The Bronx, New York has been center stage in quite a bit of baseball memories. The Yankee faithful have been through thick and thin since the days of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Derek Jeter. The question is… who is the greatest Yankee of all?
Fans will tell you that there are so many to choose from. The Bronx Bombers have produced 34 Hall Of Fame players. The most in MLB history. To be honest, Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter will make 36 in the upcoming years. Pretty incredible. Babe Ruth, is the easy choice for historians because of his 714 home runs.
If you want my opinion, the greatest Yankee ever had to have
- A great bat
- A great glove
- Charisma
- A world champion
A player that is loved by the greatest city in the world can’t possibly be easy. Babe Ruth has been an iconic figure throughout baseball history for as long as we can remember. You also have the the “The Iron Horse” Lou Gehrig, who gave perhaps THE greatest baseball retirement speech of all time.
A true power hitter that helped the Yankees win six world championships. Gehrig was the first player in MLB history to have his number “4” retired by any team. The next Yankee great cannot be forgotten, Mickey Mantle. Elected to the hall of fame in 1974, this Yankee belted 536 home runs, won 7 World Championships, and was a 20-time All-Star. Impressed?
The numbers don’t lie. The one thing Mantle has going for him is he played his entire career in the pinstripes. That leads us to “Joltin” Joe DiMaggio. The 9-time World Champion, 13-time all Star was a staple of Yankee greats.
His 56-game hitting streak still lives to this day. DiMaggio, didn’t play baseball from 1943-1945 due to his military duty, is in my opinion, right up there as perhaps the greatest Yankee ever.
So many Yankee greats, so many to choose from. The next two Yankee greats have been a little fresher in our minds. Let’s start with Mariano Rivera. The greatest closet of all time put up staggering numbers throughout his pinstripe days. A 5-time World Champion, 13-time all star, played 19 seasons with the Yankees.
His 652 saves is the most of all time. Rivera also named World Series MVP in 1999 signifies that this closer wasn’t just the greatest Yankee closer of all time, but the best in MLB history. Last but not least, the “Captain” Derek Jeter. The 14-time All-Star, 5-time world champion, distinguished himself as the face of the Yankees from the late 90’s through the mid 2000’s.
His uncanny presence of making big plays on the biggest stages cements himself into MLB greatness. His career average of .310 was a salute to his steady, consistent, work ethic.
The Yankees have produced 27 World Series Titles. These names signify that the greatness Yankee of all time is definitely in the eyes of the beholder. Yankee fans ask again? Who’s the greatest Yankee of all time? Simple. There’s no wrong answer.