Which Yankees lineup goes down as the best of all-time?
As a Yankees fan born in 1996, I am fortunate enough to have lived through five World Series Championships in my lifetime, with the Commissioner’s Trophy heading to the Bronx in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2009. Each Yankee championship team had their own unique identity; in 1996, it was about the return to greatness, and Joe Torre promising to win in Atlanta with the Yankees down 2-0 in the World Series. 1998 was the 114-win, greatest team of all-time, 1999 was the Yankees-Braves rematch, and 2000 brought the Subway Series, and the Yankees cementing themselves as the greatest franchise in baseball history. After a brief decade away from glory, 2009 was known as the team that christened the house that George built, winning a World Series in their first year at the new Yankee Stadium.
Despite how different each team was, one thing that each championship Yankee team had in common was an outstanding batting lineup. But to answer the question of which team had the best everyday lineup, we needed to turn to the statistics below, broken down by position and year. Each player listed played the most games at their position in a given year for a championship Yankee team.
Catcher
2009: Jorge Posada, 1.6 WAR, 22 HR, 81 RBI, .285/.363/.522, 55 R, 109 H, 25 2B
2000: Jorge Posada, 5.5 WAR, 28 HR, 86 RBI, .287/.417/.527, 92 R, 145 H, 35 2B
1999: Jorge Posada, 1.1 WAR, 12 HR, 57 RBI, .245/.341/.401, 50 R, 93 H, 19 2B
1998: Jorge Posada, 2.9 WAR, 17 HR, 63 RBI, .268/.350/.475, 56 R, 96 H, 23 2B
1996: Joe Girardi, 1.1 WAR, 2 HR, 45 RBI, .293/.346/.374, 55 R, 124 H, 22 2B, 13 SB
First Base
2009: Mark Teixeira, 5.3 WAR, 39 HR, 122 RBI, .292/.383/.565, 103 R, 178 H, 43 2B
2000: Tino Martinez, 0.3 WAR, 16 HR, 91 RBI, .258/.328/.422, 69 R, 147 H, 37 2B
1999: Tino Martinez, 2.2 WAR, 28 HR, 105 RBI, .263/.341/.458, 95 R, 155 H, 27 2B
1998: Tino Martinez, 3.2 WAR, 28 HR, 123 RBI, .281/.355/.505, 92 R, 149 H, 33 2B
1996: Tino Martinez, 2.1 WAR, 25 HR, 117 RBI, .292/.364/.466, 82 R, 174 H, 28 2B
Second Base
2009: Robinson Cano, 4.5 WAR, 25 HR, 85 RBI, .320/.352/.520, 103 R, 204 H, 48 2B
2000: Chuck Knoblauch, 0.3 WAR, 5 HR, 26 RBI, .283/.366/.385, 75 R, 113 H, 22 2B, 15 SB
1999: Chuck Knoblauch, 3.5 WAR, 18 HR, 68 RBI, .292/.393/.454, 120 R, 176 H, 36 2B, 28 SB
1998: Chuck Knoblauch, 2.8 WAR, 17 HR, 64 RBI, .265/.361/.405, 117 R, 160 H, 25 2B, 31 SB
1996: Mariano Duncan, 2.7 WAR, 8 HR, 56 RBI, .340/.352/.500, 62 R, 136 H, 34 2B
Shortstop
2009: Derek Jeter, 6.5 WAR, 25 HR, 85 RBI, .334/.406/.465, 107 R, 212 H, 27 2B, 30 SB
2000: Derek Jeter, 4.6 WAR, 15 HR, 73 RBI, .339/.416/.481, 119 R, 201 H, 31 2B, 22 SB
1999: Derek Jeter, 8.0 WAR, 24 HR, 102 RBI, .349/.438/.552, 134 R, 219 H, 37 2B, 9 3B, 19 SB
1998: Derek Jeter, 7.5 WAR, 19 HR, 84 RBI, .324/.384/.481, 127 R, 203 H, 25 2B, 30 SB
1996: Derek Jeter, 3.3 WAR, 10 HR, 78 RBI, .314/.370/.430, 104 R, 183 H, 25 2B, 14 SB
Third Base
2009: Alex Rodriguez, 4.1 WAR, 30 HR, 100 RBI, .286/.402/.532, 78 R, 127 H, 17 2B, 14 SB
2000: Scott Brosius, -0.4 WAR, 16 HR, 64 RBI, .230/.299/.374, 57 R, 108 H, 20 2B
1999: Scott Brosius, 1.2 WAR, 17 HR, 71 RBI, .247/.307/.414, 64 R, 117 H, 26 2B
1998: Scott Brosius, 5.3 WAR, 19 HR, 98 RBI, .300/.371/.472, 86 R, 159 H, 34 2B, 11 SB
1996: Wade Boggs, 3.4 WAR, 2 HR, 41 RBI, .311/.389/.389, 80 R, 156 H, 29 2B
Left Field
2009: Johnny Damon, 4.2 WAR, 24 HR, 82 RBI, .282/.365/.489, 107 R, 155 H, 36 2B, 12 SB
2000: Ricky Ledee, 0.3 WAR, 7 HR, 31 RBI, .241/.332/.419, 23 R, 46 H, 11 2B
1999: Ricky Ledee, 0.8 WAR, 9 HR, 40 RBI, .276/.346/.476, 45 R, 69 H, 13 2B
1998: Chad Curtis, 2.4 WAR, 10 HR, 56 RBI, .243/.355/.360, 79 R, 111 H, 21 2B, 21 SB
1996: Gerald Williams, -0.8 WAR, 5 HR, 30 RBI, .270/.319/.433, 37 R, 63 H, 15 2B
Center Field
2009: Melky Cabrera, 1.2 WAR, 13 HR, 68 RBI, .274/.336/.416, 66 R, 133 H, 28 2B, 10 SB
2000: Bernie Williams, 5.2 WAR, 30 HR, 121 RBI, .307/.391/.566, 108 R, 165 H, 37 2B, 13 SB
1999: Bernie Williams, 5.4 WAR, 25 HR, 115 RBI, .342/.435/.536, 116 R, 202 H, 28 2B
1998: Bernie Williams, 5.2 WAR, 26 HR, 97 RBI, .339/.422/.575, 101 R, 169 H, 30 2B, 15 SB
1996: Bernie Williams, 4.0 WAR, 29 HR, 102 RBI, .305/.391/.535, 108 R, 168 H, 26 2B, 17 SB
Right Field
2009: Nick Swisher, 2.0 WAR, 29 HR, 82 RBI, .249/.371/.498, 84 R, 124 H, 35 2B
2000: Paul O’Neill, 1.3 WAR, 18 HR, 100 RBI, .283/.336/.424, 79 R, 160 H, 26 2B, 14 SB
1999: Paul O’Neill, 2.8 WAR, 19 HR, 110 RBI, .285/.353/.459, 70 R, 170 H, 39 2B, 11 SB
1998: Paul O’Neill, 5.8 WAR, 24 HR, 116 RBI, .317/.372/.510, 95 R, 191 H, 40 2B, 15 SB
1996: Paul O’Neill, 3.8 WAR, 19 HR, 91 RBI, .302/.411/.474, 89 R, 165 H, 35 2B
Designated Hitter
2009: Hideki Matsui, 2.7 WAR, 28 HR, 90 RBI, .274/.367/.509, 62 R, 125 H, 21 2B
2000: Shane Spencer, 0.6 WAR, 9 HR, 40 RBI, .282/.330/.460, 33 R, 70 H, 11 2B
1999: Chili Davis, 1.2 WAR, 19 HR, 78 RBI, .269/.366/.445, 59 R, 128 H, 25 2B
1998: Darryl Strawberry, 1.5 WAR, 24 HR, 57 RBI, .247/.354/.542, 44 R, 73 H, 11 2B
1996: Ruben Sierra, -0.9 WAR, 11 HR, 52 RBI, .258/.327/.403, 39 R, 93 H, 17 2B
Total
2009: 32.1 WAR
2000: 17.7 WAR
1999: 26.2 WAR
1998: 36.6 WAR
1996: 18.7 WAR
It was close, but based on WAR, the 1998 Yankees, which had the most wins of any team on this list, had the most valuable lineup of everyday regulars. What is clear is this; the Yankees were at their best when they had a strong core of regulars, including Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, Paul O’Neill, and Scott Brosius. Looking at the future and the current roster of Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorius, Greg Bird, and Clint Frazier amongst others, its hard not to look at the past and get excited for the future and what could lie ahead.
