Thursday, April 1, 2010

Legends Madness Round 1 Day 2

Here is a breakdown of the final 16 matchups of the first round. You can vote by clicking here.

(1) Lou Gehrig vs. (16) Bob Shawkey - The Iron Horse doesn't seem to be breaking down in these early rounds, despite Shawkey's 200 + career wins.

(2) Mariano Rivera vs. (15) Joe Pepitone - Rivera is hands down the best relief pitcher in Yankees' history, and probably the MVP of the Yankees dominance since '96. Pepitone may have been one of the flashiest athletes of his era.

(3) Roger Maris vs. (14) Chris Chambliss - Maris had one of the roughest rides as a Yankee considering his success, maybe comparative to pre-World Series A-Rod. Chambliss delivered one of the more famous walk off home runs in playoff history.

(4) Phil Rizzuto vs. (13) Spud Chandler - The Scooter's unbelievable playing days may even be overshadowed by his presence in the Yankees' family post playing days. Spud has one of the best first names in Yankees' history.

(5) Joe Gordon vs. (12) Hank Bauer - A matchup of two fairly unheralded Yankees greats. Gordon is an MVP winner and in the top 10 of many second basemen categories. The fact Bauer earned 11 combat ribbons, 2 bronze stars and 2 Purple Hearts and THEN played 14 seasons of high quality baseball is absolutely incredible.

(6) Earl Combs vs. (11) - Red Ruffing - The Kentucky Colonel, Combs had a career average of .325 and scored 1100+ runs. Ruffing gets a surprisingly low seed here, mainly because he's one of the least talked about Yankees greats. The Hall of Famer went 231-124 as a Yankee.

(7) Allie Reynolds vs. (10) Moose Skowron - The aforementioned Reynolds once had 2 no hitters in the same season. Moose was a journeyman who made 5 all star teams.

(8) Willie Randolph vs. (9) Bob Meusel - Randolph is a member of the 2K hit club and played an amazing defense in his playing days at second base. Meusel hit .309 with over 1,000 RBI's as a staple in the Yankees' outfield in their Murderer's Row hey days.

(1) Mickey Mantle vs. (16) Wally Pipp - The Mick is one of the most natural born sluggers in the history of the sport. Pip is best known as being the first baseman who paved the way for Gehrig's consecutive game streak.

(2) Whitey Ford vs. (15) Wade Boggs - The Chairman of the Board may very well be the best starting pitcher in Yankees history. Boggs will forever live on in Yankees' fans heads riding off into the sunset on that NYPD horse.

(3) Reggie Jackson vs. (14) Roger Clemens - A matchup of two very loud and big personalities. Reggie was the straw that stirred the Yankees. Clemens may have had a higher seeding had it not been for his post playing allegations.

(4) Lefty Gomez vs. (13) Eddie Lopat - Gomez was a four time 20 game winner. Lopat was the meat in a Reynolds/Lopat/Raschi rotation in the 40s and 50s.

(5) Elston Howard vs. (12) Jack Chesbro - Elston was a trailblazer of sorts, as the first black player on the Yankees roster. He was also a hell of a catcher. Chesbro won 41 game for the 1904 Highlanders. In six seasons in New York, Chesbro went 128-89 with a 2.48 ERA.

(6) Bobby Richardson vs. (11) Bob Turley - Richardson was a stalwart in the Yankees middle infield with an incredible play that lives in World Series defensive history. Bullet Bob Turley won both a Cy Young and World Series MVP.

(7) Bobby Murcer vs. (10) Waite Hoyt - Although Murcer's career stats weren't other worldly, he managed to pull off individual seasons of greatness. In his career Hoyt won over 230 games and saved over 50.

(8) Sparky Lyle vs. (9) Tino Martinez - Lyle was one of the first great bullpen aces for the Yankees, racking up 238 saves in his career in addition to 99 wins. Tino was one of the biggest Yankee killers, and in possibly the man who swung the balance of power in the league when the Yankees snagged him from Seattle.

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