The New York Yankees have the most numbers retired in Major League Baseball at 21, with number eight being retired twice. The next closest is the St. Louis Cardinals with 12. In fact, every single-digit number is retired by the Yankees. Here is a lineup (with a DH) using players that have their number retired by the Yankees, as well as a starting pitcher and a closer.
Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle (Image from New York Daily News)
Hall of Fame Inductee in 1955
Uniform Number Retired in 1952
Joe DiMaggio played 13 seasons with the Yankees from 1936-through-1951, spending 1943-through-1945 in the military. In 1,736 games, DiMaggio slashed .325/.398/.579. Of course one his most well-known achievements was his 56 game hit streak, which is still the longest in Major League history by more than 10 games. DiMaggio also won three MVP awards and nine World Series championships. He hit 361 homers and 389 two-baggers in his career.
Hall of Fame Inductee in 1974
Uniform Number Retired in 1969
Another three-time MVP award winner is Mickey Mantle. He played 18 seasons, all with New York, from 1951-through-1968. Mantle is a 20-time All-Star and seven-time Fall Classic winner. In his 2,401 games played, number seven slashed .298/.421/.557. He hit 536 home runs (18 most in MLB history), 344 doubles and a whopping 1,509 RBIs. Mantle also drew 1,733 base on balls and led the league with the most walks five times.
Hall of Fame Inductee in 1936
Uniform Number Retired in 1948
Babe Ruth’s .690 slugging percentage and 1.164 OPS still stand as MLB bests among qualified players. His 714 dingers are third most. Ruth also had 2,214 RBIs which is second most in MLB history. Ruth could be used as the starting pitcher, as he pitched in 163 games, although it was just four with the Yankees. He had a career 2.28 ERA and 488 strikeouts.
In his Postseason career, Ruth won seven World Series. He played in 167 playoff games and slashed .326/.470/.744, giving him a crazy 1.214 OPS.
Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth (Image from New York Daily News)
Hall of Fame Inductee in 1939
Uniform Number Retired in 1939
Lou Gehrig played on the Yankees from 1923-through-1939. He is a two-time MVP, winning the award in 1927 and 1936. In 1934, Gehrig led the majors in all three splits when he slashed .363/.465/.706. He got his nickname “The Iron Horse” for playing almost every game. He held the record for most consecutive games played at 2,130 for 56 years before Cal Ripken Jr. broke it.
Hall of Fame Inductee in 2020
Uniform Number Retired in 2017
Derek Jeter played 2,747 regular-season games with the Yankees. Other than 73 games at DH, he played the rest at shortstop. Jeter is a five-time winner of all three of these: World Series, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger. “Mr. November” also made 14 All-Star games. In his lengthy career, Jeter recorded 3,465 hits which is currently sixth on the all-time list. He slashed .310/.377/.440 in his career with 260 homers and 544 doubles. Jeter also won the 2000 World Series MVP when he slashed .409/.480/.864 against the Mets.
Hall of Fame Inductee in 1972
Uniform Number Retired in 1972
Yogi Berra played in 2,120 regular season games with the Yankees, catching in 1,699 of them. He is an 18 time All-Star, three-time MVP and a 10 time World Series winner. Berra showed much consistency throughout his career as he put up productive numbers for multiple years. His career slash line was .285/.348/.482, along with his Postseason slash line being .274/.359/.452. Berra hit 358 homers and 321 doubles in those 2,120 games.
Roger Maris (Image from YES Network)
Uniform Number Retired in 1984
Some of Roger Maris‘ best big league seasons came during his seven seasons with the Yankees from 1960-through-1966. He won MVP in back-to-back years in 1960 and 1961. In 1961, he hit what was the single-season home run record at the time by totaling 61 long balls on the season. Maris also had 141 RBIs and 132 runs scored that year. The Yankees won the World Series that year, which was one of Maris’ three World Series titles won, two being with New York.
Hall of Fame Inductee in 1994
Uniform Number Retired in 1985
Phil Rizzuto played all of his MLB games at shortstop except for two, which he played second base and will be there on this list as well. Rizzuto played on the Yankees for 13 seasons across 16 years, missing three due to military service. He was a five-time All-Star, a seven-time World Series winner and the 1950 American League MVP. That year, Rizzuto slashed .324/.418/.439. Rizzuto hit 62 triples and 239 doubles in his career.
Uniform Number Retired in 1986
Although Billy Martin played primarily at second base, he has the most games played at third base out of the Yankees with a number retired. Martin played for the Yankees from 1950-1953, spent 1954 with the military and then played from 1955 until 1957 when he joined the Kansas City Athletics. His career slash line with the Yankees is .262/.313/.376. Martin also made the All-Star game in 1956.
Hall of Fame Inductee in 1974
Uniform Number Retired in 1974
Born in New York, Whitey Ford pitched with the Yankees in 1950 before spending some time in the military. He started back up in 1953 and pitched until 1967. The southpaw made 10 All-Star games, won a Cy Young in 1961, and was the MVP of the 1961 World Series. Ford pitched 45 shut outs in his career as part of 156 complete games. He had a career 2.75 ERA in the regular season, and a 2.71 ERA in the Postseason.
Mariano Rivera (Image from Newsday)
Hall of Fame Inductee in 2019
Uniform Number Retired in 2013
Mariano Rivera pitched on the Yankees from 1995-through-2013, throwing that nasty cutter. He is the all-time saves leader with 652. Rivera has a career 2.21 ERA in 1283 2/3 innings pitched. “Mo” also has some impressive Postseason stats. He won five World Series and was the MVP of the 1999 Fall Classic. In 141 Postseason innings pitched, Rivera recorded 42 saves and a 0.70 ERA.
Feature Image Courtesy of lehighvalleyvlive.com
You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from TGH writers along with Tommy.
