The Greatest Players in New York Yankee History: Who’d You Expect, Not Why
May 18, 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)
As I alluded to earlier, I will spend a large portion of my time on work for baseball digest for the forseeable future. That doesn’t mean you won’t see new posts on SBSB, but just keep an eye out for stuff appearing on Baseballdigest.com. In accordance with my editors wishes, I cannot post the entirety of my work for BD on SBSB, but I’m more than happy to excerpt my work and link you, the reader, to the full piece when it hits the company website.
As for now, here’s the first piece of what appears to be a massive project, with plenty more coming on BD.com in the near future. The assignment has me undertaking the arguments for the best all-time player at every position (including LHP, RHP, Closer, Manager and Franchise Player) for every major league team. That’s a lot of work that should include some tough calls and surprises. Here’s a taste of the project. No surprises here.
Enjoy and check back for updates.
YANKEES
Franchise Player—Babe Ruth. While there are serious concerns about how the Babe’s skill set would translate to today’s game (after all, he sometimes enjoyed doing a Happy Gilmore impression that likely wouldn’t translate against the Lincecums and Verlanders of the world), this is an absolute no-brainer. You know about his career totals: .342 career BA, an otherworldly career .474 OBP and, of course, his 714 career homeruns.
But even more impressive is the extent of his dominance over the era, when no one could even approach his gaudy statistics. From Ruth’s first season with the Yanks following his (curse-inducing?) sale from Boston to his last in 1934, he blew away the rest of the Major Leaguers in almost every statistical category. Over that time span, Babe hit 659 homeruns—311 more than the next closest slugger, teammate Lou Gehrig (who we shall get to very shortly). 3rd was Al Simmons, who at 240 career jacks, fell 419 HR short of the Babe’s unparalleled greatness. His OBP with the Yankees (an eye-popping .484) was forty points higher than sidekick Gehrig, who was once again second in the league during the same era. Most impressive, his .711 slugging percentage combines with the aforementioned OBP to create an OPS that not only blows 2nd-place Gehrig away by more than a tenth of a point, but also is the highest in the history of the game. He is, by all accounts, a player with talents far above any of his peers, the proverbial “man amongst boys.” Perhaps that’s why he was able to get by on a training regiment fully sponsored by Sabrett and Anheuser-Busch.
The most eye-popping stat of all is likely sabermetric: the Babe’s Yankee WAR destroys 2nd and 3rdplace Gehrig and Frankie Frisch by 60.3 and 80 wins, respectively; his career WAR is still the highest ever. Even with all those statistics, it’s difficult to put the Babe’s sheer dominance over all of his contemporaries in perspective. How about this: during his time in pinstripes, the Babe was worth more WAR than two entire major league teams, with the Phillies’ and Red Sox’ complete rosters exhibiting as much value as the Babe. He also hit more homeruns than four clubs, blasting 106 more out of the yard than the most power-starved team in the league—the same team that had essentially given him away 15 years prior. Babe Ruth may not have left a curse in his wake following his departure from Boston, but he sure as hell left behind an anemic lineup.
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 visit soapboxsportsbyte or follow @SoapBxSprtsByte.
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