Donnie Baseball

Did you hear that?

Millions of Yankee fans just dropped to their knees and bowed their heads. Clearly, they're not interested in hearing the truth, so we'll leave them as they are.

The rest of you can read on, and spend some quality time taking an objective look at Mattingly's True Yankeehood.

First, the numbers.

Three conclusions to draw from this:

1. Mattingly was good - very good. He was certainly one of the better first basemen of his era when he was healthy, and was one hell of a hitter. He set some very impressive records, including tying Dale Long by homering in eight straight games and hitting six grand slams in 1987, and his 22 putouts on July 20th of that year are still tied for the most ever.

2. He wasn't, however, head and shoulders above all of the other guys.

Carew was better (much better), as was Murray, and Cecil Cooper was definitely in the same conversation. I guess he was better than Garvey, although he had about 2000 fewer plate appearances, but this guy was a far better player than Mattingly was. He just didn't play in New York.

Keith Hernandez was certainly as good as Mattingly, if not better, and Mark Grace was close too.

Like I said Mattingly was good - really good. But he wasn't great. Talk to the numbers, and to my hand.

3. Look back at the dedication line from Mattingly's bbref page. This is what we're up against, Pinstripe Worthiers... this guy is so entrenched in the annals of supposed True Yankeehood that people are confusing their admiration for him with love for their dads. Ugh...this is going to be tough.

TRUE YANKEEHOOD QUALITIES:

The Preposterous HOF Argument: +1000 TYP

This is borderline ridiculous. As noted above, Mattingly was a very good first baseman. But let's take a look at the guys currently in Cooperstown who played first base for most of the careers, shall we? Such a list can be found here.

Yeah, OK, maybe, just maybe, he was a little better than Tony Perez. But as you Yankee fans yourselves would say in a similar situation, Perez has rings, and produced big-time in the postseason.

George Kelly was a mistake, and got in 51 years after his final season. So don't go there.

Guys NOT in the HOF who were as good as or better than Mattingly, you ask? Oh, there's plenty...Cooper, Hernandez, Boog Powell.

In summary, word has it that this was written with Mattingly's HOF considerations in mind...he just wasn't that level of a player.

So why is this positive? Well, that's what True Yankees end up with when it's all over for them - an overinflated image in the media and in their own minds of how good they were, just because they played in the Bronx. Just ask Thurman Munson and Derek Jeter. Yeah, I said it.

"Huge in the Clutch" in 1995: +750 TYP

This is what Yankee fans do: they find some pathetically small sample size to bolster their case if and when it works, and then base a player's entire reputation on them. In this case, it's Mattingly's .417 average against the Mariners in 1995 comes from 24 at bats... and in case you're forgetting, Yankee fans, they lost! After winning game 2 in a fifteen-inning classic to go up 2-0 (by the way, Mattingly grounded out in the top of that inning and thus did nothing when it was truly clutch time), the Bombers dropped three in a row to bow out quietly. Hey Yankee fans, it might interest you all to be reminded of the fact that Randy Johnson, who has already been found to be Pinstripe Worthy in a controversial ruling here, won two of those games, striking out Mattingly 3 times in game 3 and 16 Yankees overall in 10 innings.

What about Donnie Baseball's other postseason appearances? Oh, that's right...he didn't have any! Yankee fans delight in labeling Winfield Mr. May, but the truth is that Winfield won two postseason series in pinstripes to Mattingly's none, and, oh yeah, he's got a ring. How does your own medicine taste?

It looks like a paradox, I know, that this futility could be considered helpful to Mattingly's True Yankeehood, but the actions of the fans are what is significant here. They want him to be a Yankee, so they trumpet his meaningless .417 in a series in which they inexcusably choked as a sign of performance, ignoring the fact that Winfield at least got them to the World Series, somewhere the Yankees never got until Mattingly was sitting behind Tino Martinez.

Going through the Old Fogey hitting coach for Torre phase: + 250 TYP



Mattingly actually had a fairly well-publicized spat with the Boss (see below) that strained his True Yankee affiliations, but he's avoided Winfield/Yogi Berra status by hanging out in the dugout with Torre and pretending that Gary Sheffield and Jason Giambi listen to Mattingly's advice about their steroid-enhanced swing. Yeah, sure they do. He's even kissing George's ass in interviews now.


T-BROOK called...he wants his look back: + 500 TYP




Those familiar with my writing know that I find TOM BROOKENS' mustache to be far less porntastic than at least one other, but the fact remains that Brookens originated and perfected the post-disco used car salesman/traffic cop chic. The Yankees steal everything, from the Bambino to Raul Mondesi, and this is just another example of the pinstripers pilfering the resources of others and calling them their own. Hell, they even stole T-BROOK himself in 1989! Mattingly even sported the BROOKENS protomullet sanitation engineer look until... (see below)









NON-TRUE YANKEEHOOD QUALITIES:

Refused to cut his hair, against King George's rules: - 500 TYP

"Don Mattingly: 100% ballplayer, 0% bullshit."
- Bill James, The Bill James New Historical Baseball Abstract

Really? How did you arrive there, BJ? Doesn't undermining clubhouse chemistry qualify, especially when it directly interferes with the "Yankee Way"?





And this was back when Steinbrenner was truly The Boss: no one dared to questions to dump and get back together with Reggie, The Stick, or Billy Martin as often as he frequents the local Chinese buffet in St. Pete? Totally unYankeefied.



Zero Championships, 1 Playoff Appearance: -500 TYP

Yankee fans can't have it both ways. Well, they have been, but it stops now. You can't let Captain Dreamboat get credit for the 4 rings and then fail to hold Mattingly unaccountable for a string of failure. As described above, yeah, Winfield performed poorly in October, but Mattingly ultimately didn't accomplish enough in April, May, June, and the rest of the time to get the Yankees to the postseason.

Quit $%(@ing Whining Already About How Much Pain You're In: - 250 TYP



Oh, yes, it's time to talk about the back. Another tremendous hypocrisy: Yankee fans pride themselves on holding pinstripers to the same standard of performance: no rings, hit the highway. If a Yankee does not reach the championship threshold, or at least humiliate the Red Sox, there are supposed to be no valid excuses. So stop kvetching about your aching back. Oh yeah...Mantle WON.

Final score: + 1250 TYP



So that's where we'll leave you, Don: exposed, bruised, and bleeding, but ultimately a True Yankee. You're already in Monument Park, so people can grossly overrate what you brought to the table every day before the Yankees put their $400 million second-place squad out there.

Enjoy him, Yankee fans, no one else would really have fought that hard to get him anyway.

- Silk...

Red

As most of you are aware, the Yankees have not simply been kicking ass and taking names for the past decade; there is a long, rich history of domination. Just to remind everyone: “WE” HAVE TWENTY-SIX (26) WORLD SERIES VICTORIES!!!

With that in mind, let us take you along with us on our first foray into the Yankee archives many moons (and even a few scores) past.

Charles Herbert Ruffing was nicknamed “Red” most likely because of his red hair. Or, maybe he was a Commie before that was frowned upon with extreme prejudice. Yet another possibility is that, like Ellis Boyd Redding quipped in The Shawshank Redemption, “maybe it’s because [he was] Irish.”

Away we go: first, the numbers.


TRUE YANKEE QUALITIES

Member of 6 World Series Championship Teams!!! : +300 TYP

I do not think it is necessary to emphasize how vital this is for Red’s candidacy. The Bombers qualified for 7 Fall Classics during his tenure with the club, losing only the 1942 Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, who were anchored by Enos “Country” Slaughter and a 21 year-old Stan Musial.

In the Yankees' 7 Series appearances in which he participated, Mr. Ruffing was a stellar 7-2 with an ERA of 2.63 and 8 complete games in 10 outings. Well done, Red.

Would Have Been Seven, But…: +100 TYP

True Yankees of old are known for their patriotism and service to others. Back when this actually meant something, Red served in WWII during the period encompassing the 1943 & 1944 seasons, as well as the first half of 1945. Did I mention he was aged 38 at the time? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Sadly, he missed the Yankees avenging the previous year’s loss, as the holdovers thumped the evil Cardinals 4-1 in the 1943 Series. Can someone please tell me what Joe Gordon was doing that prevented him from fighting in the war?

Didn’t Need No Stinking Relievers: +50 TYP


Long before pitches, swings, batted balls and the such were charted, men pitched like men. Their pride did not allow them to leave a game, ahead or behind. Before computers were invented and realized their sole purpose: to irritate Joe Morgan to no end by writing books, there was no lefty specialist who would come in to face one batter. To that end, Red went the distance in 335 of his 536 career starts, a whopping 62.5% rate.

DEFINITELY Didn’t Need No Stinking Designated Hitter: +75 TYP

True Yankees can do it all, just like Mr. Ruffing certainly could. These nice guys have an interesting little Hall of Fame of their own, apparently dedicated to HOF players who hailed from Central Illinois. Relevant here is this nugget:

“Red Ruffing led the 1935 Yankees in both wins (16) and
batting average (.330), outpacing future Hall of Fame hitting
greats Lou Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, Bill Dickey and Earle Combs?”

Sure, calling Lazzeri a “hitting great” is a bit of a stretch, but he was pretty damn good.

In addition, we get this from Baseball Library:

“Ruffing was also one of the best-hitting pitchers of all time, with lifetime marks of .269 (10th among pitchers with 500 at-bats), 36 HR (3rd), 273 RBI, and 58 hits in 228 pinch-hitting appearances. He batted over .300 eight times, his .364 (40-for-110) in 1930 standing as the second-best single-season average for a pitcher (Walter Johnson hit .433 in 1925).”

“Stolen” from the Red Sox during the 1930 Season: +100 TYP

Alright, he wasn’t actually stolen, but he was had for a song. OK, OK, it wasn’t a song either. It was less than a song. Who the hell is Cedric Durst? You don’t know either? Stupid Red Sox. Let "us" collectively laugh at them.

The best part? That Ruffing really, really sucked for Boston, putting up a record of 39-96. That right there is sandbagging at its best.

NON-TRUE YANKEE QUALITIES

Played for the Hated Red Sox: -75 TYP

As mentioned above, the Bombers traded the equivalent of an empty roster spot to acquire the rights to Red. However, the thought that “we” were in the presence of one of “them” remains a tough pill to swallow. Fortunately, the six rings made it easier to wash down. And, again, he totally blew for them.

Was a Pitching Coach for the Mets in 1962: -50 TYP


Ewwwwww. Not only did he stay in town to coach a team that was not the Yankees, he had to take credit for (and tarnish the Yankee image in the process) coaching a staff that went 40-120. Since the team’s Pythagorean was 50-110 for the season, I blame poor staff management for those extra 10 losses. However, I would also like to hold out hope that this is another example of top-notch sandbagging.

Was a Mangled, Deformed Freak: -100 TYP


Well, it wasn’t quite that bad, but check this out, again courtesy of our buddies from Nokomis:

“Red Ruffing overcame adversity to achieve pitching stardom. As a youngster he lost four toes on his left foot in a mine accident, which hastened a transition from the outfield to the mound.”

True Yankee fans like to act all sympathetic and compassionate, but “we” actually are not. Deviations from the norm freak “us” out; sure, we’ll cheer for you and your 1.5 feet or your 1.5 arms (I’m looking at you, Jim Abbott), but you’ll never truly be one of “us”.

FINAL TOTAL: +400 TYP


And we have our first Veterans’ Committee True Yankee inductee! 231 wins while donning the pinstripes is good for 2nd place in Yankees history, behind fellow Hall of Fame member Whitey Ford who, like Red, had a Yankees cap atop his dome piece on his HOF bust. A True Yankee, through and through!

Mr. October

Not many players have embodied such conflict whilst donning the Pinstripes. He hit, he yelled, he postured, he won, he came, he left. We here at trueyankee.blogspot believe it is this conflict and duality of Yankeehood that makes him such a superb subject.

First, the numbers.

Look, the guy is a Hall of Famer, obviously. In fact, if the HOF had subdivisions which further separated the immortal from the highly elite, I think we know which group Reggie would be a part of. But, does that make him a True Yankee? Only one way to find out:

TRUE YANKEE QUALITIES

Umm, Seriously, Did You not See His Nickname???: +1200 TYP


All these problems you hear about with A-Rod and Yankee fans nowadays? Gone, if Alex could just manage to hit 3 home runs in one game to clinch a World Series. Is that really too much to ask?

So, to you seamheads out there who opine that "clutch" does not exist: True Yankee fans respectfully disagree. From the period beginning in 1977 and ending in 1981, the Bombers made 4 postseasons and qualified for 3 World Series', 2 of which they added to the ever-growing collection. There was a reason for that. That reason had a name. The name was not Mickey Rivers. You do the math.

The Aforementioned Two (2) World Series Victories: +1250 TYP

After falling in the Series in 1976, the Boss and his minions correctly estimated that the team was one key cog away from world domination. That cog was Reggie. Two consecutive championships following his arrival is no coincidence.

In the two Series victories, all Mr. October did was go .419/.520/.953 with 7HR and 16RBI. Can you say filthy? Throw in the Series MVP in '77, and you've got yourself a Pantheon performance.

The Reggie Bar: +100 TYP

This is a bit of a tough spot for True Yankee fans. See, at the end of the day, it's all about the team and the "Yankee Way". However, it would be false to state that "we" do not engage in our fair amount of hero worship. And by "fair", I mean "obscenely copious". Never tried the Reggie! Bar myself, but I would imagine it was delicious, much like the man himself.

Tried to Assassinate the Queen of England: +75 TYP


True Yankees know that there is no royalty in this world other than those who proudly display the Pinstripes. England seems to think that they can have this figurehead who rules over her subjects with a sanctimonious glare while wielding no actual power and living in opulence. Although he was with the Angels at the time, he remembered his Yankee training well. If you don't think Vincent Ludwig was a representation of Steinbrenner then, well, you just were not watching. However...

NON-TRUE YANKEE QUALITIES

Thwarted by Enrico Polazzo (aka Lieutenant Frank Drebin): -100 TYP

True Yankees just can't accept having an honest assassination attempt spoiled by a fat lady falling out of the stands and landing atop your person. In fact, the only situation in which a fat lady should be on top of a True Yankee is if she is a "slumpbuster". Even that is a stretch, because True Yankees do not have slumps.

This also seems like a good place to mention Reggie's forgettable appearances in such flops as Richie Rich and The BenchWarmers. Ugh.

"The Straw that Stirs the Drink": -75 TYP

Talk about announcing one's presence with authority. However, you never ever speak ill of a Yankee catcher, especially one who is the captain of a pennant-winning team and just picked up a little thing called the MVP. Again, True Yankees are more or less about the team. Team is about chemistry. Showing up and talking shit about your new teammates is a little unorthodox. However, he does not get docked a ton since his little ploy worked and success ensued.

In addition, he drove Billy Martin to the brink of insanity. I'l grant that this is not a very difficult task, in and of itself, but it is immense fun to imagine the carnage that would have resulted had no one held Billy back.

Almost Single-Handedly Defeated the Anti-Fraternization Rule: -150 TYP

In his first book, former umpire Ron Luciano detailed the rule against conversing with opposing players in warmups and practice prior to games. He further describes that umpires were supposed to write down the names of violators in a little notebook so that the proper fines could be dispensed. Reggie defiantly disobeyed and spoke out against this practice, saying that he should be able to talk to the other great hitters in the world about their craft to improve and make the game better.

While I do not disagree with this logic even one iota, we must understand what this rule's downfall really meant. Players today consistently deny and downplay rivalries and their importance. Fans live and die by the rivalry. "We" hate the Red Sox and all their players, so we want our players to possess that same disdain. They don't and, further, they never did, but the Anti-Fraternization rule gave us the appearance that such a tension exisited. In some cases, ignorance is bliss.

Tore it up For Teams that were not The Yankees: -150 TYPNow, I show this for two reasons. First, that is just a sick artistic rendition. Second, however, is to show that Mr. October was very visible on the national radar before he even got to New York.

However, "we" cannot begrudge Reggie his success elsewhere. Great players are great, regardless of location. Further, his teams' successes never came at the direct expense of the Yankees. Sure, he was a bit of a vagabond, playing for 5 different franchises during his 21 year career. But that's sort of endearing. He was a real-life Paladin: "Have bat, big mouth & pimp glasses, will travel."

Final Total: +2150 TYP

You guessed it: Mr. October is a True Yankee for life. This is proof that: 1) Yankee fans love great players, and 2) One really does not have to spend an overtly great amount of time with the club to be embraced.

Yankee fans would probably never consider Reggie as one of their most beloved players ever, but they sure did love what he did for the team and appreciated when he talked shit to others while repping the Bombers. Basically, he was like Gary Sheffield. With a personality. For that, we all owe.