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Trying to break down a list of the Top-10 Yankees of All-Time is a lot like trying to decide whether you want to drive the Maserati or the Lamborghini, there is no wrong answer. Instead there are answers some would prefer over others but none are wrong. How you define the list is what will allow you to shape your Top-10. Is it based on raw numbers? Is it leadership? Is it individual effect on a team in a specific era? Do you consider intangables? These are all valid criteria to mold your list but as long as you can quantify why then you are right on track.
Players like Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, and DiMaggio belong unequivocally in everyone’s New York Yankee Top-10 but the bigger question is where and who joins them? Many fans and baseball historians will tell you the top-4 are Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle with some switching the latter two. Do I agree with that thought? I am sure some of my decisions will be considered flawed but that is the beauty of it, we can debate it. When you decide which Yankee is in the Top-10 it is hard to have a completely wrong answer. With that in mind I present my All-Time New York Yankee Top-10 list.
10: Andy Pettitte
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The first member of the “Core 4” that made the list, Pettitte has 252 career wins with 215 coming as a Yankee. He carries a career ERA of 3.87 with 2,400 strikeouts and a career winning percentage of .627. Many believe Ron Guidry belongs above Pettitte, but he is all-time postseason leader in wins with 19 and was part of five World Series championship teams. He is a three-time All-Star who finished in the top-5 of the Cy Young voting four times.
9: Bill Dickey
(AP)
As a player Dickey won eight World Series titles as the backstop for the Yankees. In his career, Dickey hit .313 with 202 home runs and 1,209 RBI. As a catcher, Dickey hit 20 home runs and drove in 100 in four consecutive seasons. Dickey would go on to be the Yankees first base coach and catching instructor where he helped develop Yogi Berra. As a coach Dickey won six more World Series for a total of 14 rings.
8: Whitey Ford
(AP)
“The Chairman of the Board” is the all-time Yankee leader in wins with 236 and a six-time World Series champion. His ability to stay calm at the most stressful of times helped him complete 156 games with 45 shutouts and a career 2.71 postseason ERA. A career ERA of 2.75 and 1,956 strikeouts are not stats that should be ignored either. The 1961 Cy Young Award winner also has a career winning percentage of .690. Impressive to say the least.
7: Derek Jeter
(KEIVOM/NEWS)
The example of how a professional athlete should carry themselves and Jeter did it in one of the biggest markets in the world. The Yankee captain has 3,465 hits (good for sixth all-time) while scoring 1,923 runs with a career .310 batting average, 1,311 RBI, 260 home runs and 358 stolen bases. The five-time Silver Slugger award winner played in seven World Series winning five. In the storied history of the New York Yankees he is the only one with 3,000 hits. While great he just does not rightfully fit above any of the top-6.
6: Mickey Mantle
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“The Mick” was a three-time American League Most Valuable Player with a career .298 batting average, 536 home runs, 1,509 RBI, 153 stolen bases and a WAR of nine or better four times. Mantle was a Triple Crown winner in 1956 making the All-Star team in 16 of his 18 seasons in the majors. Part of one of the greatest home run chases in history with fellow Yankee, Roger Maris. Injury played a factor in his otherwise incredible career so nobody will ever know exactly what could have been.
Up Next: The Top-5 and Vote
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