It's a debate that baseball fans have been having over the past few years - is former Yankees centerfielder Bernie Williams a Hall of Famer?

The answer is quite simple - no!

I hate to burst your bubble Yankee fans, but the numbers just aren't there.

Here are Bernie Williams' career numbers: 287 HRs, 1257 RBI, 2,366 hits and a lifetime batting average of .297.  He had just 4 seasons when he hit better than .310.  Think about it.  Let it sink in.  Is that a Hall of Famer?

I'll admit that Bernie's playoff numbers were pretty good and he was clutch. A .279 average in 121 post-season games with 22 homeruns and 80 RBI's.  He hit .279 in the ALDS and .321 in the ALCS.  But he hit just .208 in the World Series.

loading...

Take off your Pinstriped-colored glasses and don't be fooled by the post-season numbers.  Look at the entire career.  I’m not going to honor him because of what he did over 121 games.  Remember, he played in over 2,000 regular season games and has less than 2,500 hits and less than 300 homers and he's not even a .300 lifetime hitter.

In 16 seasons, he’s a 5-time All-Star, a 4-time Glover Winner and never won an MVP.  Sorry, but I don’t put you in the Hall if you’ve never even finished in the top 5 of MVP voting!!!

And then there's the Yankee factor.  Yankee players automatically get more consideration than other players because they’re in the spotlight more, they are routinely in the playoffs and they’re always on national TV.  If Bernie played on Royals or Indians, he’d be a good player and most people would laugh if you suggested Hall of Famer.

loading...

Bernie Williams is the classic good player that played for a great team.  We shouldn’t put a guy in the Hall of Fame because he was surrounded with great players.  Yes, he helped the Yankees win 4 World Series rings but he wasn’t even necessarily the best player on any of those teams.

To be a HOF, you need to be the best player on your team. In 1996 the Yanks had Jeter, O’Neill, Boggs, Tino Martinez, Andy Pettitte.  In 1998, Paul O’Neill and Tino Martinez were on the Yanks roster. The 1999 Yanks had Tino, Jeter and O’Neill.  In 2000, it was O’Neill, Tino and Jeter.

Lastly, does he pass the name test?

In other words, when you say, Bernie Williams, do you immediately think Hall of Famer? To me, the answer is “No.” Are Garrett Anderson and Ruben Sierra Hall of Famers? Bobby Abreu? What about Ellis Burks or Will Clark?

All of those players had similiar or even better numbers than Bernie Williams and none of those players are in the Hall. Bernie shouldn't be either.

More From 104.5 THE TEAM