After reading Chris’s Top 5 regarding All Time Greatest Yankees, it prompted me to write one of my own. Not that I entirely disagree with the choices Chris made but with a franchise with such a storied past like the Yankees it’s easy to overlook a lot solid choices. So here’s my Top 5:
5 – Jeff Weaver
It was an Independence Day miracle for Yankees fans on July 5, 2002 when they managed to steal Weaver from the Tigers in a three-way deal. It only cost the Yankees prospects Jason Arnold, John-Ford Griffin, and pitcher Ted Lilly for this Yankees legend.
“The Dream,” what the Yankees faithful called him, went 12-12 with a 5.35 ERA in a season and a half for the Bronx Bombers. If those stats don’t wow you Weaver also gave up a walk off home run to Alex Gonzalez in Game 6 of the 2003 World Series. It doesn’t end there; Weaver was special. Yankees fans revered Weaver so much that one actually tried to sell him on eBay after allowing 11 runs to the Kansas City Royals. After one day the bidding was at $99,999,999, the max eBay allows.
On December 13, 2003, Yankees fans shed tears as Weaver was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Kevin Brown.
4 – Hideki Irabu
When the Padres signed Irabu out of Japan, Yankees fans (ironically a lot of Chinese and Indian) started a phone campaign for the Yankees to acquire the rights to the legendary pitcher. George Steinbrenner gave the fans what they wanted by acquiring him for Ruben Rivera, Rafael Medina, and cash. Then in a cost conscious move, they promptly signed him to a four-year 12 million dollar contract.
Irabu-mania was all over the Bronx and he instantly a fan favorite. The endearing Steinbrenner liked him so much he nicknamed him a “Fat Pussy Toad,” because Irabu’s favorite off-the-field hobbies included chain smoking and excessive eating.
The backbone of two World Series Championships, Irabu went 29-20 with a 4.80 ERA until being traded to the Expos after the 1999 season.
3 – Hensley Meulens“Bam Bam” was a homegrown sensation and made everyone forget about top pitching prospect Brien Taylor whose career was cut short after a bar fight gone wrong. I remember it was impossible to find Meulens rookie card anywhere in the greater New York area (I lucked out and landed on in a pack of Donruss).
This powerful slugger spent his first five years in the Bronx backing up the currently incarcerated sex offender Mel Hall, when not playing at Triple A Columbus. In five seasons for the Yankees “Bam Bam” batted .220 with 15 home runs and 53 RBI’s. His was legendary for his strikeouts, averaging about one in every three at-bats. A player like that doesn’t come along every day and Yankee fans were lucky to have him. It was a sad day in the Bronx when “Bam Bam” decided to take his talents to Japan and join the Chiba Lotte Marines.
2 – Steve Balboni
A second round draft pick of the Yankees, Balboni was tabbed as the second coming of Lou Gerhig after leading the minor leagues in home runs in six consecutive years. Aside from possessing the ability to drive a ball 500 feet, Balboni had something special. He had a moustache that would make a Rollie Fingers jealous.
When Balboni made his Yankees debut, fans too noticed his spectacular facial hair and he instantly became a fan favorite. You couldn’t wear a Yankees hat without sporting a moustache. Italian girls in Brooklyn actually stopped shaving their upper lip so they too could look like Balboni.
Balboni spent his first three professional season with the Yankees and put up stats that would get your number retired (.214 average, with 7 home runs and 23 RBI’s). Even more impressive he had more strikeouts than hits in each of his three seasons.
Balboni’s Yankee career ended when that Don Mattingly guy Wally Pipped him. In most Yankee circles, Mattingly was always referred to as a “Poor Mans Balboni”.
Balboni did make a brief return to the Yankees after Mattingly’s back failed, and made sure to give Yankee fans what they still crazed. A low batting average and a high strikeout rate.
1 – Ed Whitson
After guiding the Padres to the 1984 World Series, Whitson left the West Coast and signed a five year deal with the Yankees. Yankees fans were ecstatic to sign a pitcher that was coming off a 14 win season.
Although fans loved Whitson and his Hall of Fame caliber pitching ability, they didn’t exactly fall in love with his sense of humor (or that he really didn’t have one).
Whitson didn’t laugh when Yankees fans heckled him after a bad start. He didn’t get the joke when Yankees fans would insult his wife when she was watching her hubby pitch. Whitson didn’t see the humor for getting hate mail on a daily basis or even his life threatened. He didn’t think it was funny when fans would chase him from the Yankees parking lot.
It was unfortunate that Whitson had top-shelf talent, but didn’t have the ability to laugh. Whitson was too used to the West Coast and his laid back attitude wasn’t a good fit in an East Coast city, so after a season and a half he was dealt back to San Diego.
Prior to his trade in 1986, Whitson was a solid starter, posting a 5-2 record with a 7.54 ERA.
So there you have it. Sometimes you have to scratch the surface when finding the Greatest Players of All-Time. What do you think Yankee fans? Shoot me an email at shatmeself@yahoo.com and give me your Top 5.
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