I was just asked an interesting question.... If you were hosting a 4th of July BBQ & could invite any 3 Yankees past or present, who would you invite? I would invite Ruth, Mattingly, & Jeter... My bride said she would invite Gehrig, Yogi, & Bernie... So who would you invite?
Good Question Hammer....!!! I'd love to speak with Gehrig and DiMaggio, but from all I've read, both Lou and Joe, were not open publicly or even amongst friends, unless they were family. Doubt one could get either to open up...! Thus- Ruth, Mantle (heard he was a brilliant man to talk with), and Berra, but I'd have to have Donnie BB of course, he could flip the burgers...
Like I said, someone asked me.... I didn't pick DiMaggio because I heard more than closed (reserved) to the public... I heard he was more rude.... If it had been 5, it would have been Ruth, Mattingly, Jeter, Yogi, & Gehrig.... I excluded Gehrig & Yogi because my wife included them (cheating, I know, but....) So.... Ruth because he was not only the greatest ever, but also appears to have had a ton of fun.... Mattingly was & is my favorite Yankee & Jeter is someone I'd love to meet...
I know I'm commiting Yankee blasphemy here but IMO I thought Munson was over-rated as a player. As a team mate I'd love to have 25 Munsons, He was a work horse & as tough as nails who took shit from no one. But statistic wise his numbers were just okay to me, nothing special. JMO.
Some I would of loved to include, if I could of had more picks, would of course been Jeter, Ford, Posada, Bill Dickey too... Like you said, Mattingly HAS to be a guest of honor. I'd love to pick his brain, and (I may get hell for this one), I'd love to sit and listen to Joe Torre all day and night long. When Donnie BB was in his glory years, I was a Little League Coach. As much, I attended alot of Baseball Memorabilia Shows. On both Little Lg. fields, and Shows, I often was mistaken for Donnie BB, no shit...! See, when I became a LL Mgr. 1st thing I did, was change our Team name from the Angels, to the Yankees. I always wore an older model NY Starter Coat, Hat, had a Fu-Manchu a bit longer than Donnie's. Same color of hair, chin dimple, cheek bones, same color of eyes, same body height & build, et al. I liked to say Donnie stole my look, cuz I had my mustache & Yanx coat before he was drafted by the Yanx. But, in the end, you know the rest, people thought I was impersonating Him. An Honor in some ways, a pain in the ass in others. Too many kids came running up to me asking for my Autograph, and to my dismay, no matter how hard I tried to tell kids, even adults, I WAS NOT Donnie BB, too many Didn't believe me. I'd even hear people & kids talking when I went into a crowded public venue, even the Mall. It's one thing to be mistaken by a kid, another by several MLB Memorabilia Dealers....!!! You get the picture- you wouldn't want to sign a autograph for a kid, thinking your someone else, then have them so proudly get their bubble burst years later, although I have had numerous Donnie Autographs of my own, and could easily duplicate a close signature, it just wasn't right...!!! I did sign a few only after insisting NOOOOO....(hope to hell they never entered the memorabilia market as forgeries). I say all this humbly, with an Oath, one hand on the Bible....Yes, your Honor, I am guilty...of personifying my own idol too....!!!
Thought about Billy, but he woulld bust the party, and drink all the booze, beer, whiskey, the whole bar....! No disrespect, just gotta keep the BBQ in line. He may also shoot my horse in the barn, given a drink or two....! Ref: - bio - "The Mick" (for further story of Martin shooting Horses/Mules)
...I didn't understand the "over-rated" label either, but whatever. ...and besides, the OP asked who we'd like to have at our 4th of July bar-b-q, not who were the better players.
I understood the OP its just when someone mentioned Munson I thought I'd take the opportunity to voice my unsolicited opinion of the man. JMO but nothing here (stat wise) jumps out at me as being very special.http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/munsoth01.shtml But back to the Op I originally picked Mantle, Gehrig & Berra but someone mentioned Pepitone who I was a big fan of So I'll say, Gehrig Pepitone & Berra.
...yes, unsolicited is correct...and I'm quite aware of Munson's numbers. ...Pepitone was over-rated.
Over-rated is a term generally used for players who have been labeled very good to great, Pepitone never fell into those labels. He was a good 1st baseman with some pop. But like Munson I enjoyed his fire & he was easy to like & fun to watch.
I was just reading his bio on wikipedia, I knew he was a bit of a screw up but I didn't realize how much, this guy could have had a nice career if he didn't fuck it up. He pretty much flushed it down the toilet ending his career at only 32 years old. Just another story that fell into the "What a waste" category.
