No question about it - Bernie is/was great and in reality, a certifiable HoFer. He certainly has more impressive numbers than some who are currently in the hall. Alex B at BB also has his thoughts up on the subject.
http://bronxbanter.baseball...

Just to put it into perspective, Damon, who everyone says is a VERY GOOD player, has a career high OPS+ of 117. Bernie's LOWEST OPS+ from age 25-33 was 120 and after that, the lowest is 130. Think about that and try to put it into perspective...a CFer who won 4 straight GGs, put together OBPs of around 400 and could pound the ball too...and did so on a regular basis for NINE STRAIGHT SEASONS. To say that he wasn't a great player is simply shortsighted.

If we establish that Bernie's started coming into his own in 1994 and stayed in his prime until the end of his 2002 (age 33) season, here's what his averages are like: .319/.404/.525.
http://tinyurl.com/a54vh
That's over 1251 games and 4810 ABs and doesn't include his postseason performances.

Over the same time frame, IN ALL OF BASEBALL: http://tinyurl.com/9rtek

Bernie was FIRST in hits,
-6th in runs scored.
-10th in average,
-13th in walks
-16th in OBP,
-12th in doubles,
-14th in triples,
-40th in HRs,
-35th in SLG (.525...right above Jose Canseco..-.929 OPS, gets on base and hits for power, not bad at all),
- and 17th in RBI.

All of this from a CFer - people might say that I'm being selective with the time frame and they're right, I am. When your prime lasts for 9 seasons, I think that Bernie can have that luxury.

Good look, James.

I wonder what he was among CFs (or people who played mostly CF) only.

Of course Bernie is not Mantle or DiMaggio, but if you have to be one of them to be considered great, then there have only been about 9 or 10 great players in the history of baseball. Bernie was in my opinion a top 2 or 3 CF in baseball for a long time (it's hard to compete with Griffey in his prime). To say Bernie has been great would be an understatement. He was a leader for some of the best teams in the history of the game.

As for Damon, not to take anything away from him, but he will never be to the Yankees what Williams was let alone Mantle or Joe D., even if only for the fact that he will be here for at the most 5 or 6 years (if he stays here past his current contract).

Well said, Seamus. I agree.

When all the numbers are added up I bet guys like Bernie and Jeter are going to get the shaft - much like Earl Coombs. The things that made them great are the same things that make a guy like Arod mediocre when it comes to winning. They are consummate team players who absolutely put the team ahead of their own personal glory time and time again. They are humble (which doesn't play well in today's Owens/Keyshawn/Kobe-fied) media. Finally the things they do to help their teams win on a day in and day out basis never show up in the box score - like taking the extra base, or moving a runner up or fouling off nasty curve after nasty splitter to begin a come-from-behind rally in the 7th. These men are legends in my mind and when I teach my children this great game I want them to play the game the way Bernie and Jeter played it.

I think Jeter's case is a little bit different because although he is humble, he has also been dubbed by many as "the face of Major League Baseball." There may be those who would overlook a guy like Bernie, but Derek Jeter is a household name. I think Jeter generally gets the recognition he deserves, whereas Bernie sometimes doesn't.

Yes Jeter does get recognition because so many have seen his playoff heroics. But I'm talking about 10-20 years after he's retired. His numbers just won't be there. He's an All-Star on paper but only a borderline Hall of Famer. Yet everyone who has seen him play considers him a lock for the HOF. That's why I see him going the way of Earl Combs rather than Joe D to future generations.

Very well said on your first comment, Joe. Especially the latter part. But, I do believe that Jeter will be more widely remembered than that. For one, back in Combs day, the media was less than it is now. His accomplishments, whatever they may have been, weren't as widely covered. Jeter is basically an icon and a Yankee legend and he's not even that old. I believe he'll be an iconic figure for this organization when all is said and done, much like the Babe, Mantle, Ruth and co. I believe he'll be up there.

Bernie will probably be more of the Roy White variety. He's a legend and people will remember him and respect him (and love him), moreso than White, I think, just not as much as the others.