The Greatest New York Yankees players by position in the last 50 years

Today I am continuing my list of the greatest players for each team in the last 50 years by position (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF, C, right-handed, and left-handed starting pitchers, relief pitchers and DH). Criteria is players must have played at least (5) years on team since the 1973 season. Note players who started prior to 1973 can be included, however only what they accomplished since the 73 season will be considered. There were many factors in the selection process. Were they Hall of Famers? Were they consistent, league leaders? Did they win any awards (MVPs, Cy Youngs gold gloves)? And how much post season success did they have? I will be doing 1 team a week. Starting with teams in the American League East. This week’s team is the New York Yankees. Here is my list of greatest Yankees players in the last 50 years (by position). Note the time and accomplishments are listed only with Yankees (since 1973).

First Base- Don Mattingly (1982-1995)- MVP, Batting champion, 9X Gold glove award winner.

Second Base- Robinson Cano (2005-2013)- 2X Gold Glove award winner. Finished in top 5 MVP voting 3X.

Third Base- Alex Rodriguez (2004-2016)- 2X MVP with Yankees. 2X HR champion.

Shortstop- Derek Jeter (1995-2014)- HOF, ROY, WS MVP, 5X Gold glove award winner

Left Field- Dave Winfield (1981-1988)- HOF, 4X Gold glove award winner.

Centerfield- Bernie Williams (1991-2006)- Batting champion, ALCS MVP, 4X Gold glove award winner.  

Right Field- Paul O’Neil (1993-2001)- Batting champion, 4X WS champion with Yankees.  

Catcher- Thurman Munson (1973-1979)- MVP, 3X Gold glove award winner.

Designated Hitter- Reggie Jackson (1977-1981)- HOF, WS MVP, HR champion.

Right-handed starting pitcher- Mike Mussina (2001-2008)- HOF, 3X Gold glove award winner with Yankees.

Left-handed starting pitcher- Ron Guidry (1975-1988)- Cy Young award winner. 5X Gold glove award winner.

Relief pitcher- Mariano Rivera (1995-2013)- HOF, WS MVP, ALSC MVP, All-time saves leader.

Notes. Lots of great players with a couple of tough selections. At second base, it was between Cano and long time Yankee Willie Randolph. I took Cano, who was a better consistent hitter. He hit .309 in his 9 years as a Yankees. Although Graig Nettles was a terrific third baseman, it was no question that Alex Rodriguez was the choice with his 2 MVPs at the position. The Yankees never had any great left fielders for a long period of time. Ricky Henderson was the best in the last 50 years; however, he did not play a full 5 seasons with the team. Although Dave Winfield played more games in right field, he did play 3 full seasons as the Yankees left fielder, so he gets the nod over the other options. Right field was between O’Neil and Aaron Judge. I considered Judge based on his MVP last season, but had to give the nod to O’Neil, who was a key member of 4 championship teams. Catcher was another tough decision. I took Munson over Posada based on his MVP and terrific post season numbers (.357 lifetime average in postseason, including .373 in World Series). The last tough decision was left-handed starting pitcher between Guidry and Andy Pettitte. I took Guidry based on having one of the greatest pitching seasons ever, And, Guidry had more 20 game win seasons than Pettitte.

Next up will be the Tampa Bay Rays.

 

 

The Greatest Boston Red Sox players by position in the last 50 years

Today I am continuing my list of the greatest players for each team in the last 50 years by position (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF, C, right-handed, and left-handed starting pitchers, relief pitchers and DH). Criteria is players must have played at least (5) years on team since the 1973 season. Note players who started prior to 1973 can be included, however only what they accomplished since the 73 season will be considered. There were many factors in the selection process. Were they Hall of Famers? Were they consistent, League leaders, (awards MVPs, Cy Youngs gold gloves), and how much post season success did they have? I will be doing 1 team a week. Starting with teams in the American League East. This week’s team is the Boston Red Sox. Here is my list of greatest Red Sox players in the last 50 years (by position). Note the time and accomplishments are listed only with Red Sox (since 1973).

First Base- Mo Vaugh (1991-1998)- MVP

Second Base- Dustin Pedroia (2006-2019)- MVP, Rookie of the Year, 4X Gold glove award winner.

Third Base- Wade Boggs (1982-1992)- HOF, 5X Batting champion, 2X Gold glove award winner.

Shortstop- Nomar Garciaparra (1996-2003)- Rookie of the Year, 2X Batting champion.

Left Field- Jim Rice (1974-1989)- HOF, MVP, 3X HR champion.

Centerfield- Fred Lynn (1974-1980)- MVP, Rookie of the Year, Batting champion. 4X Gold glove award winner.

Right Field- Dwight Evans (1973-1990)- HR champion, 8X Gold glove award winner.  

Catcher- Carlton Fisk (1973-1980)- HOF

Designated Hitter- David Ortiz (2003-2016)- HOF, HR champion, WS MVP, LCS MVP

Right-handed starting pitcher- Roger Clemens (1984-1996), MVP, 3X Cy Young award winner (with Boston),

Left-handed starting pitcher- Jon Lester (2007-2014), 3-0 in World Series (for Boston).

Relief pitcher- Jonathan Papelbon (2005-2011)- All-time saves leader for Red Sox

Notes. There were 2 tough position selections. Left Field was challenging. It was between Rice, HOF Carl Yastrzemski, and Manny Ramirez. I eliminated Yaz since his best seasons were prior to 1973 (3 batting titles and MVP). I took Rice based on his long 16-year career with the Red Sox. Although Manny put up terrific numbers with Boston, he only played 7 full seasons. The other difficult choice was picking the right-handed starting pitcher. It was between Clemens and Pedro Martinez. It was tough to pick against HOF Martinez, but I gave the nod to Clemens due to his winning the MVP and Cy Young in the same season. The rest of the list was straightforward. All were the best at their positions in the last 50 years.

Next up is the New York Yankees.

 

 

The greatest Baltimore Orioles players in the last 50 years by position

Welcome to my new list. This is my list of the greatest players for each team in the last 50 years by position (1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF, C, right-handed, and left-handed starting pitchers, relief pitchers and DH). Criteria is players must have played at least (5) years on team since the 1973 season. Note players who started prior to 1973 can be included, however only what they accomplished since the 73 season will be considered. There were many factors in the selection process. Were they Hall of Famers? Were they consistent, League leaders, (awards MVPs, Cy Youngs gold gloves), and how much post season success did they have? I will be doing 1 team a week. I am starting with the American League East, alphabetically by city, so, the first team is the Baltimore Orioles. Here is my list of greatest Baltimore Orioles in the last 50 years (by position). Note the time and accomplishments are listed only with Orioles (and only since 1973).

First Base- Eddie Murray (1977-1997): HOF, Rookie of the Year, 3X gold glove award winner. Finished 5X in the top 5 MVP voting.

Second Base- Brian Roberts (2001-2013): 2X leader in doubles. Hit over 50 doubles 3Xs.

Third Base- Manny Machado (2012-2018): 2X Gold glove award winner.

Shortstop- Cal Ripken Jr (1981-2001): HOF, Rookie of the Year, 2X MVP, 2X gold glove award winner. All time consecutive games streak.

Left Field- BJ Surhoff (1996-2000/2003-2005): Batted .291 with Orioles.

Centerfield- Adam Jones (2008-2018): 4X Gold glove award winner.

Right Field- Nick Markakis (2006-2014): 2X gold glove winner.

Catcher- Rick Dempsey (1976-1986): World Series MVP

Designated Hitter- Ken Singleton (1975-1984)- Finished in top 3 MVP voting 2X.

Right-handed starting pitcher- Jim Palmer (1973-1984): HOF, 3X Cy Young award winner, 4X gold glove winner (since 1973).

Left-handed starting pitcher- Mike Flanagan (1975-1986/1991-92): Cy Young award winner.

Relief pitcher- Gregg Olson (1988-1993): Rookie of the Year.

Notes. The Orioles have had many great players. Most of this list was straightforward to put together. There are 3 Hall of Famers and All Stars at almost every position. Selecting the left fielder was the biggest challenge. The Orioles did have any great players at the position. Surhoff played some time at third base but had his best seasons as a left fielder with the Baltimore. The other option was Gary Roenicke and John Lowenstein. They were a great platoon, but I could only pick one player, so I went with Surhoff. The other positions were easy to select. Note 2 Hall of Famers did not make the list due to the timing. Brooks Robinson only played 4 seasons from 1973-1976 and was at the end of his career. Frank Robinson played with Baltimore prior to the 1973 season. And HOF Palmer won all 3 of his Cy Young awards since 1973.  Even though this is the first team I am listing, this lineup may be one of the strongest of any of the team’s greatest players at each position.

Next up is the Boston Red Sox.