The Yankees have such a rich history that one wouldn’t have much of a problem finding a surplus of options for any position in terms of pure production. One of the factors that played a role in the decision-making process beyond consistency and lack of stardom was the ability to show up in big spots.
In general, I find myself most often on the side of contextualizing and not letting a small sample size dictate my evaluation of a player. It’s why I firmly state that Billy Wagner is a Hall of Famer and Jack Morris probably not (however that’s not the focal point of this series).