As a kid, I used to debate with my friends who were Yankees, Dodgers and Giants fans who the "all-time" teams would be made up of. So, here's my list of all-time best Yankees at each position. I've listed who I consider the top three (usually) for each position, with the best of the best at the top. Some of them are tough choices.
Starting Pitcher (on a team that has players named Clemens, Cone, Pettite, Niekro, John, Lopat, Pennock, Chesbro and Mays, this was not easy)
Whitey Ford - 236 - 106 (.690 winning %). 2.75 career ERA - for most of his career, pitched the toughest games - 11 WS - 6-5, ERA of 2.71 - 10 time all-star selection
Red Ruffing - 231- 124 as a Yankee (.651 winning %) 3.47 ERA as a Yankee - 7 WS - 6-1, ERA of 2.63 - 6 time all-star selection
Ron Guidry - 170 - 91 (.651 winning %) 3.29 career ERA - 3 WE, 3 ALCS, 1 ALDS - 9-4 post-season - 2-1 in WS, ERA of 1.69 - 4 time all-star selection
Catcher (decided to list 5 because 3d to 5th are darn hard to choose between)
Yogi Berra - 19 seasons, BA .285, 358 HRs, 1430 RBIs, 704 BBs - 14 WS, .274 BA, 12 HRs, 39 RBIs, selectedd to all-star game 18 times
Bill Dickey - 17 seasons, BA .313, 202 HRs, 1209 RBIs, 678 BBs - 8 WS, .255 BA, 5 HRs, 24 RBIs, selected to all-star game 11 times
Thurman Munson - 11 seasons, BA .292, 113 HRs, 701 RBIs, 438 BBs - 6 postseason series - 3 WS, .373 BA, 1 HR, 12 RBIs - selected to all-star team 7 times
Jorge Posada - 14 seasons (so far) BA .277, 221 HRs, 883 RBIs, 790 BBs, - 23 Postseason series - 5 WS, .208 BA, 2 HR, 6 RBI - selected to all-star team 5 times
Elston Howard - 12.5 seasons as Yankee, BA .274, 161 HRs, 743 RBIs, 342 BBs - 9 WS, .250 BA, 5 HRs, 18 RBIs, selected to all-star team 12 times
First Base - (There are only two great choices here to date)
Lou Gehrig - 17 seasons, BA .340, 493 HRs, 1995 RBIs, 1508 BBs - 7 WS, .361 BA, 10 HRs, 35 RBIs, selected to all-star team 7 times
Don Mattingly - 14 seasons, BA .307, 222 HRs, 1099 RBIs, 588 BBs - 1 postseason series, selected to all-star game 6 times
Third could go to Wally Pipp or Tino Martinez or Jason Giambi or maybe this new guy...
Second Base - (I think our current 2d baseman could finish his career at the top of this list if he focuses)
Willie Randolph - 14.5 seasons as a Yankee, BA .276, 48 HRs, 539 RBIs, 251 SBs - 11 postseason series - 4 WS - .181 BA, 3 HRs, 4 RBIs
Joe Gordon - 7 seasons, BA .268, 153 HRs, 617 RBIs, 481 BBs, 68 SBs - 5 WS, .250 BA, 3 HRs, 14 RBIs - selected to all-star game 6 times while a Yankee
Bobby Richardson - 12 seasons, BA .266, 34 HRs, 390 RBIs, 73 SBs - 7 WS, .305 BA, 1 HR, 15 RBIs - selected to all-star game 8 times
Shortstop (this one really isn't very hard)
Derek Jeter - 14 seasons (so far), BA .316, 206 HRs, 1002 RBIs, 275 SBs - 25 postseason series, 6 WS - .302 BA, 3 HR, 8 RBIs - selected to all-star game 9 times
Phil Rizzuto - 13 seasons - BA .273, 38 HRs, 563 RBIs, 149 SBs - 9 WS, .246 BA, 2 HR, 8 RBIs - selected to all-star game 5 times
Frank Crosetti - 17 seasons - BA .245, 98 HRs, 649 RBIs, 113 SBs - 7 WS, .174, 1 HR, 11 RBIs - selected to all-star game 2 times
Third Base - (the third spot demonstrates that this has not been a traditionally strong position for the Yanks)
Graig Nettles - 11 seasons as a Yankee, BA around .250, 250 HRs, 834 RBIs, 18 SBs - 10 postseason series as a Yankee, 4 WS, .255 BA, 0 HRs, 5 RBIs - selected to all-star game 6 times - great defender
Alex Rodriguez - 5 seasons as a Yankee (so far) BA .303, 208 HRs, 616 RBIs, 106 SBs - 5 postseasons series as a Yankee, 0 WS - selected to all star game 5 times as a Yankee - should move into first place on this list before he's through
Joe Dugan - 6.5 seasons as a Yankee, BA .280, 22 HRs, 320 RBIs, 12 SBs - 5 WS, .267 BA, 1 HR, 8 RBIs -
Right Field (1st and 2d place are very, very obvious)
Babe Ruth - 15 seasons as a Yankee, BA .342 (actually a bit higher as a Yank, I was too lazy to calculate it), 659 HRs, 1975 RBIs, 110 SBs - 7 WS as a Yankee, .326 BA, 15 HRs, 30 RBIs - selected to all-star game 2 times
Reggie Jackson - 5 seasons as a Yankee, BA .279, 144 HRs, 461 RBIs, 41 SBs - 8 postseason series as a Yankee - 3 WS - .391 BA. 8 HRs, 17 RBIs - selected to all-star game 5 times as a Yankee
Roger Maris - 7 seasons as a Yankee, BA .261, 203 HRs, 558 RBIs, 7 SBs - 5 WS as a Yankee, .195 BA, 5 HRs, 10 RBIs - selected to all-star game 6 times as a Yankee
Center Field (Choosing between 1st and 2d here is tough)
Joe DiMaggio - 13 seasons, BA .325, 361 HRs, 1537 RBIs, 30 SBs, 790 BBs - 10 WS, .271 BA, 8 HRs, 30 RBIs - selected to all-star team 13 times
Mickey Mantle - 18 seasons, BA .298, 536 HRs, 1509 RBIs, 153 SBs, 1733 BBs - 12 WS, .257 BA, 16 HRs, 40 RBIs - selected to all-star team 16 years
Bernie Williams - 16 seasons, BA .297, 287 HRs, 1257 RBIs, 147 SBs, 1069 BBs - 25 postseason series - 6 WS - .208 BA, 5 HRs, 14 RBIs - selected to all-star team 5 times
Left Field (Not a traditionally strong position for the Yankees)
Rickey Henderson - 4.5 seasons as a Yankee, BA .284, 78 HRs, 255 RBIs, 326 SBs, 406 BBs - selected to all-star game 4 times as a Yankee
Earle Combs - 12 seasons, BA .325, 58 HRs, 632 RBIs, 96 SBs, 670 BBs - 4 WS, .350 BA, 1 HR, 9 RBIs
Lou Pinella - 11 seasons as a Yankee, BA .291, 57 HRs, 417 RBIs, 10 SBs, 215 BBs - 10 postseason series, 4 WS, .319 BA, 0 HR, 10 RBIs
Closer
Mariano Rivera - 14 seasons (so far) 482 Saves, ERA 2.29 - 26 postseason series - 6 WS, ERA 1.16, 9 saves, 2 wins, 1 loss - selected to all-star team 9 times
"Goose" Gossage - 6.5 seasons as a Yankee, 156 saves, ERA around 2.40 - 6 postseason series as a Yankee, 2 WS - 2 saves, 1 win, 0 loss - selected to all-star team 4 times as a Yankee
Sparky Lyle - 7 seasons as a Yankee, 141 saves, ERA around 2.80 - 5 postseason series as a Yankee, 2 WS - 1 win, 0 loss - selected to all-star team 3 times
Your thoughts? Did I miss someone?
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