05-22-2005, 01:38 AM
My first reaction to the question is "Hell fucking no!" But after looking at his stats and overall career, I really don't think it's that far-fetched. He mostly flew under the radar and never was a true "superstar" which he probably would have been if he played for some small-market team. I completely agree that he was overrated as a fielder. He was about average, maybe a bit above average, but not really deserving of one GG, let alone four.
But he did have a peak where he went 8 seasons with an OPS+ of 130 or more, including 159 in '98 and 157 in '99. I need to dig up my Win Shares book to see how he looks there, but I'd imagine he had a few seasons where he was near-MVP levels but didn't get much recognition because he was overshadowed by teammates or whatever.
Maybe I'll crunch some numbers tomorrow when I'm not drunk, but this Mets fan thinks Bernie Williams probably IS a potential HOFer. He was never THE best, but he played at a consistently high level for a good time. And there are definitely worse players in the Hall (but most of them are Yankees anyway...).
But he did have a peak where he went 8 seasons with an OPS+ of 130 or more, including 159 in '98 and 157 in '99. I need to dig up my Win Shares book to see how he looks there, but I'd imagine he had a few seasons where he was near-MVP levels but didn't get much recognition because he was overshadowed by teammates or whatever.
Maybe I'll crunch some numbers tomorrow when I'm not drunk, but this Mets fan thinks Bernie Williams probably IS a potential HOFer. He was never THE best, but he played at a consistently high level for a good time. And there are definitely worse players in the Hall (but most of them are Yankees anyway...).