As good as his peak years were, we’re not talking about the Sandy Koufax of first basemen. He was great for maybe four years. And that’s it. First basemen are almost entirely defined by their offensive production, and Mattingly’s got the career numbers of Wally Joyner. And his period of greatness didn’t deliver a single title to the Yankees. He was great, but not incredibly great. And if you have a four year peak, it needs to be incredible. Mattingly doesn’t make the cut. Sorry, Donnie.

Same deal with the outfielders...