Does Kirby Puckett Open up the HOF for Bernie Williams?
By Mike Silva ~ January 8th, 2011. Filed under: Hall of Fame, Mike Silva.
NYBD reader “Russ” posted a comment the other day comparing Bernie Williams to other Hall of Fame centerfielders, like Kirby Puckett. It inspired me to take a deeper look at the former Yankee, who will be eligible for induction next year.
If you sort using Baseball Reference “Wins Above Replacement,” these are the top 18 centerfielders in the Hall of Fame.
| Rk | Player | WAR/pos | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ty Cobb | 159.4 | 3034 | 11434 | 2246 | 4189 | 724 | 295 | 117 | 1938 | 1249 | 357 | 897 | .366 | .945 |
| 2 | Willie Mays | 154.7 | 2992 | 10881 | 2062 | 3283 | 523 | 140 | 660 | 1903 | 1464 | 1526 | 338 | .302 | .941 |
| 3 | Tris Speaker | 133.0 | 2789 | 10195 | 1882 | 3514 | 792 | 222 | 117 | 1529 | 1381 | 220 | 436 | .345 | .928 |
| 4 | Mickey Mantle | 120.2 | 2401 | 8102 | 1676 | 2415 | 344 | 72 | 536 | 1509 | 1733 | 1710 | 153 | .298 | .977 |
| 5 | Joe DiMaggio | 83.6 | 1736 | 6821 | 1390 | 2214 | 389 | 131 | 361 | 1537 | 790 | 369 | 30 | .325 | .977 |
| 6 | Duke Snider | 67.5 | 2143 | 7161 | 1259 | 2116 | 358 | 85 | 407 | 1333 | 971 | 1237 | 99 | .295 | .919 |
| 7 | Richie Ashburn | 58.0 | 2189 | 8365 | 1322 | 2574 | 317 | 109 | 29 | 586 | 1198 | 571 | 234 | .308 | .778 |
| 8 | Max Carey | 50.6 | 2476 | 9363 | 1545 | 2665 | 419 | 159 | 70 | 800 | 1040 | 695 | 738 | .285 | .747 |
| 9 | Larry Doby | 47.4 | 1533 | 5348 | 960 | 1515 | 243 | 52 | 253 | 970 | 871 | 1011 | 47 | .283 | .876 |
| 10 | Edd Roush | 46.5 | 1967 | 7363 | 1099 | 2376 | 339 | 182 | 68 | 981 | 484 | 260 | 268 | .323 | .815 |
| 11 | Earl Averill | 45.0 | 1669 | 6353 | 1224 | 2019 | 401 | 128 | 238 | 1164 | 774 | 518 | 70 | .318 | .928 |
| 12 | Kirby Puckett | 44.8 | 1783 | 7244 | 1071 | 2304 | 414 | 57 | 207 | 1085 | 450 | 965 | 134 | .318 | .837 |
| 13 | Earle Combs | 44.7 | 1455 | 5746 | 1186 | 1866 | 309 | 154 | 58 | 632 | 670 | 278 | 98 | .325 | .859 |
| 14 | Hack Wilson | 39.1 | 1348 | 4760 | 884 | 1461 | 266 | 67 | 244 | 1063 | 674 | 713 | 52 | .307 | .940 |
| 15 | Lloyd Waner | 24.3 | 1993 | 7772 | 1201 | 2459 | 281 | 118 | 27 | 598 | 420 | 173 | 67 | .316 | .747 |
| 16 | Billy Hamilton | 2.6 | 102 | 348 | 71 | 100 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 38 | 64 | 0 | 20 | .287 | .760 |
| 17 | Hugh Duffy | 1.5 | 113 | 372 | 57 | 111 | 18 | 11 | 2 | 53 | 30 | 0 | 15 | .298 | .774 |
| 18 | Jocko Conlan | -0.7 | 128 | 365 | 55 | 96 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 31 | 33 | 13 | 5 | .263 | .662 |
Clearly Williams is not at the level of Mantle, Cobb, Mays, Snider, and DiMaggio. He is, however, right there with the second tier like Kirby Puckett, Hack Wilson, and Larry Doby.
Puckett is a particularly interesting comparison, as he has similar numbers T. Williams, and also missed several career benchmarks. I believe Puckett was given a boost for a career that was shortened due to eye issues, and having big moments on the World Series stage. We can see, as is the case with Jack Morris, many writers hold stock in those historic moments. I do as well.
I would vote “no” on Williams because he just didn’t compile quite enough numbers for my taste. He had had a consistent stretch of 8 Hall of Fame seasons, but the years before and after fall just short. Russ does point out his postseason resume (22, 80 RBI, .850 OPS), but Williams comes a across as a very good complementary player on a great team. Consider that Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez, and even Scott Brosius had big seasons hitting in that Yankee lineup. Bernie’s game winning homers just don’t rank up there with other Yankee moments from the nineties
With that said, Williams has a more compelling case than I thought, and perhaps could benefit from the BBWAA “steroid grudge” that might keep the stars of his era out of Cooperstown. I wouldn’t be surprised if he got more support, and perhaps gained election later on during his eligibility ala Andre Dawson.
January 12th, 2011 at 5:25 pm
Bernie’s WAR places him at number 10 all time for CF’s. Add that with his rings/gold gloves/batting title. He looks good to me. He is the only player to win a gold glove, batting title, and world series ring in the same year. In my eyes, that makes him the best player on the best team that year.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:14 pm
I have Bernie behind Puckett, Jones, Edmonds, and Beltran for his era, and ahead of Lofton and Hunter.
He is borderline IMO.
January 13th, 2011 at 5:37 pm
Bernie is my all time favorite Yankee. Check out http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYY/1996.shtml
and go through to about 2001. He is the offensive leader for the team during their late 90′s championship runs. He is often overlooked and under-rated because of bigger personalities on the team (O’Neil, Tino, Boggs,etc).
January 13th, 2011 at 5:39 pm
^^^^
I’m sure you will find his stats suprising. Don’t forget those Yankee teams are considered some of the best all time teams in baseball history.
January 14th, 2011 at 1:06 pm
How about we just put anyone that ever put on a Yankee Uniform in the Hall of Fame and make it easy.16 seasons, .297/.381/.477, 287 homeruns, 2336 hits and four gold gloves, one silver slugger, five times an allstar and never in the top 5 in MVP voting in a given year. A really nice career, but all time great come on.
Will Clark - 15 seasons, .303/.384/.479, 284 homeruns, 2176 hits and a gold glove, two silver sluggers six times an all star and 4 times top 5 in MVP voting. (didn’t make it two years on the ballot)
This every yankee is a hall of famer has to stop. Guys like Williams and Mattingly were very good players in a big market, no more to no less, all time greats? No way.