The Baseball Scholar

The 20 Greatest New York Yankees of All-Time

Dave Franks
1–2 minutes

Rankings based on seasons 1901 – 2025.

To be eligible, position players need 1,500 plate appearances, starting pitchers have to have started a minimum of 75 games, and relief pitchers need to have 150 innings pitched for the franchise.

  1. Babe RuthHOFMVP

    Babe Ruth Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    142.8 197 2084 9197 7216 1959 2518 424 106 659 1975 110 117 1852 1122 .349 .484 .711 1.195

  2. Mickey MantleHOF3x MVP

    Mickey Mantle Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    110.2 170 2401 9909 8102 1677 2415 344 72 536 1509 153 38 1733 1710 .298 .419 .556 .976

  3. Lou GehrigHOF2x MVP

    Lou Gehrig Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    113.7 173 2164 9660 8001 1888 2721 534 163 493 1995 102 101 1508 790 .340 .442 .632 1.074

  4. Aaron JudgeActive3x MVPRookie of the Year

    Aaron Judge Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    62.3 178 1145 5002 4105 873 1205 203 7 368 830 65 21 817 1369 .294 .413 .615 1.028

  5. Joe DiMaggioHOF3x MVP

    • Age: 21–27, 31-36
    • Years: 1936–1942, 1946-1951
    • Positions: CF
    • Teams: New York Yankees
    Joe DiMaggio Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    79.2 152 1736 7671 6821 1390 2214 389 131 361 1537 30 9 790 369 .324 .397 .578 .976

  6. Alex Rodriguez2x MVP

    • Age: 28-37, 39-40
    • Years: 2004-2013, 2015-2016
    • Positions: 3B, DH
    • Teams: New York Yankees
    Alex Rodriguez Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    53.8 138 1509 6520 5577 1012 1580 263 9 351 1096 152 30 779 1292 .283 .378 .523 .900

  7. Derek JeterHOFRookie of the Year

    Derek Jeter Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    71.3 119 2747 12602 11195 1923 3465 544 66 260 1311 358 97 1082 1840 .309 .374 .439 .813

  8. Charlie Keller

    • Age: 22-26, 28-32, 35
    • Years: 1939-1943, 1945-1949, 1952
    • Positions: LF, RF
    • Teams: New York Yankees
    Charlie Keller Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    42.4 151 1066 4466 3677 712 1053 163 69 184 723 45 23 760 481 .286 .410 .518 .928

  9. Robinson Cano

    Robinson Cano Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    44.4 126 1374 5791 5336 799 1649 375 28 204 822 38 28 350 689 .309 .355 .504 .860

  10. Yogi BerraHOF3x MVP

    Yogi Berra Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    59.7 124 2116 8355 7546 1174 2148 321 49 358 1430 30 26 704 411 .285 .348 .483 .830

  11. Mariano RiveraHOF

    Mariano Rivera Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    56.3 49 1115 10 82 60 2.22 1279 0 0 652 340 315 286 1173 23.0% 1.00

  12. Bernie Williams

    Bernie Williams Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    49.6 126 2076 9053 7869 1366 2336 449 55 287 1257 147 87 1069 1212 .296 .380 .477 .857

  13. Ron GuidryCy Young

    Ron Guidry Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    47.9 83 368 323 170 91 3.29 2392.0 95 26 4 953 874 633 1778 18.2% 1.18

  14. Roy White

    Roy White Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    46.8 123 1881 7735 6650 964 1803 300 51 160 758 233 117 934 708 .271 .357 .403 .761

  15. Whitey FordHOFCy Young

    • Age: 21, 24 – 38
    • Years: 1950, 1953-1967
    • Positions: SP
    • Teams:New York Yankees
    Whitey Ford Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    53.5 75 498 438 236 106 2.75 3170.1 156 45 10 1107 967 1086 1956 15.0% 1.215

  16. Don MattinglyMVP

    Don Mattingly Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    42.4 124 1785 7721 7003 1007 2153 442 20 222 1099 14 9 588 444 .307 .357 .471 .829

  17. Lefty GomezHOF

    Lefty Gomez Pitching Stats
    WAR ERA- G GS W L ERA IP CG SHO SV R ER BB SO K% WHIP
    43.4 79 367 319 189 101 3.34 2496 173 28 9 1087 927 1090 1468 13.7% 1.35

  18. Rickey HendersonHOF

    Rickey Henderson Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    30.8 138 596 2735 2302 513 663 119 16 78 255 326 57 406 281 .288 .395 .455 .850

  19. Thurman MunsonMVPRookie of the Year

    Thurman Munson Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    46.1 116 1423 5903 5344 696 1558 229 32 113 701 48 50 438 571 .291 .345 .409 .755

  20. Willie Randolph

    Willie Randolph Hitting Stats
    WAR wRC+ G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
    54.1 110 1694 7464 6303 1027 1731 259 58 48 549 251 82 1005 512 .275 .374 .357 .731

    21. The Next 5

  21. 21. Graig Nettles
  22. 22. Bill Dickey
  23. 23. Earle Combs
  24. 24. Jorge Posada
  25. 25. Joe Gordon

    26. All underlying data used in this analysis is available in The Baseball Scholar Data Library.

    6 responses to “The 20 Greatest New York Yankees of All-Time”

    1. Charles Avatar
      Charles

      Where is Phil Rizzuto?

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    2. Tim Crombie Avatar
      Tim Crombie

      I agree with most of it, but (i) Keller listed way too high, (ii) Mattingly and Rivera too low, and (iii) Henderson shouldn’t be on the list – didn’t play long enough for the Yanks.

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      1. Matt Carlisle Avatar
        Matt Carlisle

        RH had enough plate appearances, almost averaged a run a game. In 1985, he was 3rd in MVP voting, ’86 he had similar numbers with a lower average. He’s only one of two players with 20HR/80SB which he did in both seasons. He was the Yankees leader in SB until Jeter broke it with 1700 more games.

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    3. Avatar
      Anonymous

      Cano over Dickey ridiculous enough (if you have any historical perspective or knowledge of the game), but Roy White and Charlie Keller over Coombs?

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    4. Avatar
      Anonymous

      Mariano Rivera? The sandman not being on this list is not good.

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    5. Avatar
      Anonymous

      Where is Dave Winfield?

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