New York Yankees All-Time Greatest Second Baseman: This One Ain’t Predictable
May 19, 2011 · Jesse Golomb SoapBoxSportsByte · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
(To view this article, or takes on the rest of the Major Leagues, the NFL, the NBA and more, visit soapboxsportsbyte or follow @SoapBxSprtsByte.)
I mentioned earlier that I will be spending a lot of my time for the foreseeable future on a huge project for baseballdigest.com, undertaking the responsibility of choosing the best player in history for every position for all 30 MLB teams. I’ve started with the Yankees, and to that end I posted my piece on Babe Ruth as the team’s franchise player. That was certainly predictable, but that doesn’t mean that everything else will be. Again, I can’t put everything I write on BD here, but I can give you samples. Here’s my bit on the Yanks all-time great 2B—someone who I wouldn’t have expected choosing when I began my research: second baseman Joe Gordon.
I’m a firm believer in the idea that four or five years of excellence from a baseball player is more valuable than seven or eight years of great, yet unspectacular consistency (I still don’t think Don Mattingly is worthy of enshrinement in Cooperstown, however). So when I undertook this task of choosing the greatest Yankees second basemen ever, I was planning to make a strong case built upon a foundation of the aforementioned belief that Robinson Cano is deserved of the honor over Tony Lazzeri. Now, I feel strong in the conviction that Lazzeri is not the all-time Yanks 2B. But neither is Cano. Yet.
Perhaps down the road, Cano—with a pure swing that might be the most gorgeous in today’s game—might reach that so-called rarefied air. For now, Joe Gordon holds a firm grip on the title as the best second baseman in the history of the franchise, and for all the same reasons that I thought Cano was worthy of such a bestowment.
Gordon, who late in his career as a member of the Indians was the first of his teammates to embrace Larry Doby, was known as much for his amiable personality as he was for his immense talents. Over Gordon’s five complete years in New York, he posted WARs of 7.3, 7.0, 6.8, 9.3 and 8.0—one of the greatest five year stretches for any second basemen in the history of the game. By contrast, Cano has only topped 5.0 WAR once so far in his career. Lazzeri, over 12 complete big league seasons, reached that figure twice.
As the direct successor to Lazzeri and a huge reason for the old guard’s release prior to the ’38 campaign, Gordon was best described as a slick fielding second baseman who had unusual power for the position. He hit at least 24 home runs four times for the Yankees, drove in 100 runs in three different seasons and 97 in one other. He also slugged over .490 four times. Yet despite this superior run production, Gordon won the 1942 AL MVP even as voters saw a decline in his previously gaudy home run totals. During that defining season, he posted a stellar .322/.409/.491 line, hit 18 HR, drove in 103 runs and continued to play an outstanding second base. By the end of this decade, we may be discussing Cano with similar reverence. For now, let’s try to not forget “Flash.” And no, I’m not talking about John Flaherty.
Jesse Golomb is the creator and writer of SoapBoxSports byte. He currently works for baseballdigest.com. If you enjoyed this article, or want takes on the rest of the Major Leagues, the NFL and more, you can read the rest of his work on soapboxsportsbyte or follow @SoapBxSprtsByte.
Read more New York Yankees news on BleacherReport.com
Yankee Tickets
Shop Yankee
