MORE MONUMENTAL DECISIONS

Last May, in my “MONUMENTAL DECISIONS” blog, I wrote about the Yankees’ organization choosing to celebrate the retirement of Joe Torre’s #6 and Goose Gossage’s #54, along with plaques for both Tino Martinez & and Paul O’Neill - all now in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park.  I also referred to the Yankees announcing their plan to retire Bernie Williams’ #51 in 2015, while speculating my own “hunch” that that they postponed retiring Bernie’s number an extra year because they wanted to include Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte in - all originating from their unbelievable past farm system.  Lo and behold, the Yankees just announced exactly what I had predicted.  (I have to be correct once in a while!)  Furthermore, they announced that they would add a plaque to honor Willie Randolph on Old Timers’ Day.

In my opinion, for a former Yankees’ player to prestigiously qualify into having his number retired in Yankee Stadium, that player would have to be either a no-brainer, qualified Hall of Famer or a strongly-argued borderline Hall of Famer.  Additionally, they would need to have played for the Yankees at least 10 years and/or have won more than 3 championships in Yankees’ pinstripes.

Again, as I mentioned last year, I strongly recommend that the Yankees’ organization commemorate retired numbers for Lefty Gomez, Tony Lazzeri, Earle Combs, Hank Bauer, Bob Meusel, and manager Joe McCarthy in the stadium’s Monument Park one day in the near future!  They each meet my aforementioned criteria and are overdue for their deserving recognition.

Below is my breakdown of the 2015 selection for Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park:

Bernie Williams - My self-imposed criteria would not qualify Bernie Williams because his numbers (while great in the playoffs) do not offer enough argument towards his qualification as a Hall of Famer or as a strongly-argued borderline Hall of Famer, especially pitted against so many other centerfielders that had better regular season numbers where Bernie’s very good offense included a .297 batting average with 449 doubles, and 287 homers.  Bernie’s greatest contributions that stand out above other centerfielders and almost every hitter of any position are clearly from his offseason stats where he not only hit 22 homers and drove in 80 runs, but he stands in second place behind one of the greatest playoff hitters ever, Derek Jeter in several offensive categories.  Bernie scored 83 runs, lined 29 doubles, and collected over 128 hits!  Of course, he was in a lot of playoff games (121), but the fact still stands that he exceeded so many others collectively, and rarely failed as he proved to be clutch.  His offseason numbers were greatly appreciated by all Yankees’ fans, but (again) his regular season numbers just don’t exceed others during the regular season, including the Yankees’ own great centerfielders Joe DiMaggio or Mickey Mantle.  Additionally, Bernie’s glove never came anywhere close to either Joe or Mickey, to the say the least!

Jorge Posada - He is on the cusp of such Hall of Fame arguments mostly because he was one of the most successful offensive catchers.  Hence, the position of “catcher” enhances his “strongly-argued borderline Hall of Fame” qualifications, in my criteria.  I believe his offensive numbers as a 5-time All-Star with 275 homers and a .273 batting average (mostly as a catcher) are enough to offer a great debate.  Additionally, he had proven catching skills (although not great at throwing runners out) as he caught & called David Wells’ perfect game and led various pitching staffs to 4 of his 5 World Series rings - Girardi was the main catcher during the 1996 championship.

Andy Pettitte - He clearly qualifies within my criteria.  He had the third most wins in Yankees’ history - not too shabby!  He also won 256 games & carried a respectable 3.85 ERA with most of his starts against the toughest division in baseball (the American League East) during his years.   Furthermore, he owns the record for the most wins in MLB playoff history - 19 wins!  For those folks that argue about Pettitte’s HGH usage, please get your facts straight!!!  Andy admitted to his whopping 2 days in a row of taking “doctor-administered” HGH during his injury recovery - when he was not an “able” player on the field at the time!!  Medically (within MLB rules), HGH was not forbidden when his doctor administered it and was thus not “illegal” for any player to use.  If you don’t believe me, or Andy Pettitte, or even Andy’s accuser (Brian McNamee) whose condemning story matched Andy’s to a tee, please feel free to read Bleacher Report’s factually published article: 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1108809-andy-pettitte-never-used-a-substance-banned-by-major-league-baseball

Here are 2 of the most significant portions quoted by Andy:

"In 2002 I was injured. I had heard that human growth hormone could promote faster healing for my elbow,"

"I felt an obligation to get back to my team as soon as possible. For this reason, and only this reason, for two days I tried human growth hormone. Though it was not against baseball rules, I was not comfortable with what I was doing, so I stopped."

Willie Randolph - He won 2 championships as a player for the Yankees in 1977 & 1978 and was also their third base coach on four of their championship teams (1996, 1998, 1999, & 2000).  As one of the best defensive 2^nd basemen of all time, he often led the league in putouts, double plays, and assists while managing no errors during his 46 playoff games.  Willie was also an offensive force batting .276, hitting 316 doubles, and stealing 271 bases during his fleet-footed career. He was named the Yankees’ co-captain during 1986, along with Ron Guidry.  Willie played second base for the Yankees during 1,688 games - more than any other Yankee 2^nd basemen in history.  He certainly qualifies for a plaque as a player and as a coach collectively.

Since yesterday’s announcement, there have been a lot of disgruntled fans calling the radio stations with their anger towards the Yankees retiring way too many undeserving numbers.  For them, and some of the misleading sportswriters let me emphasize that the Yankees did NOT retire Paul O’Neill’s nor Tino Martinez’ number (21 and 24 respectively) last year, nor are they retiring Willie Randolph’s number (30)! 

In reference to this year’s retired numbers (Bernie’s 51, Posada’s 20, and Pettitte’s 46), as I summarized above, I fully support two of the choices - Posada & Pettitte.  Additionally, both Posada and Pettitte are part of the Core Four - something no team in baseball or any other sport has ever had the distinction of having.  If anyone disputes Bernie, then fine, I’m not going to argue the point.  For those that are so dead against commemorating Posada and/or Pettitte, it’s time to either look at the factual stats or stop the ignorance/jealousy! 

Remember, the Yankees’ organization is recognizing the players’ contributions as a “Yankee” and they can choose whoever they want.  Even so, they are choosing very legitimate selections in Posada and Pettitte who also happen to be half of the infamous Core Four.  Even Yankees’ haters recognize Posada & Pettitte (along with Jeter & Mariano) as the Core Four.  They are the greatest foursome in any sport during the last 40 years, after producing 5 championships together!  Any truly objective person should recognize the unique accomplishments all four players have achieved individually and as a unit.

Now, we’re just waiting for the official announcement of the final Core Four member’s retiring number (2).  For that announcement, there will be no one that disputes the retirement of…Captain, Derek Jeter!