FanPost

Most Overrated Player in Yankee History - Tino Martinez

Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports


Pinstripe Alley recently posed the question of who the most overrated player in Yankee history is. I am a lifelong Yankees fan and therefore haven't really entertained the idea of a Yankee player being overrated - there is enough anti-Yankee bias out there that I am usually fighting on the other side. But since we are keeping this argument in-house I figured I could try to objectively identify a candidate.

A good place to start the conversation would be Monument Park, since it houses the legacies of the most cherished players in Yankee History. Up until 1980, the only players that were inducted were Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle. I am not personally opposed to the idea of a bigger memorial park, but in the expansion that has occurred over the last 30+ years, I do think the Yankees were a little inconsistent in doling out this honor, the most dubious being the induction of Tino Martinez on June 21, 2014.

I fell in love with baseball because of the late 90's Yankees. Tino was my mom's favorite player. I had a poster of the '98 team and in one of the corners was a photo of his World Series Grand Slam. But when you look at his Yankees contributions, I can't help but think of all the players that have contributed more to less fanfare.

Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Andy Pettitte, Paul O'Neill, and Jorge Posada were all inducted after, but this is not my main grievance since all but O'Neill got their numbers retired as well.

My main grievance is that Tino got in with 16.7 Yankee WAR, a lone All Star appearance, and a .233/.321/.351 postseason slash line while Graig Nettles (44.4 Yankee WAR), Gil McDougald(40.7), Joe Gordon (37.5), Mike Mussina (35.2), Dave Winfield (27.1), David Cone (20.3)... heck even Orlando Hernandez (19.1) are left flapping in the breeze.

Yes, I just turned my "Most Overrated Yankee" post into a post about various underappreciated Yankees, but what'd you expect? I'm a fan.

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