Most Beloved Yankee?

[Chris Daddy Cool]

I'm reading this book about all time great players and it got me thinking about the Yankees.

First they had Ruth who's career overlapped with Gerhig who's career overlapped with DiMaggio who's career overlapped with Mantle.

I think the order of greatness is:
1) Ruth (obviously)
2) Gehrig
3) Mantle
4) DiMaggio

but who was the most "loved" or popular Yankee amongst them? I've read that Mantle wasn't really appreciated in his day because he played in the shadow of DiMaggio, who everybody loved, but was DiMaggio more loved than Gehrig or Ruth?

And any other interesting tiblits? I find baseball history fascinating.

[Jack of Arcades]

I'd switch #2 and #3 on your lost but that's just quibbling...

I'm not a New Yorker so take my post with a grain of salt, but I just can't imagine Ruth not being at the top of the list. #2 is more debateable, I think. Not only is there Gehrig and Joe D, but also Donnie Baseball.

I think of Lou less as a Yankee than I do Ruth and Joe. Likely because his retirement speech and his streak have become universal, much like players such as Nolan Ryan or Jackie Robinson - larger than life people who can't be held in by any team, including the Yankees.

Joe D was more loved than Mantle, at least at the time - it's a sad story that the fans wanted Joltin' Joe but they got Mantle, instead. Mantle was liked, I'm sure... but tragically, not many people realized Mantle was better than Joe was.

As an aside, someone once told me that there are roughly 3 stages in someone's understanding of statistics, and it affects people's opinion on the Mantle/Joe question.

Simple understanding: people look at Mantle's HR, SB, and Triple Crown and think he's better.
Complex knowledge (a little information is a dangerous thing...): people look at Mantle's lower BA and higher strikeouts and think he's better.
Higher knowledge: People look at OBP, SLG, league averages, and find that it's Mantle... in a walk.

But I'm rambling.