Centerfielder: Mickey Mantle — 1957
The most prestigious position in all of sports, Mantle is arguably the greatest Yankee to play that position for the most successful franchise in all of sports. Many will argue that Joe DiMaggio and one of his 13 All-Star seasons should garner him for a position on this team (he was elected to the All Star team every season he played) and others will assert that Mantle's 1956 Triple Crown season should be the version that gains him selection. But once again using a basic head-to-head comparison, Mantle's 1957 season shapes up to be arguably his best. Consider DiMaggio's two best season along side Mantle's 1956 and 57 seasons.
DiMaggio - 1941: .357/30/125, .440/.643/1.083
DiMaggio - 1839: .381/30/126, .448/.671/1.119
Mantle - 1956: .353/52/130, .464/.705/1.169
Mantle - 1957: .365/34/94, .512/.665/1.177
While Mantle's power numbers were down in 1957, he was far more valuable to his team, recording 1.3 more runs per game, and a .909 offensive winning percentage compared to an .879 mark the previous season. Mantle even had six more steals, 32 more walks, six more doubles and one more triple in 1957 than in his Triple Crown Season. While Mickey's 1956 power totals are far more striking to eye, his complete offensive contributions in 1957 give this version of the Mick the selection for the All-Star Team over the previous year's version of himself as well as the two seasons by DiMaggio.
SP: Ron Guidry —1978
Possibly of the greatest seasons by a pitcher post-lowering of the mound. Guidry was 25-3 with a 1.74 ERA, 248 Ks, and a 0.946 WHIP. Enough said.
SP: Lefty Gomez—1934
One of the great Yankee pitchers of all time, a Hall of Famer, and an eight-time All-Star, Gomez was at his best in 1934. While his 1937 season was also brilliant, especially considering the offensive inclinations of the era, Gomez was more effective in the totality of his pitching in 1934. Consider the two All Star Seasons against each other:
1934: 281.2 innings, 26-5, 2.33, 223 hits, 158 Ks, 1.13 WHIP
1937: 278.1 innings, 21-11, 2.33, 233 hits, 194 Ks, 1.17 WHIP
These two seasons by Gomez are close in quality, with both having their various strengths. While the power displayed in 1937 by the increase in strikeouts is valuable Gomez's lower hit count and better WHIP directly impacted his much better winning percentage (.839 to .656) in '34. In this care, you really can't go wrong with either season but since I'm the sole individual responsible for this selection process, the final call is Gomez in 1934.
Article comments
1 - tink
While I'm not up on the older guys, the stats made your choices clear.
Great line-up. Dug that you included Mariano Rivera, he definitely rates up there.
Thank god for your no a-rod zone, although in our house we call him a-something else!!
Reading this took a bit of the sting away from not catching them while they were playing 10 miles from here this past weekend.
Thanks for a great piece on the best baseball team ever!!
2 - Tony
Thanks Tink. It was a lot of fun digging back through the history of the team.
3 - Aaron Whitehead
Nice piece. The one guy I'm surprised you didn't mention was Joe Gordon. He was great in his MVP year of '42, and he gets a clear edge over Soriano in defense.
A lot of tough choices here; I really like Graig Nettles, but was surprised to see that he wasn't an All-Star in '76.
I love that you mention Charlie Keller; he was on the fast track to Cooperstown before he turned 30. But Rickey Henderson was pretty darn good in '85. I think he should have won the MVP, and that was a good Yankee team in the midst of some poor ones.
4 - Tony
Gordon was very good in 42 but can't match Sorianos power or speed production. Also, the only thing he did lead the league in that year was strikeouts.
Henderson definately makes a case with his '85 season for sure.