Greatest Yankees players of all time, ranked

Position: Right Field/Center Field

Years with Yankees: 2016-present

Notable Accolades: 8-time All-Star, 3-time AL MVP, 4-time All-MLB First Team, Rookie of the Year, 3-time Hank Aaron, 3-time home runs leader, 2-time RBIs leader, batting champion

Aaron Judge is officially a top-10 all-time Yankee, and he will only continue to climb up this list over the years to come. Judge has been pretty clearly the best American League player for the last half decade or so, if not longer. During that time, the outfielder who looks like he’d be better off as a frontcourt basketball player or football lineman has racked up three MVPs.

Judge’s ability to crush home runs (1,262) while also being discipline at the plate (860 walks) has resulted in right All-Star nods. Opposing pitchers are afraid to put the ball in the strike zone because of Judge’s power, which was most on display when he broke the AL single-season homers record (62). They can’t get him to swing outside of the zone, though, as he has let the AL in walks four times. Injuries resulted in Judge’s biggest down season in years this past season, but expect him to return to form as arguably the best player in MLB next year.

8. Reggie Jackson

Position: Right Field

Years with Yankees: 1877-1981

Notable Accolades: MVP, World Series MVP, 14-time All-Star

The next player on this 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 Jackson 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.

7. Yogi Berra

Position: Catcher

Years with Yankees: 1946-1965

Notable Accolades: 3-time MVP, 15-time All-Star

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 Clearly, he took his teachings to heart and then superseded the production.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.

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. Jeter ranks sixth in MLB history with 3,465 hits.

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 for having 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.’

3. 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. Gehrig is baseball’s original Iron Man.

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.