Quote:
Originally Posted by BIG17EASY
Bernie Williams in the HoF? Oh boy ...
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Compared to Don Mattingly, he'd be a pretty solid choice. Combine being a top-20 CFer of all time offensively with 5 All-Star appearances, 4 Gold Gloves, 1 Silver Slugger, and 4 World Series rings, and there's a case to be made. I'm a "smaller HOF" guy, so I wouldn't vote for him, but he wouldn't be in the Jack Morris/Don Mattingly range where my blood would boil.
Mattingly, on the other hand, is 34th all time among 1B (min 1000 games at the position) in OPS+, 48th all time in HR, 51st in games played, 31st in hits, and so on...he's not in the top echelon of his position by any reasonable measure, either rate or counting stats. His personal accolades match Williams', but providing that defense at 1B has significantly less value than the equivalent in CF, which has something to do with team success during that time period (the Yankees were doomed anyway in the Mattingly era, but if Bernie was a 1B instead of a CF, there'd be a larger impact to the lone dynasty of the Steroid Era).
So, I wasn't making a case for Williams so much as I was implying that I wasn't just being a Yankee hater. Mattingly should only get near the HOF as a player if he's carrying Bernie's guitar for him on their way to an Old-Timer's game in Cooperstown.