Joe DiMaggio - Can a player be considered truly great if he never played for the New York Yankees?

Can a player be considered truly great if he never played for the New York Yankees?

Let's face it, playing for for the Yankees is like being promoted into a whole new level of baseball. Only the truly great ones can still excell. So, if a player never plays for them, how do we know? DE-REK!!! JE-TER!!! maybe they should have another section in the HOF for guys that played great while with the Yanks and call it THE PROVEN HALL OF FAMERS

Public Comments

are you saying Albert Pujols will never be great? or Hank Aaron or Willie Mays weren't great. yankees suck
yes Ted Williams Hank Arron. ( look at all of his stats. Probally the best to ever play the game) Willie Mayes Jimmy Fox Pete Rose ( bet you he is an all time great ) Many Many more So yes you easily can
I'm giving this question a thumbs-up because it made me laugh out loud when I read it. I didn't even have to look at who asked it - anyone who's on here enough just knows. As much as I hate to admit it, too, you do have a point. It doesn't make a player any better, but they're the biggest franchise in North American sports and playing for them is something most players dream about.
If the Yankees are at a whole new level, where does that put the Tigers of 2006, the Angels of 2005, the Red Sox of 2004, etc.? I'm sure the Yankees appreciate your support, though.
Ok I am a Yankees fan but what your saying is that Hank Aaron isn't a true great, Willie Mays is not a true great, Ty Cobb is not a true great, Ted Williams is not a true great, and etc. That is a ridiculous statement. I mean Yankees are the most storied franchise but to say if you never played for them they should not be considered great is just an overstatement. If you can excel in New York like Babe Ruth, Micky Mantle, Joe D, Don Mattingly, Mariano Rivera, and Derek Jeter then all hands to you. But, being a great isn't about the team you are on it's about how you affected the game in a positive way. Bonds and Mcgwire have affected the game in a negative way and should never be considered great. Clemente brought interest from the latino community to baseball which has since developed some of the best players in baseball, he is a great. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier and gave an opportunity for African-Americans to play the game at the highest level. I don't know how you can not consider these guys great along as the other players mentioned just because they didn't wear the pinstripes.
yes look at Hank Aaron Ernie Banks Milke Schmidt ROBERTO CLEMENTE i can go on and on Nolan Ryan Johnny Bench Steve Garvey
Two words...Horace Clarke. I rest my case.
Hell yes they can be great. Ted Williams, the greatest hitter ever never played for 'em
Youre the reason everyone hates us Yankee fans... Idiot.
Of course they can !! Ever hear of Ty Cobb? The greatest baseball player EVER. Played in detroit almost his entire career. Or how bout Nolan Ryan, Cy Young, Bob Gibson and Bob Feller the list goes on and on.
You can absolutely be a great without playing for the Yankees. I am the biggest Yankees fan in the world and I can say that there are pleanty of fantastic players out there that have never and will never be a Yankee. Albert Pujols, Barry Bonds, Mark MacGuire, and not to metion the old school...Ted Williams, Pete Rose, and Hank Aaron.
Most definitely. The people who think that the New York Yankees players are the only good players obviously don't know enough or anything about baseball. Go Astros!! :-)
true ...but they dont always have to be a yankee player ...AS A YANKEE FAN... i think that there is some players that are the best players and some who are good and arent in the yankees ...but in a way ur question made a lil sense
haha HELL NAHH...the Yankees are the only team that can contain hall of famers!
THIS THE WAY YOU SHOULD HAVE ASKED THIS QUESTION; ISN'T TRUE THAT ANY ONE PLAYING IN N. Y. CAN CONSIDERED SOMEWHAT OVERRATED? JOE D - HE DIDN'T HAVE GREAT CAREER NUMBERS FORD - HE DID NOT COMPLETE A LOT OF GAMES AT A TIME WHEN GOOD PITCHERS DID MARIS - ONE DIMENSIONAL RIZZUTO - HE PROVES MY POINT - GOOD PLAYER BUT OVERRATED PLUS
YOU ARE A RETARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE YANKEES SUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i disagree because they have been alot of great non-yankee players but i agree that they Yankees promotes you to a new level and you can either...1. succeed or 2.fail
I just can't stop laughing!!! :)))))))))))))))))))))))))))
It's not the Yankees I hate. It's the fans. You should be the poster child.
Your kidding I hope .The hall of fame is loaded with non /Yankees.Just because they buy their way to the World Series for so many years ,doesn't make them great.You must be a young en, that has not followed BB very long.Read some stats and get a little educated.
So, by your logic, playing for the Tigers must be a whole other level above that, since they beat the Yankees in the playoffs this year. So by that logic, how can we be sure Babe Ruth was so great? He never played for the Tigers.
there are plenty of plaers that have proven themselfs great while not even coming anwhere close to being a New York Yankees(they suck by the way). if you look in the Hall of fame There are plenty, it would take me tooo long to list them all. So Here are a few of them, Cy Young(Red Sox), Ty Cobb (Tigers), Ryne Sandberg (Cubs)..... I could go on forever. but I won't
Is Hank Arron considered great? Is Nolan Ryan considered great? Is Robert Clemente considered great? Yes they are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your're abslotuly wrong
To toss out a few more names: Pee Wee Reese, Dennis Eckersley, Ozzie Smith, Stan Musial, Dizzy Dean, Bruce Sutter, Warren Spahn, & Steve Carlton. And if you really want to get down to it, they don't even have the unquestionable all-time greatest player at each position: Johnny Bench at catcher, Jimmie Foxx at 1B, Jackie Robinson, Joe Morgan, or Rogers Hornsby at 2B, Ernie Banks or Honus Wagner at SS, Mike Schmidt or Brooks Robinson at 3B, Ted Williams in LF, Willie Mays in CF, Warren Spahn or Steve Carlton at LHP. I will give them Babe Ruth in RF, Roger Clemens at RHP (though at this point he'll probably have to go in with Boston) and Mariano Rivera at closer. I also wouldn't argue with putting Mantle & Berra up their for debate at their positions. Jeter isn't even the best SS on his team.
Oh, sure. There are lots of great ballplayers that never donned the Pinstripes. Hey, nobody's perfect...
of course not...if a player is good then they are good...no matter what team they are in.
Reggie Jackson was great BEFORE he played for New York. He didn't the Yankees to win the Series, but boy, did they need him.
yes
Im a Mets fan but I do recognize the history of great players for the Skankees. However, Ted Williams, Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt, Johnny Bench, Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, etc., etc., never played for the Skankees. So, to answer your question: YES!
I'm one of the biggest Yankee fans there is, but there are LOTS of outstanding players who never wore pinstripes. Among those that immediately come to mind are Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, Cal Ripken, and Kirby Puckett. All were exceptional players and also great human beings. The fact that they didn't play their home games in the Bronx doesn't lessen that one bit. Nor does it diminish the wonderful things the Yankees have accomplished over the years that there are great players on other teams.
You may notice my name!! Michael Jack was a Phillie his entire career. There wasn't a better 3rd baseball in the history of the game. I rest my case.
uh yeah
come on there are about twice as many players than the yankees have out there that have the potential to be "truly great"
You ever seen a baseball game?
All hype thats what it is. Hell Ponson was considered great while he was on the team No MVP for DEREK
Pete Rose never played for the Yankees.
Of course they can. One of my favorite all time players was a Boston Red Sox great - Ted Williams. Your only seeing the current era of Yankee players. I agree its a great venue to play for but some other great cities have had there moments in the sun as well.
There have more greats than the yankees have produced, the only thing that the yankee name does for anyone is makes a overrated played get a name just because he is a yankee(look at jeter(he sucks big time overrated) I think that there are way more greats than being a yankee.
It's true - look at all those 2nd rate players like Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax....
Yes...because that means he never sold his soul to the devil
No, of course not. Don't be silly. Everyone knows if you've never worn pinstripes that you've always been a wannabe.
There are a lot of great players who never donned the Yankees pinstripes and made it to the Hall of Fame but many players have been able to get more of the recognition that they did get from their old teams or deserved by playing on the Yankees! Since the Yankees are (usually) perennial winners, a player is usually more recognized for his accomplishments... Some can have outstanding stats, like Ryan Howard of Philadelphia, and people wonder how come the Phillies did not do better with someone with the offensive numbers like Howard put up? It is unfortunate that Howard played for a losing team...
who did you play,,,boston great ted williams i say was because he faced the Yankees and mostly the same teams. But,,,,really hank arron faced crap teams from the national league. willy mays also played sad teams in the national league. lets see how great arron or mays would be facing the Yankees and boston every other day and always in the playoffs. Play and do well in the pinstripes is like the key to immortality,,not just the hall of fame. Babe Ruth,Micky Mantle,etc...