2.) The New York Yankees, 4 WS, (56%)
Considering the Yankees' minor league system is responsible for some of the best current players in the game--Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, Chien-Ming Wang, Robinson Cano--it's hard to believe that they lost sight of the importance of homegrown youngsters for much of the early 2000's. Brian Cashman finally got a say in the whole thing, and has reverted back to the model that work for the Yankees in the mid to late-nineties.
1. Mariano Rivera, CL- In my opinion, Mariano Rivera is THE best Closer of all time, and certainly the best modern reliever. Yes Trevor Hoffman is great, but his change and sinker don't come close to striking the fear that Rivera's 94 mph cutter (really a slider) does on opposing batters. Rivera's resume is sparkling. He's been an All Star 9 times and counting, won the AL Rolaids Relief four times, has been both an ALCS and World Series MVP and has led the league in saves three times. He's also the best post-season reliever of all time.
2. Derek Jeter, SS- Jeter was a large part of the four World Series that Torre's Yankees won in the mid-late-1990's (and 2000). He holds numerous post-season hitting records, has a .316 career batting average, has been in the top 10 in MVP voting five times, has won three silver sluggers, has three gold gloves, and has made the All Star team nine times. You can say what you want about his fielding, but you can't deny that Jeter is deserving of a spot in the Hall of Fame.
3. Jorge Posada, C- It's hard to find a more reliable catcher than Posada. He'll probably just miss the Hall, but his numbers still put him as one of the top twenty catchers of all time. Besides his postseason success, Posada has made the All Star team five times and has won three silver sluggers. He's the true leader of the Yankees, and certainly a VERY large factor in their success.
4. Andy Pettitte, LHP- Andy Pettitte has been an absolute horse for the Yankees. He's third all-time on the Yankees' list of Wins (by a pitcher), and is ahead of stars like Ron Guidry. His career record is something you'd see in a Hall of Fame pitcher's line-- 216-116 with a 63% win-loss percentage. 179 of those wins (and counting) were with the Yankees, and at age 36 he may be old, but certainly isn't done.
5. Bernie Williams, CF- Bernabe Williams, along with Jeter, carried the Yankees on his back--offensively--to the post-season year in and year out. During their streak, the Yankees were known for their pitching, bullpen and defense--but usually didn't sport more than 3 All Star batters at once. Bernie's career .297 batting average, .380 OBP and .477, although very good, don't do justice to how valuable he was to those winning teams. For a guy that has won a Batting Title, four Gold Gloves, been to the All Star game five times, was an ALCS MVP and won a Silver Slugger, Bernie doesn't get a lot of Hall consideration. He may not be Hall-Worthy, but he certainly should be considered to be one of the best hitters in recent history.
6. Joba Chamberlain, RHP- At age 23, Joba Chamberlain hasn't had the chance to amass a long MLB resume. What he has on his resume, however, is extremely promising. Joba has the stuff, star-personality, and name to be one of THE BEST pitchers in the AL for years to come. With many of the Yankees hanging up their cleats over the past few years, and with more doing so in the next few years, Chamberlain is poised to be the Yanks' Pitching Staff leader for the next decade. Basically, he's Francisco Liriano without the elbow trouble.
7. Alfonso Soriano, 2B- Soriano only had 3 full seasons with the Yankees, but will forever be the name tied to the most famous (infamous) trade of all time--A-Rod to the Yankees. Soriano played like an MVP for 2 of the three years he started at second for the Yankees, going 39-41 in 2002 and then 38-35 in 2003. If the MLB was on the steroids-thing earlier, then he would've won an MVP in one of those years. Regardless, Soriano is a hell of a player, and even if his time with the Yankees was relatively short, his worth gave the Yankees the best hitter of the modern era.
8. Robinson Cano, 2B- Cano wasn't bad in 2007, he was actually above the league average as far as batting for a second basemen. For a guy that hit .306, .342 and .297 in the previous three years, however, his numbers were a disappointment. The kid has a bright future ahead of him, and probably a batting title (or a few) if everything goes as planned.
9. Chien-Ming Wang, RHP- Wang is about to fill the void that Pettitte is leaving behind as he slides into retirement. At age 29 Wang is a young horse. In his young career Wang has already started 98 games, pitched over 634 innings, and won 54 games. His foot injury has made some question his future.
10. Ramiro Mendoza, LRP/SP- During his time in the bigs, Mendoza was a very valuable tool. His fantastic sinker made him a great reliever to bring in with men on base--regularly inducing a double play. His ability to provide a quality starts when any of the Yankees top five went down was irreplaceable. When one of their starter's heads to the DL, most teams have to make due with rookies, or veterans from the scrap-heap. Torre's Yankees however, had an above average starter basically acting as a 6th man in the rotation.
No comments:
Post a Comment