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The New York Yankees are easily the most successful professional sports franchise in American sports history. The Yankees have won 27 World Series titles. The next closest in baseball history would be the St. Louis Cardinals, who have won 11 championships. But it's not just compared to baseball that the Yankees stand out.
The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are tied for the most NBA titles with 17. The Green Bay Packers have won 13 championships (including pre-Super Bowl era), the most in the NFL. The only team close in North American sports would be the Montreal Canadiens, who have 24 titles to their credit.
When you have won as much as the Yankees have, obviously there must be a number of legendary players. In 2022, Aaron Judge hit 62 home runs. That broke the American League record previously held by Yankee legend Roger Maris. Judge then added a second MVP in 2024.
Judge's two MVPs moves him into the discussion. But he is too early in his career without winning a ring to make the list of the legendary franchise. So he would make an honorable mention category, for the time being along with players like Don Mattingly, Alex Rodriguez, and Red Ruffing.
But this list ranks the 10 greatest Yankees of all-time.
10. Whitey Ford
Position: Starting Pitcher
Years with Yankees: 1950-1967
Notable Accolades: 8-time All-Star, Cy Young winner
Whitey Ford is a bit overlooked historically. But he shouldn't be. After a stellar rookie season in 1950, he missed the next two years serving in the military. He returned and was utterly dominant.
Over the next 15 seasons, Ford led the league in wins three times, ERA twice and shutouts twice. He helped New York capture six World Series titles and was a key cog in the rotation each time including winning the 1961 World Series MVP.
9. Bill Dickey
Position: Catcher
Years with Yankees: 1928-1943, 1946
Notable Accolades: 11-time All-Star, 8-time World Series champion
I always knew that Bill Dickey was a great player historically. But it didn't truly register with me how much until researching for this piece. He was a great hitter, not just for someone who played catcher either. He finished his long career hitting .313.
Dickey showed decent power throughout his career, posting between 12 and 29 home runs over nine straight seasons. In those days, those were solid numbers. But it's what he did defensively that truly separated Dickey. He finished his career with a positive dWAR (defensive wins above replacement) all 17 big league seasons.
8. Yogi Berra
Position: Catcher
Years with Yankees: 1946-1965
Notable Accolades: 3-time MVP, 15-time All-Star
Incidentally, the next player on the list is the person Dickey trained. Yogi Berra supplanted Dickey behind the plate. Clearly, he took his teachings to heart and then superseded the production. Berra is arguably the greatest catcher who ever lived.
At no point in his career did he lead the league in any statistical category. That makes winning three MVP Awards that much more impressive. He wasn't exceptional at anything. But he was great at everything.
Oh, not to mention he won an incredible 10 World Series titles as a player during his career.
7. Reggie Jackson
Position: Right Field
Years with Yankees: 1877-1981
Notable Accolades: MVP, World Series MVP, 14-time All-Star
The next player on my list has long since created conjecture. Reggie Jackson only played five seasons in New York. Most of his greatest seasons took place in Oakland before he ever got to the Big Apple. But I have him here because to me, if I was telling the story of the Yankees franchise, it cannot be told without Jackson.
When he arrived in 1977, he said “I didn’t come to New York to be a star, I brought my star with me.” All he did that season was dominate and literally hit three home runs on three pitches in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series. That performance gave him the nickname “Mr. October.” He finished with a career .357 average with 10 home runs in five World Series appearances.
6. Derek Jeter
Position: Shortstop
Years with Yankees: 1995-2014
Notable Accolades: Rookie of the Year, 14-time All-Star, 5-time Gold Glove winner
We go from “Mr. October” to “Mr. November.” In the 1990s, the World Series began bleeding into November. There was no player from that era that dominated the postseason like Derek Jeter. He had an incredible knack for being in the right place at the right time.
He was also incredibly clutch. The Captain won four World Series titles in five years and another a decade later. Jeter also led arguably the best team ever, the 1998 Yankees squad to a championship.
5. Joe DiMaggio
Position: Center Field
Years with Yankees: 1936-1942, 1946-1951
Notable Accolades: 3-time MVP, 13-time All-Star, 9-time World Series winner
Some people might think I am crazy that I have Joe DiMaggio this low. But that's only because of how many true legends have played for New York through the years. DiMaggio made the American League All-Star team every year he played. He won league MVP three times and was one of the most feared hitters who ever lived.
But what truly separates DiMaggio from so many others was his record hitting streak. DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak still stands and is considered one of the most unbreakable records in the history of sports.
4. Mariano Rivera
Position: Relief Pitcher
Years with Yankees: 1995-2013
Notable Accolades: 13-time All-Star, 5-time World Series champion
It's hard to overstate Mariano Rivera's importance to the Yankees dynasty of the late 1990s. Baseball had changed over the decades. Gone were the days when starters would pitch entire games frequently. It made a team's bullpen, and especially closer, a pivotal role.
There is arguably no player who was better at his job at any position than Rivera was at closing out games. The Yankee legend led the league in saves three times and finished his career with the most saves ever with 652.
He was so great, even Red Sox fans had to tip their caps to him on his goodbye tour in 2013. He won five World Series titles and was absolutely crucial to four of them. To this day, there is no greater or scarier sight to hitters than Rivera coming out of the pen to ‘Enter Sandman.'
2. Lou Gehrig
Position: First Base
Years with Yankees: 1923-1939
Notable Accolades: 2-time MVP, 7-time All-Star, 8-time World Series champion
Lou Gehrig was almost always in the shadow of Babe Ruth. But that's only because Ruth was truly a one-of-a-kind. Gehrig was incredible in his own right though. He scored more than 100 runs and recorded at least 100 RBIs for 13 straight years.
Gehrig led the AL in runs four times, in home runs three times, in RBIs five times, in on-base percentage five times. Gehrig also racked up eight 200-plus hit seasons. But what set him apart was his then-record of 2,130 consecutive games played. That mark would stand for more than a half-century until Cal Ripken Jr. broke it.
2. Mickey Mantle
Position: Center Field
Years with Yankees: 1951-1968
Notable Accolades: 3-time MVP, 16-time All-Star, Gold Glove winner, 7-time World Series winner
Mickey Mantle was one of the shiniest, brightest stars to ever live. I'm not just talking about his smile either. Despite dealing with injuries throughout his career, he made the All-Star team 16 times in 17 years. During his first MVP season of 1956, he won the Triple Crown hitting .353 with 52 homers and 130 RBIs.
He followed that season up with another MVP campaign. He led the league in runs scored five teams, home runs four times, walks five times and OPS six times. Saying he's one of the greatest players to ever live might not even tell the whole story.
1. Babe Ruth
Position: Starting Pitcher, Outfielder
Years with Yankees: 1920-1934
Notable Accolades: MVP, 2-time All-Star, Most Feared Hitter Ever
Babe Ruth basically pre-dates the All-Star Game, which began in 1933. But there is a laundry list of reasons why he sits atop this list. When he retired, he had the most home runs, RBIs, walks, the highest OBP and slugging percentage.
He led the league in home runs a whopping 12 times. In 1920, Ruth hit more home runs than any other team in the American League. That's the first and only time that ever occurred. He followed that up with 59 the next season.
Oh, and for the first few years of his career, he was an elite pitcher with the Boston Red Sox. Ruth is universally understood to be the greatest player to ever play the game.
