Yaz had his moments, but I went to a lot of games in the early 70's when he would be boo'd repeatedly. There was a lengthy stretch were all he would ever do is swing out his shoes and hit a two hopper right to the 2nd baseman.
I wouldn't rank Ortiz ahead of Ted Williams obviously,or Manny Ramirez, atleast at this point....I'm not even sure you rank him ahead of Jim Rice or Yaz.
i agree with the thread starter ortiz is the best, Imo ted williams is the only other player you could make a argument about. Ortiz led them to a world series. Ortiz always comes through in the clutch and CLUTCH is what counts.
BABE RUTH, CY YOUNG, YAZ, JIMMY FOXX, BOBBY DOERR, TED WILLIAMS, ROGER CLEMENS, and YAZ come immendiately to mind.
As I continually state, MANNY RAMIREZ is being put off as some nobody when in fact he was/is one of the greatest CLUTCH hitters himself for an entire career(not just 3 years like PAPI).
I recall Manny destroying the Red Sox in their playoff series when he was with Cleveland...........I just KNEW the RED SOX could not get him out in a clutch situation. As a Red Sox fan it was painful to watch but even BEFORE this I had great admiration for the guys hitting.
Didn't we have this discussion, I don't know, YESTERDAY? (Or maybe it was the day before.)
Williams, hands down. Particularly if you factor in the time he lost in service of his country.
FISH-- I hear you about Manny. But over the last couple of years, he's failed to produce in the clutch. I can't tell you how many times he's struck out (mostly looking) in critical situations. Very un-Mannylike. And you are correct, the protection that he gives Ortiz is certainly a factor.
Can't argue with the timeliness of Ortiz's hits over the last couple of years. Uncanny.