Player Profile Classic Edition: Mr. Underrated

Bernie Williams: Hall of Fame?  Hall of Very Good?  Like many others before him Bernie “Sherwin” Williams, while a memorable great of his generation, was considered to be on the fringe of hall of fame worthy.  He was good enough to make the ballot, but generally considered a long shot going into Hall of Fame consideration.  Getting no love in his first year of eligibility, only 3% of the voters checked yes to Bernie’s name- guaranteeing that Mr. Underrated would never be considered again.  While we can never right this travesty, I still would like to argue that Bernie Williams is a Hall of Fame talent and should have in the least received enough votes to be considered for more than 1 year.

The Facts:

Over the course of 16 years with the New York Yankees, Williams accumulated impressive stats and was an integral part of 4 World Series championship teams.

                Career:

49.4 War

2336 Hits

287 Homers- Impressive considered AVG and Hits-overshadowed in the steroid era

1257 RBI

147 SBs   

1069 BB- with only 1212 SO    

.297 BA    

.381 OBP

-4 Gold Gloves- great instincts and range with frankly a terrible arm

ALCS MVP 1996

Silver Slugger 2002 (.333)

AL Batting Champ 1998 (.339)

The only bestselling recording artist from the MLB ever

               Post Season records (as of 2013): sorry that’s the best I could get

- 1^st all-time: RBI (80)- that’s fuckin right #1 babyyyyy

- 2^nd all-time: HR (22)

- 2^nd all-time: Doubles (29)

- 2^nd all-time: Hits (128)

- 2^nd all-time: Total bases (223)

- 2^nd all-time: Runs (83)

Hall of Fame Outfielders Bernie is Better than:

Kirby Puckett- Over the course of 12 years, in 600 less at bats:

302 less hits, 80 less homers, 172 less RBI, 13 less SB, 0 World Series wins and 0 Gold Gloves

Kirby edges out Bernie with a .318 AVG, but actually retired with a career .360 OBP- .20 points lower than Bernie’s

                Andre Dawson- 2,058 more at bats:

436 more hits, 151 more HR, 334 more RBI, 1367 more SB, 0 World Series wins and 0 Gold Gloves

                This is a harder sell for sure, but I would argue peak vs longevity.  Yeah Dawson compiled more offensive stats and was able to stay around for 21 long ass years, but are his stats really that impressive in almost 3,000 more at bats?

Dawson’s career AVG (.279) and OBP (.323) are both lower than Williams’ career marks

                Lou Brock- 2,463 more at bats

687 more hits, 138 less HR, 1436 less RBI, 791 more SB, 0 World Series wins and 0 Gold Gloves

                I get it, Lou Brock had 3,000 hits and stole over 900 bags, but I think that our Bernie is a comparable player.  He was a better fielder, nearly doubled Brock’s HR total, had a better AVG and OBP, and won 4 World Series rings while Brock won 0.

Brock’s career AVG (.297) and OBP (.343) are oddly low for a man with 3,000 hits.

So yeah go Bernie “Mr. Underrated” “Intangibles” “Sherwin” Williams. Eff off Ant he is a Hall of Famer