50 Years in Pinstripes

I was listening to Mike Francesa the other day, and thinking about the 50th anniversary all-time Mets team, he asked who would make the Yankees team over that period. Everyone always thinks of Mantle, Yogi, Ruth, Joe D, Gherig, Whitey as all-time greats, but you can't include them on this list. I thought it would be fun to look it over myself to see who I would include.

Catcher

There are only two men in this discussion, Thurman Munson and Jorge Posada. In 11 seasons with the Yankees, Munson batted .292 with 113 HR and 701 RBI. Unfortunately, Munson was taken away from us too young, passing away after an airplane accident. In 17 seasons, Posada hit .273 with 275 HR and 1065 RBI. As the least popular of the Core Four, Posada would probably lose a fan vote, but his numbers are neck and neck with Thurman. That being said, I'd give the honor to Thurman.

First Base

This is a little sac-religious, but this is a three horse race with Don, Tino, and Teixeira. Donnie Baseball played all 14 seasons with the Yankees hitting .307, 222 HR, 1099 RBI. Tino hit .276, 192 HR, 739 RBI in 7 seasons. Finally, in 3+ seasons, Teixeira, .264, 123 HR, 381 RBI, has been impressive, but appears to be declining steadily. Just so I don't overload my inbox with hate mail, I'll go with Mattingly over Tino.

Second Base


One man is the clear favorite, Robinson Cano. Cano is arguably the best current second basemen in the majors, and has hit over 25 HR and 85 RBI in each of the past 3 seasons. Cano is also the only Yankee in history to have over 30 doubles in his first 7 seasons in pinstripes (he has 21 so far this season). Alfonso Soriano could have a case if he didn't get traded for A-Rod after starting for  3 seasons (As much as I hate A-Rod, the Yankees are much better off with Cano and A-Rod than Soriano and Aaron  Boone).

Shortstop

There's only one answer here, Derek Sanderson Jeter. Jeets may be the best shortsop in all of baseball over the past 50 years. He's first in Yankee history with 3178 hits, and is only 30 doubles away from Lou Gherig's Yankee record.

Third Base


A-Rod would have to get the nod. He had a fantastic 2009 postseason, and won the MVP twice as a Yankee. Graig Nettles isn't even in the same race as Rodriguez. A-Rod's 295 HR in pinstripes is the 6th most in Yankee history.

Left Field 


It comes down to two people, Hideki Matsui and Dave Winfield. Winfield often gets overlooked, playing in the dark ages 81-90, but his numbers (.290, 205 HR, 818 RBI in 9 seasons) are comparable to Godzilla's (.292, 140 HR, 597 RBI in 7 seasons). You also have to take into account that Matsui played some of his best years in Japan. I'd give the nod to Winfield here.

Center Field

Bernie Williams patrolled center for 4 Yankees World Series Championships, while putting up very good numbers, .297, 287 HR, 1257 RBI. Williams' 287 HR is good for 7th All-Time on the Yankees, and his 1257 RBI is 6th All-Time. Not only is he the best center-fielder, he should be a Hall of Famer. Curtis Granderson is off to a good start, but he needs to keep up this pace for a few more seasons before he's even in the discussion.

Right Field

Two of true Yankee fans most favorite players have both started in right, Paul O'Neil (.303, 185 HR, 858 RBI) and Nick Swisher (.267, 91 HR, 298 RBI) . O'Neil is the clear choice here however.

Starting Pitchers

1) Andy Pettitte (206-114, 3.96 ERA)


2) Ron Guidry (170-91, 3.29 ERA)


3) Mel Stottlemyre (164-139, 2.97 ERA)


4) CC Sabathia (68-26, 3.23 ERA)


5) Mike Mussina (123-72, 3.88 ERA)

I left Cone and Wells off the list because they didn't pitch enough games, and Roger Clemens*, I think we all know why.

Closer