Recently on ESPN.com, columnist Rob Neyer created his "All Time All Stars" for both the NL and the AL. It was an interesting undertaking in which he followed most of the real life parameters of the modern All Star selection process including the choosing of a 33-man roster for each league and also picking one player from each team. Because baseball is a game so entrenched in its history, looking back is always entertaining, and this applies even more so when considering the rich past of the New York Yankees.
So, borrowing from Mr. Neyer's genesis, I've built my own all-time Yankees All-Star team. But at the Pinstripe Report there is far less discipline than with the boys at ESPN. Selecting 33 players from the Yankees would eliminate the challenge of choosing between various Hall of Famers with multiple seasons that could arguably be their best; a large part of the fun with a list like this. While the Yankees arguably have employed a larger number of historically great players than any other franchise in baseball, a full 33-man roster still heavily dilutes the challenge assembling this "team." Finally, only players who have made an All-Star game are eligible and only their All-Star seasons will be considered. A player also cannot be duplicated and there will be no DH selected. In one final rule, I've also made this a "no-A-Rod zone". Fair or not, it's my list, so there are my rules.
Other then that, the idea is pretty straightforward. A starting lineup, full five-man pitching rotation, and three bullpen pieces comprised of the greatest Yankee All Stars of all time. A great idea by Neyer, done here with a Yankee twist.
First Base: Lou Gehrig —1934
Gehrig was an easy selection as he is not only the greatest Yankees first basemen of all time but he is arguably the greatest first basemen period. The difficulty with Lou is picking his best season. Gehrig had some ridiculous years, was a seven-time All Star, and a two time MVP (having played 12 years alongside Babe Ruth), so depending on which statistics one chooses to emphasize, there are at least three solid arguments that can be made for his "best" season.
But 1934 was the year Gehrig won his only Triple Crown. That season Lou obviously led the league in home runs, RBIs, and batting average — going .363/49/165 — but also was tops in the AL in OBP (.465), slugging (.706), OPS (1.172), OPS+ (208), total bases (409), and runs created (189). Unfortunately, in the All-Star Game that season he went 0-5 but given his utter domination of the AL that season, the 1934 version of Lou Gehrig will start for the All Time Yankees All Star Team.
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Article comments
1 - tink
While I'm not up on the older guys, the stats made your choices clear.
Great line-up. Dug that you included Mariano Rivera, he definitely rates up there.
Thank god for your no a-rod zone, although in our house we call him a-something else!!
Reading this took a bit of the sting away from not catching them while they were playing 10 miles from here this past weekend.
Thanks for a great piece on the best baseball team ever!!
2 - Tony
Thanks Tink. It was a lot of fun digging back through the history of the team.
3 - Aaron Whitehead
Nice piece. The one guy I'm surprised you didn't mention was Joe Gordon. He was great in his MVP year of '42, and he gets a clear edge over Soriano in defense.
A lot of tough choices here; I really like Graig Nettles, but was surprised to see that he wasn't an All-Star in '76.
I love that you mention Charlie Keller; he was on the fast track to Cooperstown before he turned 30. But Rickey Henderson was pretty darn good in '85. I think he should have won the MVP, and that was a good Yankee team in the midst of some poor ones.
4 - Tony
Gordon was very good in 42 but can't match Sorianos power or speed production. Also, the only thing he did lead the league in that year was strikeouts.
Henderson definately makes a case with his '85 season for sure.
5 - fred
arod third base what about dh murcer 71 ops 182