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December 09, 2005
Bernie In The Post-Season
I just saw this quote today from Joe Torre on the value of adding Bernie Williams to the Yankees in 2006:
"The most important thing is (Williams) wants to be here, and we want him here," Torre said. "It makes sense that they'll be able to make a deal. I'm sure he could probably go somewhere else and demand more things. But he seems comfortable here. I treasure our relationship."
Torre said the switch-hitter will likely fill the role Ruben Sierra handled last season.
"The one thing about Bernie is that ... he may not be blessed with the instincts that other players have. But when the postseason comes around, he doesn't scare. That's an area where you really trust him."
It appears that Joe is looking to get Bernie 200-300 ABs this year - as Sierra has done the past few seasons. That could be a problem. Nonetheless, I wanted to look now at what Bernie has done in the post-season - because of Torre's remark - and this is what I saw:
It's interesting when you stack out the numbers like this. In summary, Bernie's had 11 post-season series where he stunk, 3 where he was average, and 10 post-season series where he excelled with the bat.
The Yankees won all three series where Bernie was average with the bat. And, when Williams excelled at the plate, the team went 6-4. But, in the 11 post-season series where Bernie was just horrendous with the stick, the Yankees went 8-3.
I have to wonder if New York went 3-8 in those series if Bernie would have gotten some of the treatment that A-Rod has seen the last two years?
If you break it down for Bernie by series, this is what you get:
In summary, Williams has been both hot and cold in the ALDS and ALCS over the years - and has been brutal offensively in 5 of the 6 World Series in which he played.
Maybe Bernie's not scared in the post-season, but, it's not like he's consistently been Lou Gehrig-ish when the calendar turns to October either.
Posted by Steve Lombardi at December 9, 2005 01:12 PM
Comments
Those numbers don't mean much to me. Bernie has been a very good postseason hitter. That has worth. Even so, winning is always a team game.
Gehrig is a legend and that was an amazing, amazing performance. That's kinda like comparing every basketball player to Jordan.
Posted by: pokeefe ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.waswatching.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at December 10, 2005 11:32 AM
"Bernie has been a very good postseason hitter" - Patrick, then how do you explain the numbers?
Posted by: Steve Lombardi at December 11, 2005 12:17 AM
Perception does not equal reality.
You can find simlilar numbers (hot/cold) for any player during the season, so saying a certain player "steps up his game" or "chokes" during the postseason doesn't hold much water with me.
Posted by: Raf at December 12, 2005 10:01 AM