The 50 Greatest Players in New York Yankees History

I should preface this review by stating, I have never been or will never be a Yankee fan. As a matter of fact,
I am on the very opposite end of the baseball spectrum (actually sports spectrum) in that I root for the Chicago Cubs. Having said that however, if you are a baseball fan of any kind you will still enjoy this work. Even if you are a devout Yankee hater, I'm sure you'll admit that the Yankees have had some of the greatest players in baseball history. This book by Robert Cohen attempts to rank the top 50 all time.
As you might imagine there is no way everyone is going to agree with a list like this. However, it really didn't make any difference to me as Cohen does a fine job in profiling the 50 Yankees he has chosen for the list. show more Each profile has the basic player history, but also memorable moments from their careers and reasons why Cohen placed them in the order they did. From a baseball history perspective, I think this book is very well done and would be enjoyed by all baseball fans (even Red Sox fans). show less

I love lists, baseball and the Philadelphia Phillies. Living in NYC these last 25, years I have learned to love the Yankees as well. After all, they play in the American League, so they only play the Phillies in meaningful games once a century in the World Series.

This book delivers what it claims. It is a ranking of the greatest Yankees, in order. Cohen has a few pages of explanation for each entry, along with a summary of achievements. You may disagree with some of his choices (Robinson Cano over Tino Martinez?), but there is plenty here to argue over!

This is pretty straightforward, the 50 greatest Yankees listed in order of greatness. I liked the fact that the author didn’t go for the new is better philosophy and that there were lesser-known, but still qualified players featured. Each player has a summary of his time with the Yankees and his best season and most memorable moments. This is a good pick-up even if you are not a die-hard Yankee fan, (Go Rays!)

Compiling any kind of list with the word "greatest" in it is going to be problematic, and certainly writing a book about the greatest players in the history of the Yankees is going to be tricky, but Robert W Cohen in his book, The 50 Greatest Players in New York Yankees History gives it an honest shot. Providing a strong introduction to his book where he outlines his criteria for his listing, Cohen then goes on to provide interesting stats and biographies of his picks of the best New York Yankees. Certainly, Alex Rodriguez is a problematic choice, but otherwise, this is a well researched and informative read. This book would make a great gift for any Yankee fan --- especially if he (or she!) wants to argue about the author's picks!

I'm not sure anyone will ever be able to write the definitive book that lists the 50 greatest players on any baseball team. Robert Cohen has tried and appears to have done a lot of research (along with his own knowledge as a Yankees fan). It appears as though he's used reasonable criteria to make his selections. I don't disagree with most of the selections...a solid group of players. Makes anyone appreciate the dynasty. I think it's an incredibly difficult task to compare the players of old (pre-DH, before relief pitchers became such an important part of a team, and different types of stadiums) with today's players. The stats are definitely not comparable. I still have more respect overall for those old players, because I think they had show more to overcome many more obstacles and were much better natural athletes than today's players (pampered, often drug-enhanced, all sorts of training options)

In particular, I must beg to differ with the placement of Alex Rodriguez so high on the list. Anyone whose "talents" are most likely the result of drug enhancement really cannot compare with the greats like Ruth and even Derek Jeter. I also noted in the Rodriguez section that the author does not include any team-mate quotations, as he did with most other players. Could that be because Rodriguez is not highly regarded by his teammates? Is he really a team player, or more interested in his own stats? And, that was one of the criteria for selection...team influence in and out of clubhouse. Also interesting that Roger Clemens, with all of his great statistics, did NOT make the top 50. Sometimes I wonder if the more subjective criteria were really applied equally to all players. For this reason, I'm not rating this book higher.

In general, an interesting book to browse and discuss with fellow baseball fans. show less

http://www.moibibliomaniac.com/2013/08/a-most-heavenly-review.html

A Most Heavenly Review?

Things have gone to hell in a hand basket up here. And She is pissed. New York Yankee fans are fighting amongst each other over that darn book, The 50 Greatest Players in New York Yankees History.

It all started out peacefully, with Yankee fans preaching about glowing deeds Yankee players from their respective generations accomplished. But then it turned to nasty words –– words we don't usually hear up here –– about the has-beens and upstarts with undeserved better rankings than their players of their own generations. To top it off, some of the Yankee fans managed to get their favorite players riled up. And that made the angels nervous show more because they had seen what pride hath wrought up here before.

I tell you, She is threatening to send the whole bunch to Purgatory, fans and players alike. And as for that all-knowing author, Robert H. Cohen –– God rest his soul –– I hope he knows there will be a proverbial lightning bolt heading his way in the near future.

All was well when an early review copy of that darn book somehow made its way up here. Yankee fans from all generations had no qualms at all with Cohen's first four picks: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle. There were a number of rumblings concerning the placement of the next five: Yogi Berra, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Bill Dickey, and Whitey Ford. But a great multitude of Yankee fans went through our holy roof when it was announced that Cohen selected Don Mattingly as the tenth greatest player in New York Yankees history.

Thank God for no-nonsense gun laws up here, or we would have had a bloody war on our holy hands. No-nonsense gun laws? Simple. It means "no guns, period"(.)

The bickering over Mattingly got so bad that She commanded me in to mediate the mess. I chose two of the most vociferous Yankee fans: one from Generation X, and the other from Generation Y. I set up two pulpits. And then I said, "Let the debate begin."

Says the Generation X Fan:
Don Mattingly? Really? Bull Donkey...

(Note from me: much stronger words were used, but we don't record such words up here).

How many home runs did he hit in a World Series game? None. Umm... how many World Series games did he play in? None. Yes, he is "number ten," all right.

Rebuts Generation Y Fan:

Why? Why did Cohen select Don Mattingly? Because Mattingly is the greatest player in New York Yankees history who never played in a World Series! Moreover, Mattingly holds the Major-League record for most home runs over an eight-game stretch –– ten of them he hit!

Retorts Generation X Fan:
Ten home runs? Wow! Roger Maris hit 61 home runs and where is he on Cohen's list? Number 22. Number 22? Are you kidding me?
(Note from me: "Kidding" is not the precise word Generation X Fan used, but it does end in "ing.").

Are you sure you're not related to Mattingly? Maybe Cohen is related to Mattingly?

At this point in the debate, Generation X Fan asks me to check The Book of Deeds online to see if either Cohen or Generation Y Fan is related to Mattingly. I have the results in two seconds: "Neither Cohen or Generation Y Fan is related to Mattingly," I reply.

Says Generation X Fan:
I am troubled with Cohen's interpretation of what really went on in 1961. That's not how I remember it. And I lived it. If I may, Pete, can I read a portion from Cohen's book which really disturbs me?

I nod my head. The multitude of Yankee fans grows noisier. Could this matter be the proverbial nail on the head?

Generation X Fan reads from pages 115 and 116 of Cohen's book:

...The feelings of the fans toward Mantle and Maris gradually intensified the following year, as the two sluggers drew closer and closer to Babe Ruth's single-season home run record. Since the mark was held by a Yankee, New York fans felt that Mantle should be the one to break it. Furthermore, many people believed that Maris's .269 batting average made him unworthy of eclipsing the great Ruth's long-standing record. The fans subsequently cast Maris as an outsider and a usurper, and nothing he might have done from that point on would have been good enough to please them.
Displaying their indifference toward Maris, fewer than 15,000 fans showed up at Yankee Stadium on the season's final day to see the slugger establish a single-season record....

Generation X Fan clears his throat and continues:
I was fourteen years old that year. Injury-wearied Mantle was the favorite, and he valiantly tried to keep pace with Maris, but he eventually ended up in the hospital in September. I kept track of their home run race by attending games, watching games on TV, listening to games on the radio, and reading about the home run race in the newspapers. Maris gradually developed a toxic relationship with the press, but the majority of the fans still respected him. And in late September, Maris was our only hope. We were still rooting for him to break Ruth's record. Speaking of rooting for him, I was at that game. I saw Roger Maris break Babe Ruth's record. I tell you, it felt like there were more than 15,000 fans in the stands. Could you please check on that Pete?

I check and respond:
Roger Maris yesterday became the first major league player in history to hit more than 60 home runs in a season.
The 27-year-old Yankee outfielder hit his sixty-first at the stadium before a roaring crowd of 23,154 in the Bombers' final game of the regular campaign.

Generation X Fan smiles and says, "I'm glad the Book of Deeds has got it right."

To which I reply: "Actually, that's from page one of the Oct. 2, 1961 edition of The New York Times. And films captured of that momentous moment show fans giving Maris a standing ovation."

At this point in the debate, with the record set straight, God had seen and heard enough. In two nanoseconds She implanted the thought in the brains of Yankee fans and players alike that all Yankee players were equal to each other in Her eyes. And those were the only eyes that counted.

As for Cohen, God relented. She cancelled the lightning strike. She figured he would get enough static from the Yankee fans still on earth. God knows who the greatest players in New York Yankees history are! show less

"The 50 Greatest Players in New York Yankees History" will be well-received by Yankee fans and those wanting to do a little quick research on some of the best in Bronx Bomber history. Written by Robert W. Cohen, a self-pronounced Yankee fan who grew up practically in the shadow of Yankee Stadium, the book is a well-researched labor of love.

As a longtime Yankee fan, I'm not sure that I agree with Cohen's ranking of all 50 players, but he does backs up his list with logic and stats. There are few surprises in the first 10 or so (Ruth, Gehrig, Dimaggio, Mantle, Berra, Jeter, just to name the top 6), but there are a number of lesser-known Yankee (like Bob Shawkey, Vic Raschi, and Charlie Keller) who populate the bottom third of the show more list.

The book is set up in short 3-5 pages of snippets about the history, playing days as a Yankee, best moments, and overall stats for the 50 players. Weighing in at 288 pages, the book also features 30 pages or so of pictures of the great 50, a short summary of the second best 50, and a glossary of abbreviations and terms for stats cited. show less