New York Yankees: Jorge Posada and 15 Most Overrated Yankees of All-Time

Like most New York Yankees fans, I live and breathe Yankees. Yankee blood flows through my veins.

Over the years since I was a child, I watched my beloved Yankees go through the good, the bad and the ugly.

No matter how ugly things became, I always believed in my team.

Many athletes have come and gone through the Yankees organization. Some were for a year or two, and some were career-long Yankees.

My respect and admiration for all of the athletes who have played for and have become part of the Yankees culture is immeasurable.

As much respect as I have for them, even I must admit that there are some former athletes who played for NY who received a great deal of hype, but didn’t truly earn the recognition and fanfare, and are somewhat overrated.

Many readers will disagree with me, I’m sure, but these are the players who stand out in my mind.

They are listed in no particular order.

Jorge Posada

Who doesn’t love and respect Jorge Posada?

His retirement announcement left fans feeling distressed, and everyone will miss him.

He has been one of the faces of the Yankees, and will remain so for years to come.

With all of his success, the reality is that his overall numbers were never anything spectacular.

His numbers were actually solid, but he received more attention during his career that wasn’t necessarily well-deserved.

Over 17 seasons, his batting average was .273. That average certainly isn’t poor, but it isn’t extraordinary, either.

He hit 379 doubles, 10 triples, 275 home runs and 1,065 RBI over those 17 years.

Again, those numbers aren’t poor, but over 17 years they aren’t exactly amazing.

Posada had a good career, and he made significant contributions to the Yankees, but he’s no Hall of Famer.

Aaron Boone

Yankee fans remember very well game seven of the 2003 ALCS against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.

He hit a walk-off home run off of Tim Wakefield sending the Yankees to the World Series.

Boone received a colossal amount of praise for that home run.

For many Yankee fans, beating the Red Sox in that series was more important and more exciting than the actual World Series.

Boone was with NY for only one season. That moment in the 2003 ALCS was exhilarating, but it was really his only impressive moment with NY.

With a batting average of .254, he never had a significant effect on the team.

Yes, it’s true that he hit that home run in a moment when it truly mattered, but the majority of his time with NY was uneventful.

Gary Sheffield

Some fans loved to hate Gary Sheffield. He had a bit of a temper.

Sheffield actually put up some pretty good numbers with the Yankees.

After some intense negotiations, he and NY agreed to a three-year, $39 million contract.

While his batting average over three years was .291, he was paid to perform better.

He hit .312 with the Dodgers, .319 with the Braves and .319 with the Padres.

Expectations were high for Sheffield because of previous accomplishments, and his salary.

His numbers were decent, but NY expected much more. He definitely did not earn what the Yankees thought that he was worth.

Danny Tartabull

Tartabull was never more than an average player with the Yankees.

He probably should have stayed with the Kansas City Royals where he excelled.

Over four seasons with the Yankees, he had a .252 batting average.

In five seasons with Kansas City, his average was .290.

During his time with NY, he didn’t produce anything significant.

Jim Leyritz

Fans loved when Leyritz stepped up to the plate because of his unusual and bizarre batting stance.

He spent nine years with NY with a .263 batting average.

He hit a couple of clutch home runs in the 1995 ALDS and Game 4 in the 1996 World Series.

He was another Yankee who was an average player who gained more popularity than he had earned, probably from his batting stance that kids mimicked.

Jim Abbott

Jim Abbott was a pitcher with the Yankees during the 1993 and 1994 seasons.

He was born without a right hand and compensated by developing his left arm and became a pitcher.

Abbott is famous and well-known for the no-hitter that he pitched on Sept. 4, 1993 against the Cleveland Indians.

We all respect him for his accomplishment and for his determination from such a young age to never allow his lack of a right hand to prevent him from success.

Other than that game, his numbers with the Yankees overall were not impressive.

He had a win-loss record of 20-22 with a 4.45 ERA.

His no-hitter gained him some fame, but he became somewhat overrated because everyone loved him for his triumph.

Billy Martin

Many will disagree with me, but Billy Martin was overrated as a Yankee.

The 1953 season was his highlight season with 75 RBI, 24 doubles, six triples and 15 home runs.

He was the MVP of the World Series that year hitting .500 in the series.

Over seven seasons with NY, his batting average was .262, 188 RBI, 30 home runs, 70 doubles and 18 triples.

Sure, he made some clutch plays and had some clutch hits, but overall, he was just another average player with a few exceptional moments.

Melky Cabrera

Melky Cabrera’s tenure with the Yankees certainly had some high points.

He contributed to the success of the Yankees with some great plays and clutch hits, but not with any real consistency.

Known as the “Melky Catch,” he stole a home run from Boston’s Manny Ramirez by leaping over the wall.

The 2006 and 2007 seasons had some heated moments for Melky with his first grand slam, and his first career five RBI game.

On June 15, 2007, he became the second youngest Yankee after Mickey Mantle to hit a walk-off home run.

All of these are great accomplishments, but they were short-lived.

In 2008, his fielding was less than adequate, and he hit poorly. He was sent down to Triple-A for a month to refine his skills.

Cabrera wrapped up his time with the Yankees at the end of the 2009 season and was a part of winning the World Series.

2009 was a better season for him, but it certainly wasn’t stellar.

Over five seasons with NY, he collected 36 home runs, 90 doubles and 12 triples with a .269 batting average.

His numbers were decent, but nothing special and he was inconsistent.

Rick Cerone

When I was a kid, I saw Rick Cerone play at Yankee Stadium and thought that he was the coolest guy.

My friends and I would yell toward him and wave, and he always waved back and said hello.

To a kid, that’s a huge thing to happen.

1980 was his best season with the Yankees. His batting average was .277 with 30 doubles.

During his seven years with NY, he hit 31 home runs, 81 doubles, seven triples and 203 RBI with a batting average of .249.

Fans loved Cerone, and he had tough shoes to fill when he took over catching responsibilities after Thurmon Munson died.

The seasons following 1980 showed some decline in his productivity.

When he was traded after the 1984 season to the Braves, I felt really sad as a kid.

As much as I and other fans loved him as a Yankee back then, when I take a look at his numbers now, I realize that he did nothing significantly special in NY.

Gaylord Perry

Let me start this one by stating that Gaylord Perry was an amazing pitcher whose career spanned 22 years.

In no way was he overrated when looking at his numbers throughout his entire career. Overall, he was astonishing.

His brief time with the Yankees was different. As a Yankee, he wasn’t bad. His numbers were actually respectable.

When compared to his numbers throughout the rest of his career, his time with NY just wasn’t anything extraordinary.

He had a win-loss record of 4-4 with an ERA of 4.44.

His fame and notoriety centered more on doctoring the baseball and throwing spitballs.

Knowing how incredible he was playing with other teams, I wish that he had been given more of an opportunity to be that successful with the Yankees.

Fred Stanley

Over 14 seasons in MLB, Fred Stanley spent eight of them playing with the Yankees.

His best batting average was during his two years with the Milwaukee Brewers hitting .279.

Over his eight years with NY, he hit .222 with 18 doubles, four triples, six home runs and 78 RBI.

He spent a good amount of time with the Yankees, but his actual contributions were fairly minimal.

Darryl Strawberry

Darryl Strawberry was the 1983 NL Rookie of the Year with the Mets.

He was feared as a batter, and joined the 30-30 club hitting 39 home runs and 36 stolen bases in 1987.

From 1983 to 1990, Strawberry was instrumental in the success of the Mets.

He signed with the Yankees in 1996 after a suspension from the league for cocaine use, and a brief stint playing in the Northern League Saint Paul Saints.

With the Yankees, he showed some brief moments of his former superstar status helping them win the World Series in 1996 and 1998.

When compared to his earlier years with the Mets, his five-year .255 batting average with the Yankees seems dull.

When Strawberry signed with the Yankees, NY buzzed with excitement.

He unquestionably delivered some thrilling moments, but they were few compared to his years with the Mets.

Hitting 34 doubles, three triples, 41 home runs and 114 RBI over five years wasn’t exactly breathtaking. 

His signing was quite overrated.

Dwight Gooden

Gooden spent 11 years with the Mets where he was nicknamed “Doc Gooden,” and “Dr. K.”

He dominated batters striking out 1,875 during those 11 years.

Gooden hit some bumpy roads later in his career and struggled with drug abuse, which seems to have led to his career declining.

Many analysts believe that although drug abuse was a factor, his workload as a young pitcher throwing almost 11,000 pitches from 1983 to 1985 was possibly another factor.

Yankee fans expected phenomenal results from Gooden when he signed in 1996, but what they received was a bit of a letdown.

He started out pitching poorly and was almost released in April, 1996. He had a few good outings after that, but never again reached stellar numbers.

Gooden played for three teams from 1998 to 2000, and then returned to the Yankees.

He started five games for NY, and became a reliever. He produced nothing significant for NY, but received a World Series ring in 2000.

Sterling Hitchcock

Hitchcock will always be remembered for his role in the 1998 playoffs with the San Diego Padres.

He won both of his starts with a 0.90 ERA in the NLCS.

Playing for the Yankees in the 2001 World Series, he was the winning pitcher in game five.

As with other Yankees on this list who were expected to play better than they did, he was expected to pitch much better than he did.

Over seven years with NY, he had a win-loss record of 22-24 with a 5.15 ERA.

His best year of his career was in 1998 with the Padres with a 3.93 ERA.

He performed well at different points in his career, but lacked a bit in his performance with the Yankees.

David Justice

David Justice spent the majority of his MLB career with Atlanta.

During his eight years in Atlanta, he was a multi-time All-Star, multi-MVP award winner and he won a Silver Slugger award with them and with Cleveland.

Expectations were high when he was traded to NY in 2000.

Starting out slowly in 2000, picked things up and he turned on the heat winning the ALCS MVP Award.

During his two years with the Yankees, he hit 33 doubles, one triple, 38 home runs and 111 RBI with a .268 batting average.

While these numbers are nothing to simply brush off, they are also not the stronger numbers that the Yankees organization anticipated.

His brief time in NY was less than memorable.

Ruben Sierra

Ruben Sierra was traded to the Yankees in 1995 for Danny Tartabull.

He was traded to Detroit after the 1995 season, and after playing for numerous teams he was traded back to the Yankees in 2003.

In the 2004 ALDS, he hit a clutch three-run home run and helped the Yankees win the series.

Known as a powerful hitter, NY expected him to be more productive.

During his five years with the Yankees, he had 64 doubles, three triples, 45 home runs and 221 RBI with a .254 batting average.

New York believed that he would reach numbers that met or exceeded what he reached with the Texas Rangers.

Unfortunately, that belief did not come to fruition.

His numbers with NY were respectable, but the Yankees were looking for a power-hitter who could come off of the bench.

He was able to perform somewhat well, but he did not meet those expectations.

The Yankees Dynasty

My love for the Yankees is lifelong, and it pains me to accept that there are some who are and were overrated players over the years.

They all have my respect no matter what amount of significance they contributed.

Here's to an awesome and exciting 2012 season, and a World Series victory in the Bronx.