was a shadow of his former self is true. His 1992 and 1993 seasons were decent years and he was playing really well in 1994 before the strike. The guy was still the best first baseman in the league and he hit 417 his only time around October.
I also think Carl Mays is a HOFer but I'm not sure if he's really considered a Yankee. Although he did have his best seasons with the Yankees.
Of the recently retired Yankees I think Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada are HOFers too. Ichiro wears 51 because of Bernie. That tells you something.
Last edited by packs; 03-20-2013 at 09:21 PM.
|