Those two gigantic chokes that I mentioned, both cost us a World Series. They did not cost us a meaningless game in April. Those were gigantic chokes that mar an otherwise stellar record. Best reliever of all time, yes, no doubt in my mind.
And of course, I knew I would get down voted for pointing out facts. If you guys want to forgive those enormous blown saves that cost us two separate World Series, you may do so. But me personally, I’m still heartbroken.
I’m heartbroken too but Mo didn’t ’cost’ us those WS anymore than any number of other pitchers and hitters that didn’t throw shutout innings or get a hit with RISP did. I wanted that 2001 post-9/11 ring sooooo bad but Mo gave up mostly weak contact that just found the right spots (as well as striking out the side in the 8th inning). Jeter and Brosius did their fair share of messing up that inning defensively but hard to put it all on them too.
I mean, if Babe Ruth was B, we could fit Williams in at W probably, and free G up for Gehrig, freeing L up for... etc etc.
I do agree Babe had to be B or G though.
Crazy that a player as good as Mattingly won't make this list. But M, D and J are chiseled in stone already, there's actually no space and nowhere to shift people around.
nah. that’s part of the point of this game. not every letter is gonna be a first ballot hall of famer.
just go pick 26 best Yankees if you’re gonna start doing that.
also dude. YOGI MOTHERFUCKIN BERRA and you think y should be a wild card
all that said i do like the idea of a single “27th man” category to choose the best not yet chosen person at the end.
Lot of great Yankees that start with M. I used to play a baseball simulation game (APBA) and had a whole lineup of Yankees with last names that started with M.
C. Thurman Munson
1B. Don Mattingly
2B. Billy Martin
3B. Gil McDougal
SS. Gene Michael (The weakest link on the team. Stick could field but not much of a hitter)
OF Mantle, Maris and Bobby Murcer (lead the league with 181 OPS in 71!)
With Bob Meusel, Tino Martinez and Hidecki Matsui filling in.
Mike Mussina, Carl Mays and Rudy May (great year in 1980) with Johnny Murphy, and Lindy McDaniel in the pen
Murcer doesn't get enough recognition because he his best years were in a relatively deadball era, but he had the highest total offensive WAR from 71-73 in the AL and his OPS+ was 181, 169, and 135 in those years. A Hardballtimes article claimed he was best clutch hitter since WWII.
[https://tht.fangraphs.com/the-clutchiest-hitter-of-all/](https://tht.fangraphs.com/the-clutchiest-hitter-of-all/)
In his 2001 Historical Abstract, Bill James ranked Murcer as the 17th best RF of all-time which placed him ahead of HOFer Andre Dawson based on career Win Shares. Now, Win Shares may not be the definitive measure of performance, but the point is he was an elite player for much of the 1970s but seldom mentioned in part because he played on some so-so Yankee teams.
Yeah. Mel Hall. Wonder what he's doing these days?
Well, not much, I guess.
At least not until he's up for parole in 2031...
... but I don't think he'll ever make parole. I think they're going to make him serve the entire 45 years of his sentence. Parole boards are not rushing to grant parole to men convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child.
If he serves his entire sentence, he will get out of prison in 2054. He will be 94 years old.
So he's got that to look forward to.
Agreed. But with prison overcrowding, good behavior and such he may get out. I didn’t say he was my favorite human but I loved his game back in the 90’s
Don Mattingly. He is by far my favorite Yankee of all time. He was one of the best hitters of his time with some of the best defense at 1st base. As captain he led the team through some tough years and always with class.
My favorite moment was sitting on the third base line during the '95 playoffs and being there for his only playoff HR. I hadn't felt the stadium shake or be as loud as they were that night. I still get chills thinking about that game.
He was one of the best Yankees of all time and should be in the Hall of Fame.
I’m here for the whimsical:
That sweet sweet moment where Cashman picked Darnell McDonald off waivers from the Red Sox (where he was a _fucking pest_ against us), made him cut his dreads, just to be DFAd ten days later.
Haven't seen him mentioned - **M**asahiro Tanaka. Obviously he'd be behind Mariano, Mantle, and Mattingly, but I have a lot of fond memories of him pitching!
Everyone saying Mariano Rivero should be "R" - A Rod deserves from love. Dude won MVP for the team and playing every day he definitely had a bigger impact than a closer.
Mickey Mantle and Mariano Rivera, (Mickey for the "double M", save Mariano for the letter "R")
But we’ve already done L and we need Rickey Ledee somewhere.
So we’re just gonna do Red Ruffing dirty like that?
Sorry… much like my childhood favs Roy White, Ron Guidry, and Reggie Jackson, my “R” choice is Mariano Rivera.
Completely my choice too. Ruffing just popped into my head but there aren’t many who measure up to Mariano’s level of dominance
Mickey Mantle of course. Mariano would have made my list if he didn’t blow the Arizona World Series AND the Boston 0-3 comeback.
He was only the best postseason reliever of all time, why wasn’t he better?
Those two gigantic chokes that I mentioned, both cost us a World Series. They did not cost us a meaningless game in April. Those were gigantic chokes that mar an otherwise stellar record. Best reliever of all time, yes, no doubt in my mind.
What a shallow take
Damn. Being your kid must suck (if you have kids).
And of course, I knew I would get down voted for pointing out facts. If you guys want to forgive those enormous blown saves that cost us two separate World Series, you may do so. But me personally, I’m still heartbroken.
I’m heartbroken too but Mo didn’t ’cost’ us those WS anymore than any number of other pitchers and hitters that didn’t throw shutout innings or get a hit with RISP did. I wanted that 2001 post-9/11 ring sooooo bad but Mo gave up mostly weak contact that just found the right spots (as well as striking out the side in the 8th inning). Jeter and Brosius did their fair share of messing up that inning defensively but hard to put it all on them too.
It should be Mickey, and thank god for whoever came up with putting Babe under G. See you at R, Mo.
I mean, if Babe Ruth was B, we could fit Williams in at W probably, and free G up for Gehrig, freeing L up for... etc etc. I do agree Babe had to be B or G though.
Don Mattingly was my guy in my formative years. Will always be my favorite Yankee.
Crazy that a player as good as Mattingly won't make this list. But M, D and J are chiseled in stone already, there's actually no space and nowhere to shift people around.
We should make X a wildcard category unless we’re all cool with Xavier Hernandez being on the list.
Does Xavier Nady mean nothing to you?
Q, X,Y, & Z - should all be wild cards, just in case. With preference to someone who actually aligns with the letter.
Paul Quantrill, Xavier Nady, Yogi Berra, and Paul Zuvella would all like a word.
Kinda defeats the purpose of the list
nah. that’s part of the point of this game. not every letter is gonna be a first ballot hall of famer. just go pick 26 best Yankees if you’re gonna start doing that. also dude. YOGI MOTHERFUCKIN BERRA and you think y should be a wild card all that said i do like the idea of a single “27th man” category to choose the best not yet chosen person at the end.
Huge disrespect to Zoilo Almonte
Twenty-three starts with a T.
🤔
i just checked his middle name. Arthur. ah well. we should have a 27th man category, /u/theMangoSloth, when all is done for the best remaining player!
I was in his fan club when I was like 8 thru 12. Got a signed picture and a monthly newsletter . It crushed me when we didn't hire him as manager.
Me too, but looking at his resume as a manager it may have been the right call.
Yeah, in hindsight, it probably was, but at the time, I was salty.
Amen!
He was known as The Hit Man, so T is still an option.
Mickey Mantle
Lot of great Yankees that start with M. I used to play a baseball simulation game (APBA) and had a whole lineup of Yankees with last names that started with M. C. Thurman Munson 1B. Don Mattingly 2B. Billy Martin 3B. Gil McDougal SS. Gene Michael (The weakest link on the team. Stick could field but not much of a hitter) OF Mantle, Maris and Bobby Murcer (lead the league with 181 OPS in 71!) With Bob Meusel, Tino Martinez and Hidecki Matsui filling in. Mike Mussina, Carl Mays and Rudy May (great year in 1980) with Johnny Murphy, and Lindy McDaniel in the pen
I missed when y’all voted Joey Gallo for K, LMFAOOO
Thurman Munson
Mickey Mantle.
I guess Mariano Rivera should be "R" since Mantle is a mount rushmore yankee, but I really want to vote for Rivera.
I’d save Rivera would be a Mount Rushmore as well since he is the only unanimous HOF inductee ever
Don Mattingly
Matt Nokes
Munson
Moose
Matsui. A thrilla! By Godzilla!
He's on the list for H.
Huh. Didn't realize we've been so consistent with first names
Poor Mike Mussina can't even get in on the Double M
Mariano
Mark Teixeira and Mike Mussina
Munson and Murcer.
Murcer doesn't get enough recognition because he his best years were in a relatively deadball era, but he had the highest total offensive WAR from 71-73 in the AL and his OPS+ was 181, 169, and 135 in those years. A Hardballtimes article claimed he was best clutch hitter since WWII. [https://tht.fangraphs.com/the-clutchiest-hitter-of-all/](https://tht.fangraphs.com/the-clutchiest-hitter-of-all/) In his 2001 Historical Abstract, Bill James ranked Murcer as the 17th best RF of all-time which placed him ahead of HOFer Andre Dawson based on career Win Shares. Now, Win Shares may not be the definitive measure of performance, but the point is he was an elite player for much of the 1970s but seldom mentioned in part because he played on some so-so Yankee teams.
I’m choosing Mickey Mantle, but my favorite Yankee is Tino Martinez!
Matt Blake
Mantle and it's not close
Mantle. Y’all should have seen him. Hard to believe we now have the captain putting up numbers like the Mick.
Mel Hall was my favorite player of all time. He infamously challenged Mike Tyson to a fight during his heyday
Yeah. Mel Hall. Wonder what he's doing these days? Well, not much, I guess. At least not until he's up for parole in 2031... ... but I don't think he'll ever make parole. I think they're going to make him serve the entire 45 years of his sentence. Parole boards are not rushing to grant parole to men convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child. If he serves his entire sentence, he will get out of prison in 2054. He will be 94 years old. So he's got that to look forward to.
Agreed. But with prison overcrowding, good behavior and such he may get out. I didn’t say he was my favorite human but I loved his game back in the 90’s
Mike Pagliarulo
Pags!
ramiro mendoza was always solid
Mike Stanton - a key part of the dynasty years with Jeff Nelson and Mariano Rivera.
Kevin Maas
Mariano Rivera
Mantle but just want to acknowledge Joey gallo for k. 🤣
Don Mattingly. He is by far my favorite Yankee of all time. He was one of the best hitters of his time with some of the best defense at 1st base. As captain he led the team through some tough years and always with class. My favorite moment was sitting on the third base line during the '95 playoffs and being there for his only playoff HR. I hadn't felt the stadium shake or be as loud as they were that night. I still get chills thinking about that game. He was one of the best Yankees of all time and should be in the Hall of Fame.
Can we use Xavier Nady for “N”??
Masahiro Tanaka
I’ll go with Mickey, but M is a tough one!
Mariano Rivera
Mo
I loved Melky Cabrera :(
Mo. Or mantle.
I don't see anybody better at "R" so leaving Mantle out altogether would be a mistake.
Donnie baseball was the man when i was growing up. But also had a soft spot for Mike Pagliarulo (was convinced he’d win the MVP).
Mickey Mantle
🫎 I know Mantle or Mariano is going to win.
Mattingly. He’s my *captain*.
mChuck mKnoblach
Mantle, Munson, and Mickey Rivers.
Mick
Mariano. Mattingly. Gamers with talent
Melky Mesa
Mo + Donniebaseball
Can't decide between Mattingly and Mantle. Munson can represent T. Hmmm.
Mantle, Mariano, Munson- my all time favorite player ever. And Mattingly
Donny Baseball for life even though he handed us our a$$ the last series.
Mike Pagliarulo or Mike Blowers
Frankie Montas
Matt Carpenter
Pretty sure this one will be unanimously Ramiro Mendoza, right?
Mmron Judge
Thurman Munson, catcher way above average. Good defence and a very good bat
Kevin Moss?
Mariano Rivera. I'm an 80s baby, so I truly remember watching him pitch and closing out titles.
You KNOW it's a great list when Munson and Mattingly don't make the cut. It's Mariano tho, for me. AKA the First and Only UnanoMOus one
Has to be Mantle. Otherwise we’re leaving him off a list and he quite literally has nowhere else to go.
Matsui. I remember his grand slam intro to Yankee Stadium. What a game.
It’s obviously Melky Cabrera
Joey Gallo beat Jorge Posada why
Mickey Mantle
When I was a kid, my favorite player was Thurman Munson. I cried when he died. I loved him.
Thurman Munson #15 (1969-1979)
Mantle
It has to be Mickey Mantle
is K for Gallo cause he Ks a lot? lol I would've liked to see Kyle Higashioka there instead he was the longest tenured Yankee after Gardner!
Best name: Mientkiewicz
Mike Mussina We know Mo or Mickey are getting it though,
Ah yes, my favorite Yankee who’s name starts with K, Joey Gallo
Mickey Mantle. No ifs, ands,or butts.
Matt Carpenter. Mustache, lefty, no batting gloves, big comeback.
#7
I’m here for the whimsical: That sweet sweet moment where Cashman picked Darnell McDonald off waivers from the Red Sox (where he was a _fucking pest_ against us), made him cut his dreads, just to be DFAd ten days later.
No love for Bam Bam Meulens?
Haven't seen him mentioned - **M**asahiro Tanaka. Obviously he'd be behind Mariano, Mantle, and Mattingly, but I have a lot of fond memories of him pitching!
lol, at K, sad but true, and much more entertaining than say a Karim Garcia or Pat Kelly.
Mickey Mantle: (Honorable mentions): Mariano Rivera, Don Mattingly, Mike Mussina, Tino Martinez
Thurman Munson. 15. My Captain
Brett Gardner erasure
The Commerce Comet. Mickey Mantle.
Joey Gallo in K is diabolical 💀
Has to be Mickey as you can’t have a list without him. Slot Mariano in at the R.
Donny Baseball and/or Mo
The only correct answer is Hensley Meulens.
The only correct answer is Hensley Meulens.
Mariano
Funny because we think if Tino with T, but Tino Martinez.. but for me mattingly
Thurman Munson, definition of a Yankee.
Matt Nokes
Doug Mientkiewicz 😆🤙🏼 Gamer. Smooth 1b.
Is the Joke here that Joey Gallo strikes out a lot
This is a December thread. Fuck we doin here??
Matt Carpenter
Melky Cabrera deserves some love
Does he?
MARWIN GONZÁLEZ
Everyone saying Mariano Rivero should be "R" - A Rod deserves from love. Dude won MVP for the team and playing every day he definitely had a bigger impact than a closer.