What NY Yankee should be in the HOF?

[npa589]

Originally Posted by hexsheroes

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Not intended as a slam against the yankees, as it actually is intended for all teams with an above average percentage of the hof population.

One of my pet peeves is that that some player performances (stats) have been influenced by playing with teams stocked with good/great players. While true the individual ballplayer had to perform, or be gone, having talented ballplayers hitting before and after you does influence the opportunities an opposing pitcher presents to you as a hitter. The opportunities presented defensively are possibly influenced by having quality pitching, and quality pitching likely influenced by having qualify defenders. The 1927 ny yankees were an outstanding team. But i have to believe that if you had removed the two best hitters and one best pitcher from that team, while they would still have been a very good team, fewer of the remaining very good players would have made it into the hof. Just my opinion. That is why i have a softspot for outstanding ballplayers who played for less than brilliant teams over a period of years. I feel they may have had less opportunities or ideal situations inwhich to shine, but they shone never the less with what was given them.

+1

I thought about offering an optional way of looking at this, and I guess I am now... saying I think a better question to ask is which Yankee HOF'ers should NOT be in the hall of fame? Let's say if the same players played with the Cubs for example, or the Expos...

For example...had Joe Gordon played for someone else, I doubt he ever gets in. He got a maximum of 28.5% from the BBWAA during his eligibility pre- veterans committee.

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[bigtrain]

I was a big fan of Mattingly and Munson. Both played like HoFers in their prime years but didn't have enough of them or the longevity to get my vote. It kind of irks me because I don't think that Fisk was a pimple on Munson's rear but that's an argument for another day. If Nettles hit .268 instead of .248 he's a slam dunk. Terrific fielder, 390 homers. I would vote for Allie Reynolds, 2 no-hitters in one season plus .630 winning percentage but he played for the great Yankee teams of the fifties so his wins are somewhat inflated. His pre-Yankee record with the Indians was not much.

[dabigyankeeman]

Nettles. His glove was almost the equal to Brooks. He could hit home runs. The guy was great.

[jhs5120]

In order of merit

1. George Steinbrenner - Like him or hate him, he changed the game and created a dynasty.
2. Craig Nettles
3. Thurman Munson
4. Roger Maris
5. Elston Howard
6. Don Mattingly
7. Tommy John
8. Billy Martin