Alex Rodriguez: greatest Yankee player since Mickey Mantle.

Alex Rodriguez April 19,2008
 By Keith Allison via Wikimedia Commons

Alex Rodriguez: cheater.  cheater.  cheater.

Alex Rodriguez: liar, liar, pants on fire.

OK, now that we got that out of the way we can continue with the analysis.

Because of D-Day (Derek's retirement announcement) many will go all Derek Jeter on me.  But as addressed in the two previous posts:

Who is the best hitter Jeter is better than?

Most plate appearances (PA) by a Yankee: Jeter 11,968.  Simply looking at counts distorts Jeter's contributions and his Hit total, while impressive, is an accumulation.   It's like claiming that Pete Rose was a better hitter than Ty Cobb because Rose had the most hits.  Rose also made the most outs.

I'm going with OPS+, which has this in baseball-reference.com:

"Statistic Description: OPS+ 100*[OBP/lg OBP + SLG/lg SLG - 1] Adjusted to the player’s ballpark(s)"

OPS: "On-Base + Slugging Percentages"  Note: they're not represented as percentages.

So OPS+ is OPS adjusted for year and park.

I understand that OPS has a slight bias favoring Slugging Average but it's more easily understood than more esoteric stuff and the relative rankings are pretty similar.  See:

wRC+ v. OPS+ top 25 career.  Wednesday, December 4, 2013

OPS+ is an average.  So, a player like Jeter is hurt because of his long career.  A full career will tend to follow a bell curve.  A career cut short tends to benefit from using an average for evaluation.  That would also apply to stints with a team but not a full career.  Using counts hurts players like Joe DiMaggio who had short careers.  In this post I am looking only at performance while playing for the New York Yankees.  So, I will try to balance those conflicting dynamics.

I originally tried a query with a restriction of 5,000 PA minimum then ran it again for 4,000 PA for all Yankee batters all time.  That lower threshold allows for the inclusion of Charlie Keller, Bobby Murcer, Bill Skowron, Tommy Tresh and others.  This is cumulative data sorted by OPS+.

Rk	Player	OPS+	PA	From	To	Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Babe Ruth	209	9198	1920	1934	25-39	2084	7217	1959	2518	424	106	659	1978	1852		1122	35	94			110	117	.349	.484	.711	1.195	*97/8H31
2	Lou Gehrig	179	9663	1923	1939	20-36	2164	8001	1888	2721	534	163	493	1992	1508		790	45	106		2	102	100	.340	.447	.632	1.080	*3/H976
3	Mickey Mantle	172	9907	1951	1968	19-36	2401	8102	1676	2415	344	72	536	1509	1733	126	1710	13	14	47	113	153	38	.298	.421	.557	.977	*8397H/645
4	Joe DiMaggio	155	7673	1936	1951	21-36	1736	6821	1390	2214	389	131	361	1537	790		369	46	14		130	30	9	.325	.398	.579	.977	*8/79H3
5	Charlie Keller	152	4466	1939	1952	22-35	1066	3677	712	1053	163	69	184	723	760		481	10	19		50	45	23	.286	.410	.518	.928	*79/H
6	Alex Rodriguez	140	5657	2004	2013	28-37	1293	4829	910	1404	234	8	309	979	681	55	1080	97	0	50	130	145	30	.291	.386	.534	.920	*5D/H6
7	Dave Winfield	134	5021	1981	1990	29-38	1172	4485	722	1300	236	35	205	818	477	53	652	8	9	42	155	76	36	.290	.356	.495	.851	*97/8HD5
8	Tommy Henrich	132	5410	1937	1950	24-37	1284	4603	901	1297	269	73	183	795	712		383	34	60		62	37	19	.282	.382	.491	.873	*93/H87
9	Bobby Murcer	129	4997	1965	1983	19-37	1256	4428	641	1231	192	29	175	687	491	50	564	17	14	47	81	74	48	.278	.349	.453	.802	*89DH/756
10	Bill Skowron	129	4102	1954	1962	23-31	1087	3748	518	1103	173	44	165	672	278	29	588	35	9	32	129	14	13	.294	.346	.496	.842	*3H/54
11	Don Mattingly	127	7722	1982	1995	21-34	1785	7003	1007	2153	442	20	222	1099	588	136	444	21	13	96	191	14	9	.307	.358	.471	.830	*3/D9H7584
12	Bill Dickey	127	7064	1928	1946	21-39	1789	6300	930	1969	343	72	202	1209	678		289	31	51		49	36	32	.313	.382	.486	.868	*2/H
13	Robinson Cano	125	5791	2005	2013	22-30	1374	5336	799	1649	375	28	204	822	350	65	689	54	10	41	171	38	28	.309	.355	.504	.860	*4/DH6
14	Bernie Williams	125	9053	1991	2006	22-37	2076	7869	1366	2336	449	55	287	1257	1069	97	1212	39	12	64	223	147	87	.297	.381	.477	.858	*8D/9H7
15	Paul O'Neill	125	5368	1993	2001	30-38	1254	4700	720	1426	304	14	185	858	586	51	710	13	0	69	174	80	40	.303	.377	.492	.869	*9/7HD3
16	Yogi Berra	125	8350	1946	1963	21-38	2116	7546	1174	2148	321	49	358	1430	704	49	411	52	9	44	146	30	26	.285	.348	.483	.830	*2H79/35
17	Earle Combs	125	6513	1924	1935	25-36	1456	5746	1186	1866	309	154	58	632	670		278	17	74			98	71	.325	.397	.462	.859	*87/H9
18	Jorge Posada	121	7150	1995	2011	23-39	1829	6092	900	1664	379	10	275	1065	936	78	1453	74	1	47	186	20	21	.273	.374	.474	.848	*2DH/34
19	Roy White	121	7735	1965	1979	21-35	1881	6650	964	1803	300	51	160	758	934	66	708	29	53	69	123	233	117	.271	.360	.404	.764	*7HD/89534
20	Bob Meusel	121	5543	1920	1929	23-32	1294	5032	764	1565	338	87	146	1002	349		556	20	143			134	102	.311	.358	.500	.858	79/5H83
21	Joe Gordon	120	4216	1938	1946	23-31	1000	3686	596	1000	186	38	153	617	481		508	19	30		97	68	48	.271	.358	.467	.825	*4/3H6
22	Tony Lazzeri	120	7068	1926	1937	22-33	1659	6094	952	1784	327	115	169	1157	830		821	19	115			147	79	.293	.379	.467	.847	*45/6H37
23	Ben Chapman	119	4018	1930	1936	21-27	910	3539	626	1079	209	64	60	589	404		362	20	51			184	93	.305	.379	.451	.830	789/54H
24	Derek Jeter	117	11968	1995	2013	21-39	2602	10614	1876	3316	525	65	256	1261	1047	39	1753	164	89	54	272	348	95	.312	.381	.446	.828	*6/DH
25	Thurman Munson	116	5905	1969	1979	22-32	1423	5344	696	1558	229	32	113	701	438	59	571	42	21	58	160	48	50	.292	.346	.410	.756	*2/DH9375
Rk	Player	OPS+	PA	From	To	Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
26	Tom Tresh	115	4520	1961	1969	22-30	1098	3920	549	967	166	33	140	493	511	30	651	38	21	28	62	43	23	.247	.337	.413	.750	786/5H9
27	Hank Bauer	115	5374	1948	1959	25-36	1406	4784	792	1326	211	56	158	654	491	10	594	33	46	19	83	48	33	.277	.347	.444	.791	*97H/82
28	Graig Nettles	114	6248	1973	1983	28-38	1535	5519	750	1396	202	20	250	834	627	55	739	31	8	62	115	18	25	.253	.329	.433	.762	*5/HD6
29	Tino Martinez	113	4244	1996	2005	28-37	1054	3770	566	1039	189	11	192	739	405	42	546	27	1	41	103	17	10	.276	.347	.484	.831	*3/HD
30	Gil McDougald	111	5398	1951	1960	23-32	1336	4676	697	1291	187	51	112	576	559	8	623	36	97	27	93	45	44	.276	.356	.410	.766	456/H
31	Elston Howard	110	5488	1955	1967	26-38	1492	5044	588	1405	211	50	161	733	342	72	717	24	26	49	148	8	13	.279	.324	.436	.760	*27H/39
32	Wally Pipp	107	6356	1915	1925	22-32	1488	5594	820	1577	259	121	80	826	490		495	31	226			114	60	.282	.343	.414	.757	*3/H
33	Willie Randolph	105	7464	1976	1988	21-33	1694	6303	1027	1731	259	58	48	549	1005	29	512	28	75	54	171	251	82	.275	.374	.357	.731	*4/HD
34	Joe Pepitone	105	4115	1962	1969	21-28	1051	3841	435	967	113	24	166	541	223	50	413	19	8	25	94	31	23	.252	.294	.423	.718	*38/9H7
35	Hal Chase	101	4466	1905	1913	22-30	1061	4158	551	1182	165	50	20	494	147		367	16	145			248	22	.284	.311	.362	.674	*3/487615
36	Red Rolfe	99	5406	1931	1942	22-33	1175	4827	942	1394	257	67	69	497	526		335	10	42		14	44	20	.289	.360	.413	.773	*5/6H
37	Phil Rizzuto	93	6718	1941	1956	23-38	1661	5816	877	1588	239	62	38	563	651	1	398	49	193	2	107	149	58	.273	.351	.355	.706	*6/H4
38	Roger Peckinpaugh	93	5263	1913	1921	22-30	1219	4555	670	1170	174	53	36	427	508		457	16	190			143	43	.257	.334	.342	.676	*6/H
39	Clete Boyer	86	4037	1959	1966	22-29	1068	3658	434	882	140	25	95	393	297	51	608	15	27	38	81	27	12	.241	.298	.371	.669	*56/H4
40	Tony Kubek	85	4493	1957	1965	21-29	1092	4167	522	1109	178	30	57	373	217	24	441	13	71	26	62	29	23	.266	.303	.364	.667	*6/7H58943
41	Horace Clarke	84	5143	1965	1974	25-34	1230	4723	543	1213	149	23	27	300	357	18	356	11	28	24	77	151	58	.257	.309	.315	.624	*4/H65D
42	Frankie Crosetti	83	7268	1932	1948	21-37	1683	6277	1006	1541	260	65	98	649	792		799	114	90		59	113	62	.245	.341	.354	.695	*65/H4
43	Bobby Richardson	77	5780	1955	1966	19-30	1412	5386	643	1432	196	37	34	390	262	20	243	7	98	30	100	73	48	.266	.299	.335	.634	*4/H56

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 2/14/2014.

The big four occupy the top spots.  Keller squeezes in at number 5.  Highest rank since number 3 Mantle is number 6: Rodriguez 140.  Jeter is number 24 with 117.  That is artificially low and will be addressed but the rank of Rodriguez is genuine given he is number 22 in PA with 5,657 and has played ten seasons with the Yankees.

Candidates for best Yankee since Mantle who retired in 1968; query starts in 1965 to include all of the Yankee careers of Murcer and White:

Rk	Player	OPS+	PA	From	To	Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Alex Rodriguez	140	5657	2004	2013	28-37	1293	4829	910	1404	234	8	309	979	681	55	1080	97	0	50	130	145	30	.291	.386	.534	.920	*5D/H6
2	Dave Winfield	134	5021	1981	1990	29-38	1172	4485	722	1300	236	35	205	818	477	53	652	8	9	42	155	76	36	.290	.356	.495	.851	*97/8HD5
3	Bobby Murcer	129	4997	1965	1983	19-37	1256	4428	641	1231	192	29	175	687	491	50	564	17	14	47	81	74	48	.278	.349	.453	.802	*89DH/756
4	Don Mattingly	127	7722	1982	1995	21-34	1785	7003	1007	2153	442	20	222	1099	588	136	444	21	13	96	191	14	9	.307	.358	.471	.830	*3/D9H7584
5	Robinson Cano	125	5791	2005	2013	22-30	1374	5336	799	1649	375	28	204	822	350	65	689	54	10	41	171	38	28	.309	.355	.504	.860	*4/DH6
6	Bernie Williams	125	9053	1991	2006	22-37	2076	7869	1366	2336	449	55	287	1257	1069	97	1212	39	12	64	223	147	87	.297	.381	.477	.858	*8D/9H7
7	Paul O'Neill	125	5368	1993	2001	30-38	1254	4700	720	1426	304	14	185	858	586	51	710	13	0	69	174	80	40	.303	.377	.492	.869	*9/7HD3
8	Jorge Posada	121	7150	1995	2011	23-39	1829	6092	900	1664	379	10	275	1065	936	78	1453	74	1	47	186	20	21	.273	.374	.474	.848	*2DH/34
9	Roy White	121	7735	1965	1979	21-35	1881	6650	964	1803	300	51	160	758	934	66	708	29	53	69	123	233	117	.271	.360	.404	.764	*7HD/89534
10	Derek Jeter	117	11968	1995	2013	21-39	2602	10614	1876	3316	525	65	256	1261	1047	39	1753	164	89	54	272	348	95	.312	.381	.446	.828	*6/DH
11	Thurman Munson	116	5905	1969	1979	22-32	1423	5344	696	1558	229	32	113	701	438	59	571	42	21	58	160	48	50	.292	.346	.410	.756	*2/DH9375
12	Graig Nettles	114	6248	1973	1983	28-38	1535	5519	750	1396	202	20	250	834	627	55	739	31	8	62	115	18	25	.253	.329	.433	.762	*5/HD6
13	Tino Martinez	113	4244	1996	2005	28-37	1054	3770	566	1039	189	11	192	739	405	42	546	27	1	41	103	17	10	.276	.347	.484	.831	*3/HD
14	Willie Randolph	105	7464	1976	1988	21-33	1694	6303	1027	1731	259	58	48	549	1005	29	512	28	75	54	171	251	82	.275	.374	.357	.731	*4/HD
15	Horace Clarke	84	5143	1965	1974	25-34	1230	4723	543	1213	149	23	27	300	357	18	356	11	28	24	77	151	58	.257	.309	.315	.624	*4/H65D

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 2/14/2014.

Even with only 4,000 PA required Hall of Fame players are excluded: Reggie Jackson, Ricky Henderson, Wade Boggs.  However, Hall of Famer Dave Winfield is right behind Rodriguez.  Jeter is number 10 on this list.  One problem for Jeter is that some of his teammates are ahead of him: Rodriguez, Cano, O'Neill, Posada, Williams.  Then there is the iconic Don Mattingly and the late captain, Thurman Munson.  Several players, like Jeter, played their entire careers with the Yankees.

Mantle last had OPS+ over 150 and qualified to lead in an average in 1964 at age 32: 177; Mick led the league.  Let's look at the twenty seasons since his retirement when a Yankee reached at least 150:

Rk	Player	OPS+	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Bobby Murcer	181	1971	25	NYY	AL	146	624	529	94	175	25	6	25	94	91	13	60	0	1	3	9	14	8	.331	.427	.543	.969	*8/H
2	Paul O'Neill	177	1994	31	NYY	AL	103	443	368	68	132	25	1	21	83	72	13	56	0	0	3	16	5	4	.359	.460	.603	1.064	*97H/D
3	Alex Rodriguez	176	2007	31	NYY	AL	158	708	583	143	183	31	0	54	156	95	11	120	21	0	9	15	24	4	.314	.422	.645	1.067	*5/D
4	Alex Rodriguez	173	2005	29	NYY	AL	162	715	605	124	194	29	1	48	130	91	8	139	16	0	3	8	21	6	.321	.421	.610	1.031	*5/6D
5	Jason Giambi	172	2002	31	NYY	AL	155	689	560	120	176	34	1	41	122	109	4	112	15	0	5	18	2	2	.314	.435	.598	1.034	*3D
6	Reggie Jackson	172	1980	34	NYY	AL	143	601	514	94	154	22	4	41	111	83	15	122	2	0	2	7	1	2	.300	.398	.597	.995	*9D/H
7	Bobby Murcer	169	1972	26	NYY	AL	153	654	585	102	171	30	7	33	96	63	7	67	2	0	4	6	11	9	.292	.361	.537	.898	*8/H
8	Jason Giambi	161	2005	34	NYY	AL	139	545	417	74	113	14	0	32	87	108	5	109	19	0	1	7	0	0	.271	.440	.535	.975	*3D/H
9	Don Mattingly	161	1986	25	NYY	AL	162	742	677	117	238	53	2	31	113	53	11	35	1	1	10	17	0	0	.352	.394	.573	.967	*3/5D
10	Bernie Williams	160	1998	29	NYY	AL	128	578	499	101	169	30	5	26	97	74	9	81	1	0	4	19	15	9	.339	.422	.575	.997	*8/D
11	Dave Winfield	159	1988	36	NYY	AL	149	631	559	96	180	37	2	25	107	69	10	88	2	0	1	19	9	4	.322	.398	.530	.927	*9/HD
12	Rickey Henderson	157	1985	26	NYY	AL	143	654	547	146	172	28	5	24	72	99	1	65	3	0	5	8	80	10	.314	.419	.516	.934	*8/7HD
13	Don Mattingly	156	1985	24	NYY	AL	159	727	652	107	211	48	3	35	145	56	13	41	2	2	15	15	2	2	.324	.371	.567	.939	*3
14	Don Mattingly	156	1984	23	NYY	AL	153	662	603	91	207	44	2	23	110	41	8	33	1	8	9	15	1	1	.343	.381	.537	.918	*37/9H8
15	Dave Winfield	154	1984	32	NYY	AL	141	626	567	106	193	34	4	19	100	53	9	71	0	0	6	14	6	4	.340	.393	.515	.908	*98/H7
16	Jorge Posada	153	2007	35	NYY	AL	144	589	506	91	171	42	1	20	90	74	7	98	6	0	3	18	2	0	.338	.426	.543	.970	*2H/D3
17	Derek Jeter	153	1999	25	NYY	AL	158	739	627	134	219	37	9	24	102	91	5	116	12	3	6	12	19	8	.349	.438	.552	.989	*6
18	Danny Tartabull	153	1992	29	NYY	AL	123	526	421	72	112	19	0	25	85	103	14	115	0	0	2	7	2	2	.266	.409	.489	.898	*9D/H7
19	Bobby Bonds	151	1975	29	NYY	AL	145	626	529	93	143	26	3	32	85	89	8	137	3	0	5	10	30	17	.270	.375	.512	.888	*98D/H7
20	Reggie Jackson	150	1977	31	NYY	AL	146	606	525	93	150	39	2	32	110	74	4	129	3	0	4	3	17	3	.286	.375	.550	.925	*9D/H

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 2/14/2014.

Bobby Ray Murcer!  Murcer takes slots 1 and 7.  Bobby was supposed to be the successor to The Mick but instead he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for the man who was supposed to be the successor to Willie Mays: Bobby Bonds, father of Barry, and number 19 on this list in his only season as a Yankee.

Henderson and Jackson are making a late bid.

Ranks of players with multiples:
Murcer: 1,7
Rodriguez: 3, 4
Giambi: 5, 8
Jackson: 5, 20
Mattingly: 8, 13, 13
Winfield: 11, 15

As you can see, Jeter is tied with Posada and Tartabull at number 16 with 153.

The Mick exceeded 150 eleven times: 221, 210, 206, 195, 188, 180, 177, 162, 162, 158, 151; led league 8 times.

Mickey Mantle's plaque in the Hall of Fame
via Wikimedia Commons

When I noticed the lack of a huge hitter since Mantle while writing the two previous posts about whether Jeter is great, I paused to make sure I wasn't slipping into old fartism.  I think that players today are better than ever in every meaningful way.  But the reality for Yankee fans is that we were spoiled with four super players from 1920-1968: Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle.  Unfortunately, since then the Yankees have had only one player who can reasonably be considered anywhere near that caliber: Alex Rodriguez.  Reggie Jackson is in the ball park but not close.

I am influenced by the entirety of his career but what Rodriguez has done as a Yankee is very impressive on its own.  A-Rod is the only Yankee since Roger Maris in 1960 and 1961 to win multiple MVP awards.  The only other individual winners since Maris: Mantle 1962 (who was also MVP in 1956 and 1957), Howard 1963, Munson 1976, Mattingly 1985.

Whether Jeter should/could have won the MVP is interesting but irrelevant.  Mantle should/could have won more than his three, including the two won by Maris.

A-Rod's Yankee OPS+ is 140; career 143.  Mantle 172.

Peek career cumulative OPS+:
Mantle 177 1963-1964
Mattingly: 151 1986
Rodriguez: 147 2007-2009 (career, not just as a Yankee)
Murcer: 141 1972
Williams: 133 2002
White: 130 1971-1972
Posada: 124 2007-2009
Jeter: 122 2000-2001, 2006-2007

Donnie Ballgame maxed early but then dropped steadily.  Jeter leads on longevity but that's it.  A-Rod is the best Yankee player over all since Mickey Mantle.  Bernie shows well and if you look at the annual Yankee leaders 1996-2012 listed in my previous post, Bernie Williams could be considered better than Jeter.  The fact that Jeter peeked twice in career cumulative OPS+ is certainly a tribute to his consistency.  Jeter's problem is that his peek is simply not all that high.  He is one of the boys on Yankee teams with some very good hitters who often were better at the plate than Jeter.  None more so than Rodriguez.