Paul's Picks:

Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Thurman Munson, Don Mattingly.
Zas' Picks:

Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Thurman Munson, Bernie Williams.

Paul and Zas finish up their Mount Rushmore discussions with the winningest franchise in the history of professional sports, the New York Yankees.  Since 1973 the Bronx Bombers have won seven World Series titles and 11 American League pennants, both of which lead Major League Baseball.

The guys managed to agree on three of four representatives for their NEW YORK YANKEES Mount Rushmore.

Let’s start with the no-brainer:

Derek Jeter:

Where to begin? 

With the sixth pick of the 1992 amateur draft, the New York Yankees selected Derek Jeter and the rest is history.  Nicknamed “Captain Clutch” he is a 5-time World Series champion, 13-time All-Star, 5-time Gold Glove Award winner.  The quintessential Yankee, his 3,304 hits, 2,585 games played and 348 stolen bases are all Yankee records and he is the only player in the long and storied history of the Bronx Bombers to collect 3,000 hits.  His 524 doubles trail Lou Gehrig by only 10 for the franchise lead and Jeter needs to only score another 91 runs to leap-frog both Gehrig again and Ruth to become the all-time leader.  The fact that Jeter has, and will continue to, surpass players with names like Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle  in the Yankee record book might be the best way to illustrate his greatness.  In 2003 he was named Yankee team captain, the first since Don Mattingly retired in 1995.

Mariano Rivera:

Enter Sandman.  Hands down the greatest closer in the history of Major League Baseball period, end of discussion.  The 5-time World Series champion and 12-time All-Star is also Major League Baseball’s all-time saves leader with 608. What defines Rivera’s greatness more than anything else is his dominance in the playoffs.  His 0.70 ERA and 42 saves are both post-season records.  He also holds the MLB post-season records for consecutive saves recorded, 23, and scoreless innings streak, 33.1.  It is all but certain that that the 43-year-old will retire following the 2013 season and he will certainly be missed.  With the exception of maybe only Babe Ruth, no player has been more dominant at his position in the history of major league baseball. 

Thurman Munson: 

The legacy of Thurman Munson is defined as much by his success, 2-time World Series champion, 7-time All-Star, 3 Gold Gloves, 1976 American League MVP and 1970 Rookie of the Year, as it is tragedy.  On August 2, 1979, Thurman Lee Munson died in an airplane crash.  He was only 32 years old.  Munson was considered to be the “heart and soul” of the 1970’s Yankees, in 1976 he was named the team’s first captain since Lou Gehrig.  From 1977-79 he hit at least .300 and had at least 100 RBI, the only other catcher in MLB history to do that before Munson was Hall of Famer (and former Yankee) Bill Dickey and since matched only by Mike Piazza.  Munson had a career .357 batting average in the post-season and hit an amazing .373 in the World Series. 

For his final spot on the mountain Paul chose…

Don Mattingly:

Nicknamed “The Hit Man” and “Donnie Baseball” Mattingly played 14 seasons in pinstripes and was the face of the franchise in the 80’s.  Donald Arthur Mattingly was the 1985 AL MVP, a 6-time All-Star, the 1984 AL batting champion (.343) and in 1991 he was named New York Yankees team captain.  In 1987 he tied a MLB record by hitting a home run in 8 consecutive games and set a record by hitting 6 grand slams in a single season.  Unfortunately for Mattingly, the Yankees and their fans, the second half of his career was marked by a sharp decline in production due to chronic back problems.  He was still a productive player but was never the dominant force in the lineup he was in mid-80s.  Mattingly’s first and post-season appearance came in, 1995.  He hit .407, had 6 RBI and had a memorable go-ahead home run in game 2 but unfortunately the Yankees lost the series, Mattingly would retire at the end of the season. 

Zas’ final spot went to…

Bernie Williams:

Bernie Williams played 16 seasons of professional baseball, all with the New York Yankees.  He is a 4-time World Series champion, 5-time All-Star, 4-time Gold Glover and was named MVP of the 1996 ALCS.   In 1998 his .339 average was good enough to win the AL batting title.  He is 5^th all-time on the Yankee career hits list with 2,336 and his 449 double are 3^rd all-time in the pinstripe record book.  Like all the players listed above he is a Yankee lifer who played at a consistent level of greatness and defined what it means to be a Yankee as much as anyone else that came before him.