Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2024 revision of our top 50 New York Yankees.

As for all of our top 50 players in baseball, we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Please note that our algorithm has changed, which yielded minor changes throughout the baseball lists.

Last year, the Yankees returned to the World Series, on the strength of an epic campaign by Aaron Judge.  They were bested by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Fall Classic, but it was a hell of a ride. 

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes.

1. Babe Ruth

2. Lou Gehrig

3. Mickey Mantle

4. Joe DiMaggio

5. Derek Jeter

You can find the entire list here.

The only change is MVP Aaron Judge, who moves from #17 to #11.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

Robinson Cano, a phenomenal infielder from San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic, was signed by the New York Yankees in 2001. He made his debut in the pinstripes in 2005 and was the runner-up for American League Rookie of the Year. In the following year, Cano was an All-Star and Silver Slugger after batting .342. He played solidly for the next three seasons and helped the Yanks win the 2009 World Series. Although it was Cano's ultimate accomplishment in baseball, his best individual years were yet to come.

From 2010 to 2013, Cano was New York's best player, winning four Silver Sluggers and two Gold Gloves. He had at least 27 home runs and 94 RBIs in all those seasons. Cano kept his OPS well over .880 over this stretch and was also a perennial All-Star. Despite being a proven superstar, Cano left New York for Seattle in 2014.

Cano remained an upper-tier player for Seattle, earning All-Star spots in three of his first four years and finishing fifth in MVP voting in 2016 when he had 39 home runs and 103 RBIs. However, Seattle was going nowhere, and Cano was traded to the Mets. But at over 35 years old, he was clearly in decline. After an oft-injured 2019, Cano was much better in 2021, batting .316 in the shortened season. However, he lost the entirety of 2021 due to a PED suspension, which raises questions about his performance. Cano limped back with brief stints in New York (NL), San Diego, and Atlanta before quietly exiting the Majors after the 2022 season.

Cano's stats (2,639 hits, 335 HR, 1,306 RBI & 68.1 bWAR) make him worthy of the Hall of Fame. However, the fact that he was suspended twice for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) may prevent him from being inducted as no two-time or even one-time PED-suspended player has come close to being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

It is intriguing to note that we cannot recall a player with four All-Star Games to his name who might not make the ballot. However, this is the case with Relief Pitcher Dellin Betances.

Betances hails from New York City and was drafted by the New York Yankees, his favorite team, in 2006. He made his first appearance in the Bronx in 2011 (2 Games) and again in 2013 (6 Games). But the following year, Betances was ready to stay in the Majors for good.

Standing at 6'8", Betances had the imposing stuff that a man with his frame should possess. He dominated as a set-up man, striking out 135 batters over 90 innings in 70 games. He was an All-Star that year, with an ERA of 1.40 and a WHIP of 0.778. He was third in voting for the American League Rookie of the Year, and even though he did not receive a Cy Young vote, The Sporting News named Betances the AL Pitcher of the Year.

Betances went to the All-Star Game the following season, finishing 14th in Cy Young voting (6-4, 1.50 ERA, 131 SO, 1.012 WHIP), and was once again named the Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year. Betances was not only a two-time All-Star but was also established as the best set-up man in baseball during that period.

Betances made the All-Star Game for the next two years (2016 and 2017) but was not as dominant as before. In 2018, he made history as the first reliever to strike out 100 batters five years in a row. However, a bone spur in his right shoulder kept him out of most of the 2019 season. He signed with the Mets but struggled with continued shoulder problems, playing in only 16 games for the team before retiring.

Brett Gardner spent his entire 14-year career in the Majors playing with the New York Yankees. He displayed impressive advanced metrics, exceptional plate discipline, and deceptive speed on the field. Gardner's role as a "glue" guy on the team made him an unsung hero to knowledgeable fans. He earned numerous accolades throughout his career, including an All-Star appearance in 2015, a Gold Glove in 2016, and a Wilson Defensive Player Award. However, his most prized achievement is his 2009 World Series Ring.

Fans of the Yankees were well aware of Gardner's talents and he amassed 1,470 Hits, 139 Home Runs, and 274 Stolen Bases with a bWAR over 40. It comes as no surprise that the Bronx team held onto him for the entirety of his career.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2023 revision of our top 50 New York Yankees.

As for all of our top 50 players in baseball we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in Major League Baseball.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Yankees failed to make the playoffs, and were barely over .500.  For New York, this was an epic disaster, but even if it was not, climbing the Yankees ladder is the steepest of all.  There were no new entries, and one elevation, which is exactly who you think it is!

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. Babe Ruth

2. Lou Gehrig

3. Mickey Mantle

4. Joe DiMaggio

5. Derek Jeter

 

You can find the entire list here.

The only elevation was Aaron Judge, who reached #17 from #24.

We thank you for your continued support for our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022 revision of our top New York Yankees.

As for all of our top 50 players in baseball we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the American League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, New York made it to the American League Championship Series, but fell to the eventual World Series Champion, Houston.  On a team as celebrated as the Yankees, it is very hard to make this list, but one player vaulted over 20 spots.  We bet you know who!

As always, we present our top five, which was not affected by the last season:

1. Babe Ruth

2. Lou Gehrig

3. Mickey Mantle

4. Joe DiMaggio

5. Derek Jeter

You can find the entire list here.

The only change was Aaron Judge, won the 2022 MVP and set the new single season Yankee Home Run record with 62.  He vaults from #49 to #26.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB.  Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such, it is news to us that the New York Yankees will be retiring his number 21 this upcoming season.

The event will take place on August 21, during New York’s home game against Toronto.

After playing his first eight seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, O’Neill helped New York win four World Series Titles (1996, 1998, 1999 & 2000) where the Rightfielder smacked 185 Home Runs, 858 RBI, with an OPS of .869.  In 1994, O’Neill won the American League Batting Title with a .359 average and he also represented the Yankees in four All-Star Games.

O’Neill becomes the 23^rd Yankee to have his numbers retired, joining Billy Martin (#1), Derek Jeter (#2), Babe Ruth (#3), Lou Gehrig (#4), Joe DiMaggio (#5), Mickey Mantle (#7), Yogi Berra (#8), Bill Dickey (#8), Roger Maris (#9), Phil Rizzuto (#10), Thurman Munson (#15), Whitey Ford (#16), Jorge Posada (#20), Don Mattingly (#23), Elston Howard (#32), Casey Stengel (#37), Mariano Rivera (#42), Reggie Jackson (#44), Andy Pettitte (#46), Ron Guidry (#49) and Bernie Williams (#51).

O’Neill had been previously honored by the Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park in 2014.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Paul O’Neill for his impending honor. 

All rise!

Aaron Judge is as of this writing the most exciting player on the New York Yankees, and since his rookie year, the team’s best offensive player.

Judge played in 27 Games in 2016, maintaining his rookie eligibility for 2017.  The First Baseman was named the Rookie of the Year, leasing the AL in Home Runs (52), Runs Scored (128), Walks (127), while winning the Silver Slugger and coming in second for the MVP.  An All-Star as a rookie, Judge was also named an All-Star in 2018 (27 HR, .278 BA), and had 27 Home Runs again in only 102 Games in 2019.  

In 2021, Judge had another great year, where he was fourth in MVP voting off a 39 Home Run year, but it was in 2022, where he made a claim for Yankee immortality, winning the MVP, and the Home Run Title with a 62-Home Run season, now making him the single-season leader Home Run leader for the Yankees, the most important team in baseball to have a claim on.  Last year, Judge lifted the Yankees all the way to the World Series (though they lost), but he won his second MVP, third Home Run Title (58), and second RBI Title with a whopping 144.  He also won his second OBP (.458), Slugging (.701) and OPS Title (1.159) all of which were career highs.

Judge continues to rocket up the hardest ladder to climb, and could potentially be an all-time top-five Yankee.  That is how special a player Aaron Judge is.

A New York Yankee for all fifteen of his seasons of Major League Baseball career, Roy White provided dependable service over that time.  White was a two-time All-Star who put up decent On Base Percentage and would lead the AL in Walks in 1972.  He would also finish in the top ten in Power/Speed seven times and had 160 Home Runs with 223 Stolen Bases.

Mel Stottlemyre is known more for his work as a Pitching Coach for the New York Yankees, where he won four World Series Rings, after winning one with the Mets.  This was impressive, but it should not overshadow what he was as a player.

Paul O’Neill cut his teeth in the majors with the Cincinnati Reds, breaking in the bigs in 1985.  Playing mostly in Rightfield, O'Neill became a starter in 1988, and he was a member of the Reds shocking 1990 World Series championship and was an All-Star in 1991.  Following the 1992 Season, O'Neill was traded to the New York Yankees, and it was in pinstripes that he achieved his greatest fame and success.

Roger Peckinpaugh was, without question, one of the greatest defensive players of his day, and you could go a step further and state that he was one of the best with the glove ever.

The Shortstop played for the Cleveland Naps when he debuted in the Majors, but he was not a starter for the team on Lake Erie.  Peckinpaugh was traded to the New York Yankees in 1913, and by the next season, his glove put him on the baseball map.  In eleven seasons, Peckinpaugh was in the top seven in Defensive bWAR, and he would lead the AL in that category twice (1918 & 1924).  Peckinpaugh was a team leader for the Yankees, and he would assume that role when he was traded to the Washington Senators before the 1922 Season.

With the Sens, Peckinpaugh helped Washington win the 1924 World Series, and he won the MVP the year after, though statistically speaking, he probably should not have.  That was the last good year that the Shortstop had, and he played two more seasons, with his final one being for the White Sox.

Peckinpaugh is currently 20^th all-time in Defensive bWAR, and he has 1,876 career Hits.

When you look through the pages of New York Yankee lore, you don’t see enough on Gil McDougald, who played in the infield for the Bronx Bombers throughout the 1950s.  It should, as the five-time All-Star, be a large part of their success of the decade.

McDougald played all ten of his seasons for the Yankees, first debuting in 1951, winning the American League Rookie of the Year award, and helping the Bronx Bombers win the World Series.  The Yanks and McDougald won the next two titles, and McDougald was a consistent player on the squad.

The infielder helped the Yankees win the World Series five times over his career, and from 1956 to 1959, he was a perennial All-Star.  McDougald was not a power hitter, nor did he hit for exemplary average, but he was a defensive superstar who legitimately earned MVP votes annually from 1955 to 1958. His play helped New York win five World Series Titles.

McDougald might not have been a superstar player, but his overall impact and ability to be in the right place at the right time have few peers.

One of the most recognized Relief Pitchers of the 1970s is Sparky Lyle, who first debuted in the Majors with the Boston Red Sox in 1967.  Lyle became Boston's closer in 1969, putting forth three straight 15 Save years, but he was deemed expendable, and the Red Sox traded him to the New York Yankees, who, as history would show, gave up nothing in return for him.

Lyle blossomed in New York, setting a then American League record 35 Saves and finishing third for the MVP, and raising the bar for closers.  Lyle was an All-Star three times in the 70s, was a crucial part of New York's back-to-back World Series titles (1977 & 1978), and won the Cy Young in 1977.

Following the '78 World Series win, Lyle was traded to the Texas Rangers, but his skills were no longer there.  He bounced around to Philadelphia and the Chicago White Sox before retiring in 1982.  Lyle left the game with 238 Saves, and he finished 634 of the 899 Games he appeared in.

Many baseball historians have painted Wally Schang as one of the better offensive Catchers of the deadball era.  In terms of his World Series Rings, you can argue that he is one of the most successful.

Schang won his first World Series as a rookie with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1913, and he would play there for the first five years of his career.  The Athletics dealt Schang to the Red Sox in 1918, where again, he was a World Series Champion in his first year with a Major League Team.  He batted over .300 for the BoSox in 1919 and 1920, but the Red Sox were in the middle of dismantling their team, and he was traded to the New York Yankees in 1921, where he again had two more .300 seasons, the second of which would see him win a World Series in 1922.  

Schang later played for the St. Louis Browns and the Detroit Tigers, and, in addition to his excellent offense, he was considered a very good defensive player.  He would also have five seasons in which he received an MVP vote, and he secured a fourth ring in 1930 as a reserve with the Athletics. 

While his 1,506 career Hits may not seem like a lot, for a Catcher of his time, it was a lot.  Throw in the lifetime Batting Averages of .284 and OBP of .393, and you have a special player.

Bob Shawkey was a star on the rise with Connie Mack’s Philadelphia Athletics, but the cash-strapped team traded him to the New York Yankees during the 1915 season.

Shawkey had four 20 Win years for the Yanks, used both as a starter and reliever.  In 1916, he led the American League in Games Finished (24) and Saves, while posting a 2.21 ERA.  Shawkey would later win the ERA Title in 1920 and was a vital member of the Yankees’ 1923 World Series Championship Team.  Late in his career, he was part of another title win (1927), his last year as a player.  

He would retire with a record of 195-150.

Jimmy Key played his entire career in the American League East, dividing between three teams, Toronto, New York, and Baltimore, finding success with all three clubs.

Key’s foray into the Majors first came with the Blue Jays, where he was used in late relief as a rookie.  That year ended his bullpen days, as Toronto promoted him to the starting rotation, and he was an All-Star.  Key would remain an essential figure in the Jays’ staff, winning the ERA Title in 1987 when he was the runner-up for the Cy Young.  Key was again an All-Star in 1991, and the following year, he helped take the Jays to their first World Series win.

Key was not in Toronto in 1993 to defend their title as he joined their rival, New York, as a Free Agent.  The Pitcher went to have the best back-to-back years of his career, earning All-Star nods in pinstripes in both '93 and '94, and finishing fourth and second in Cy Young voting, respectively.  In that runner-up year, he led the AL in Wins (17) and was also sixth in MVP voting. 

In his final two years in baseball (1997 & 1998), he was with Baltimore and was an All-Star in what was his penultimate year.  Key left the game with a 186-117 record.

Tommy Henrich is a part of the folklore of the New York Yankees, but with the legends that the Bronx Bombers have had, sometimes “Old Reliable” gets lost in the shuffle.

Henrich played his entire career in New York, first debuting in 1937, and helping them in the 1938 World Series win.  His breakout year was in 1941 when he had 31 Home Runs and won another World Series Championship.   Henrich was one of the many who lost time in baseball due to his participation in World War II, and he lost three years, but he came back to have the best run of his career.

Henrich would lead the American League in Triples in 1947 and 1948 and was also the league leader in Runs with 138 in 1948.  He would help the Yanks win the 1947 and 1949 World Series, and he was a huge part of those wins, batting .323 in the '47 Series and hitting the first walk-off Home Run in Game 1 of the ’49 Series.

Retiring after 1950, Henrich was a five-time All-Star and had 183 career Home Runs.

One of the more interesting characters of the game, David "Boomer" Wells, played 21 seasons in the Majors for nine different teams, three of which he had two stints.  Wells longevity allowed him to amass a record of 239-157 with 2,201 Strikeouts, but don't view him as a "compiler."

Wells was an excellent control pitcher who led the American League in BB/9 four times and was in the top ten in that stat 12 times.  He also led the AL in SO/BB once (1998), and again, he was in the top ten in that metric 11 times.  Wells, who threw a perfect game in 1998, would also finish third in Cy Young voting, and he would help his New York Yankees win the World Series.  Two years later, when he was with the Toronto Blue Jays, he led the league in wins and again finished third in Cy Young voting.

Over the course of his long career, he also played for Detroit, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Chicago (AL), San Diego, Boston, and Los Angeles.

Elston Howard's professional career began in the Negro Leagues with the Kansas City Monarchs in 1948, but the New York Yankees signed him in 1950.  After two years in the military and two years in the minors, Howard debuted in pinstripes in 1955.

Howard had learned how to be a Catcher, but with Yogi Berra in tow, he was used as a backup there.  He would receive playing time in the 1950s, either as a backup in the Outfield or occasionally at First Base.  Playing for the Yankees gave him national attention, and he was regularly named to the All-Star Games despite not having a central position.  New York won the World Series in 1956 and 1958, but by 1961, he was finally set to take up the Catcher's position on a regular basis.

Howard again helped the Yanks win the World Series in 1961 and 1962, and in 1963, when he hit a career-high 28 Home Runs, he won the American League MVP.  Howard’s nine-year streak of All-Star Games ended in 1965, and he finished his career in 1968 with two final years as a Red Sox.

He would later win two more World Series rings with the Yankees as a Coach in 1977 and 1978.