One of the most underappreciated members of New York Yankees folklore, Charlie "King Kong" Keller was known for his incredible strength and corresponding Home Runs, but he probably should be more known for his plate discipline.  Keller would twice lead the American League in Walks and had an On Base Percentage over .400 seven times, six of which were enough to put him in the top ten that year.  He would also lead the AL in OPS in 1943.

In the last half of the 1990s, the New York Yankees built a dynasty that would win four World Series Championships in five years.  Jorge Posada missed the first one (1996), as he was not a part of the post-season roster, but the Puerto Rican Catcher would see his playing time rise, and he earned Rings with New York in 1998 and 1999.

Jack Quinn was Jamie Moyer before Jamie Moyer.

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 pre-2021 revision of our top 50 New York Yankees of all-time.

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.

There are two new additions on our Top 50, but nothing affecting our top five.  As always, we announce them here.

They are:

1. Babe Ruth

2. Lou Gehrig

3. Mickey Mantle

4. Joe DiMaggio

5. Derek Jeter

The two new additions were reflective of the advanced metric changes from Baseball Reference.  This has pushed up five-time World Series infielder, Red Rolfe to #46 and seven-time World Series Outfielder,Hank Bauer enters at #50.  They replace Dave Righetti and Roger Peckinpaugh.  Other minor tinkering took place that altered the overall list, but nothing major.

The only active player on the list is Brett Gardner, who moved up two spots to #36.  Aaron Judge, is on his way up, but has not yet made our top fifty.

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

Red Rolfe played his entire career with the New York Yankees, and while he was overshadowed by his higher-profile teammates, Rolfe’s contributions at the hot corner should never be minimized.

Roughly a week after the death of Hall of Fame Pitcher, Bob Gibson, another legendary Cooperstown hurler passed away.

Whitey Ford died last night at his home at the age of 91.  No specific cause of death was given.

Ford broke into the Majors in 1950 with the New York Yankees, which would be the only team he ever played for on the Major League level.  After finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting, Ford missed the next two years due to military service, but he returned to become the ace of the Yankees staff for years.  

Over the course of his career, Ford helped lead New York to 11 American League Pennants where they won six World Series Titles.  The southpaw was an eight-time All-Star, won the 1961 Cy Young, was a two-time leader in ERA, and an all-time record of 236-106 with 1,956 Strikeouts.

Ford was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, family and fans of Whitey Ford.

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 the first revision of our top 50 New York Yankees of all-time.

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. 

This is the first revision since we put up this list in 2017.

The complete list can be found here, but as always we announce our top five in this article.  They are:

1. Babe Ruth

 

2. Lou Gehrig

 

3. Mickey Mantle

 

4. Joe DiMaggio

 

5. Derek Jeter

With a team as storied and as old as the Yankees, very little has changed overall, and the top five remain the same.  Actually, there beyond minor tinkering, there is only one significant addition.  That is Gil McDougald, who we incorrectly omitted. The 1951 Rookie of the Year, and five-time World Series Champion is ranked at #29.

We are certainly keeping our eyes on Aaron Judge, who could enter this list shortly.

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

Gil McDougald would play all ten of his seasons in the Majors with the New York Yankees, where his defensive versatility would be his calling card.

Let's get all the derogatory stuff out of the way…and we know there is a lot.

While we talked about PED use a lot with Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, et all., they were baseball superstars who took enhancements (allegedly) when the players' union and Major League Baseball had not yet agreed that they were banned substance.  That is important to note, as Alex Rodriguez was caught when there were penalties in place, leaving no doubt that he cheated and was suspended from the game for the entire 2014 season. 

There is more, of course.

The Yankees famously tried everything to get out of the lavish contract they signed him to. A-Rod folded in many postseasons and clutch situations. He was also not known to be the most cohesive figure in the clubhouse.

That is a lot of negative, and yet…

Alex Rodriguez is still one of the best players that ever played the game.

Touted as a superstar, Alex Rodriguez was the first overall choice of the 1993 Draft. In the year he turned 20, he won the American League Batting Title with a 36-homer season and an OPS of 1.045. A-Rod was the cornerstone of a young, dynamic Seattle Mariners team that was a strong World Series contender in the late '90s. He was considered the best offensive infielder in baseball and one of the game's most complete players. 

When he achieved free agency, Rodriguez signed what was at the time by far the richest contract in baseball history with the Texas Rangers. While he couldn't make Texas a contender, Rodrigues did not disappoint, winning three straight Home Run titles and his first MVP (2003). Texas, however, could no longer afford him, and after a deal was voided to Boston, A-Rod moved to New York, where the most controversial yet productive period began.

While many remember the bad times with New York, it should never be forgotten that this was where he won two more MVP Awards, two more Home Run Titles, and three more Slugging Titles.  He went yard 351 times as a New York Yankee alone!  As mentioned, his postseason performance (.259/.365/.457 over 330 Plate Appearances) is well below his regular season numbers. His 2009 postseason was excellent and a part of why the Yankees won the 2009 World Series.  If he does get into the Hall of Fame, shouldn't it be as a New York Yankee?

Love him or hate him, we are talking about a player who is a statistical juggernaut.  He has a career bWAR over 117, is a member of the 3,000 Hit Club and smashed 696 Home Runs.  His career Slash Line of .295/.380/.550 is also excellent considering the longevity of his career.  These digits are impossible to ignore, no matter what lens you use.

For the record, if we here at Notinhalloffame.com had a Baseball Hall of Fame vote, we would vote for him (we think).  Maybe we would not.

The issue that we deal with in regards to Rodriguez is that his PED use took place AFTER the MLBPA agreed to the parameters of what would happen if you used them. Not only that, he was suspended twice. A-Rod might be welcomed back into the fold as a broadcaster, but the voters are rejecting him, and we understand why.

Again, did we ever say this would be fast?

We here at Notinhalloffame.com have completed our next all-time top 50, this time that of the New York Yankees.

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

1. Sabremetric tallies while with that team, mostly WAR.

2. Traditional metrics and how they finished in their respective league overall.

3. Playoff accomplishment.

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

Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories.

Saying all of that, as.

The complete list can be found here, but as always we announce our top five in our news. They are:

1. Babe Ruth

2. Lou Gehrig

3. Mickey Mantle

4. Joe DiMaggio

5. Derek Jeter

One hell of a top five wouldn’t you say?

So which team is up next?

We are sticking with Baseball and it will be five time World Series Champion, the Cincinnati Reds

As always, we here at Notinhalloffame.com thank you for your support.

Oh boy…

This was by far the hardest one to rank.  We know that many believed as Reggie declared that he was the “straw that stirred the drink” and his heroics in two straight World Series wins in 1977 to 1978.  Who can forget that he hit three Home Runs in Game 2 of the ’77 Series?  Jackson collectively hit 11 post season dingers with New York and was named the MVP in the 1977 Fall Classic batting .450 with a 1.250 OPS. 

A member of the famed “Murderers Row” lineup from the 1920’s Bob Meusel provided a balanced offensive attack for the Yankees.  Meusel had six seasons where he batted over .310 and while he was not necessarily known for his power he was a surprise Home Run leader in the 1925 season, where he also led the American League in RBIs.  Meusal was also a capable base runner who swiped 15 bases four times in his career.

The sabremetricians are not fond of Allie Reynolds and a quick look at his career WHIP of 1.386 is a big reason why.  Reynolds was the recipient of a lot of run support as he played for some incredible Yankee teams that seemed to get on base at will. 

“Happy” Jack Chesbro is one of the anomalies of the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Some feel that he shouldn’t be there and is so because of the strength of his 1904 season.  Since that was as a New York Highlander (which was what the Yankees were called then), let’s take a look at it.

By the time Paul O’Neill arrived to New York he had already been named an All-Star and won a World Series ring as a Cincinnati Red.  It goes without saying that he achieved a lot more with the Yankees.

Does this rank seem high?

Admittedly it did for us too when we put this together but there is a reason why the New York Yankees have held on to the contract of Brett Gardner for so long…he is sneaky good.

The career of C.C. Sabathis can be divided into two halves with a brief stop in Milwaukee in-between.  The first was with the Cleveland Indians, where he won the 2007 Cy Young, and the second in New York where he came close.

Many Yankees fans know Mel Stottlemyre as the Pitching Coach who helped his staff and the team win four World Series rings.  Perhaps because he played for New York at a time when they were not regular fixtures in the Fall Classic, the contributions of Stottlemyre on the mound, is not celebrated as much as it should be.

The American League MVP in 1942, Joe Gordon brought a very well rounded game to the New York Yankees.   

It took longer than it should have for the New York Yankees but in 1955 when they finally signed their first African-American they picked a great one in Elston Howard.