Is Bernie Williams overrated? Nah

I rarely see a tweet that annoys me enough to start an argument on the internet. It’s too easy for people to hide behind their computer screens in anonymity and say things they would never say face to face. Rarely do you change anyone’s mind with your carefully concocted, well thought out, logical response.

Recently, however, I saw a tweet from a prominent Yankees twitter account that brought out that dog in me. It was a disparaging message about my favorite player of all time, Bernie Williams. The tweet was as follows:

“If Bernie Williams is anything (for Yankees fans), it’s overrated.”

I had to check myself before responding. Was I annoyed simply because someone said something negative about my favorite player? This particular player brings back fond childhood and teenage memories of a player who came through in the clutch and was a huge part of the Yankees dynasty of the late 90’s. I must be overreacting right?

I combed through his statistics furiously and confirmed what I already knew. Bernie Williams is not overrated. In fact, Bernie Williams is one of the more overlooked players from that time period. He was often overshadowed by the likes of Derek Jeter, Paul O’Neil, Tino Martinez, Jorge Posada, and others. Anyone who followed him knows this didn’t bother him in the least. He was and is a humble, decent man who treats everyone with respect; a decent man who could play baseball with the best of them.

He was a five-time all-star, four-time gold glove recipient, and received MVP votes in six separate seasons. We’re talking about a switch-hitting centerfielder with a career .297/.381/.477/.858 quad slash. He hit 287 homeruns, 449 doubles, 55 triples, and had 147 career stolen bases.

In his prime, Bernie was good for 20-30 homeruns and 30-40 doubles with a .300+ average. His prime lasted about eight years. Were he not playing in the height of the steroid era, his numbers would have looked even better compared to his peers. This was a special player.

Even more impressive, Bernie performed when it mattered most. He won four world series titles while playing with the Yankees and played in two more. He hit 22 homeruns and 29 doubles in 121 playoff games. Bernie had a career line of .275/.371/.480/.850 in the postseason. He was a winner, plain and simple.

Imagine being able to trot out a guy like this in centerfield every game in this day and age. There aren’t many like him. His stats are compelling enough regardless but add in that he played a premium position and was a switch hitter and the value of this player should be obvious to anyone.

Now do Yankees fans, like every other fanbase in the world, tend to overrate their best players? Of course. The grass is green, the sky is blue, water is wet, and fans of any team in any sport overrate their best players. It’s human nature. That doesn’t make the player overrated, it just means they are cherished by their fans. Bernie Williams is no more overrated by Yankees fans than any other star by their team’s base.

While Bernie is not a hall of famer (that is a debate for another day), he is one of the best centerfielders in Yankees history. That gives him a special place in Yankees lore and in baseball’s record books. Bernie is not and will never be overrated. Anyone who says otherwise has not been paying attention.