New York Yankees
Established: 1901
Other Names:
Baltimore Orioles (1901-1902)
New York Highlanders (1903-1912)
2016 results: 84-78,
4th in AL East
2017 Prediction: 4th
World Series Titles: 27
Most Recent: 2009
Last World Series
Appearance: 2009
Last Division Title: 2012
Ballpark: Yankee
Stadium III
Est: 2009
Best Season: 1998
There are a number of seasons
that one could pick to be the best in Yankees’ history, but the numbers from
1998 speak for themselves. They won 114 games in the regular season, plus
another 11 in the postseason for a total of 125 victories in one season, the
most by any team in baseball history. They won the AL East by 22 games over the
Red Sox, swept the Texas Rangers in the ALDS, took out the Cleveland Indians in
six games to win the ALCS, then swept the San Diego Padres in the World Series.
The team was led offensively by Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez,
Paul O’Neill and Darryl Strawberry, and by starting pitchers Andy Pettitte,
David Wells, David Cone and Orlando Hernandez, and of course, closer Marino
Rivera.
Best All-time Player:
Babe Ruth
No player ever had as much
impact on the game of baseball than Babe Ruth. The pace at which he slugged
home runs was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. In his 15 years with
the Bronx Bombers, the Babe smacked 659 home runs, had 1978 RBIs and batted
.349. He won the MVP Award just once (1923), but led the American League in
home runs 11 times, including becoming the first player in MLB history to hit
60 home runs in a season (1927). When he retired in 1935, his career 714 home
runs was more than double than that of the second-place player on the list.
Such a discrepancy in a record has never been matched.
Best Player on the
Current Roster: Didi Gregorius
The days are gone when the
Yankees would stockpile their lineup with overpriced veterans and they’ve
finally started to inject some youth. Perhaps the most talented is Gregorius.
Of course, it doesn’t help him that he’s taken over at short stop for one of
the greatest players in team history, but over his two seasons, Gregorius has
improved. In 2016, he batted .276, hit 20 home runs, added 70 RBIs and stole
seven bases. And while he didn’t win a Gold Glove, his defense was solid,
committing only 15 errors in 575 chances for a .974 fielding percentage.
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