New York Yankees: All-time best shortstops in franchise history

New York Yankees all-time best shortstops – No. 8: Bucky Dent

11.8 WAR

What can you say about Bucky Dent? He was a light-hitting shortstop who had a hard time getting on base. He didn’t steal a lot of bases and didn’t hit for a high average.

Dent was a decent fielder. While defensive metrics are spotty for that era of baseball, he was either first or second in the American League in fielding percentage four times as a Yankee. He also rated well in Total Zone Runs (number of runs above average based on the number of plays made – Baseball-Reference). In this stat, he finished in the top three in the AL four times.

Dent also had little power, never hitting more than eight home runs in a season. That said, he also had one of the most crucial, most exhilarating long balls in franchise history. In 1978, in a playoff game to determine the winner of the AL East, against the hated Red Sox, Dent came through.

Even without the stats, Dent earned his place in Yankees history with this at-bat. His defense and consistent play helped him accumulate enough WAR to be one of the top shortstops ever for the Yankees.

New York Yankees all-time best shortstops – No. 7: Didi Gregorius

15.7 WAR

It seems like an impossible task to replace a legend, and even more so under the bright lights of New York City, but that is precisely what Didi Gregorius did.

When Derek Jeter retired after the 2014 season, he left behind a gigantic void in the middle of the infield. The Yankees acquired Gregorius that offseason, and the young man stepped into the limelight and played very well.

In his first season in pinstripes, he held his own but wasn’t outstanding. He batted .265, hit nine homers, and 56 runs batted in. In 2016, however, he found his stride.

Over the next three seasons, Gregorius average 24 home runs, 77 runs scored, 81 RBI, and batted .277. While these aren’t Hall of Fame numbers, he was an integral part of the Yankees team, on offense and defense.

For most of his time in New York, he was an adequate fielder. According to Fangraphs, he accumulated an Ultimate Zone Rating of 16.5.

In 2019, he suffered an injury that limited him to half a season. Still, he hit 16 round-trippers and drove in 61 in just 82 games.

After the 2019 campaign, Gregorius signed with the Phillies in free agency. His offense helped him accumulate a strong WAR during his five seasons in the Bronx.

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New York Yankees all-time best shortstops – No. 6: Kid Elberfeld

16.8 WAR

In the earliest days of the franchise, when the Yankees were still the Highlanders, Kid Elberfeld held down shortstop. Evidently, Elberfeld wasn’t the nicest of players, according to the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).

Kid Elberfeld, called “the dirtiest, scrappiest, most pestiferous, most rantankerous [sic], most rambunctious ball player that ever stood on spikes” for his vicious arguments on the diamond…

That statement says a lot considering Elberfeld was a contemporary of Ty Cobb. This style of play led to Elberfeld being hit by a lot of pitches. As a Highlander, he was plunked 81 times. According to SABR, he encouraged pitchers to hit him. Over his entire

He perfected the art of angling his body in toward the plate, holding his arms in such as way as to take only a glancing blow while simultaneously appearing to make an honest attempt to avoid the pitch, and then, for effect, shouting and gesticulating at the pitcher.

As was normal in his era, Elberfeld didn’t have any power but stole lots of bases. He seldom struck out (never more than 20 times in a season). He got on base, usually banging out triple digits hits, walking twice as much as he struck out, and of course, getting hit by pitches.

For his day, he was considered one of the best hitting shortstops in the game. From SABR:

From 1904 to 1906, he had the highest batting (.275) and on-base-plus-slugging (.688) percentages of any shortstop in the American League, and second in the majors only to Honus Wagner,

His garrulous ways led to feuds with umpires, opponents, and teammates, which in turn caused him to miss plenty of time due to injuries and suspensions. Eventually, he wore out his welcome with the Highlanders, and he was sold to the Senators after the 1909 season.

New York Yankees all-time best shortstops – No. 5: Tony Kubek

17.8 WAR

Although predominantly a shortstop, Tony Kubek was versatile enough to help around the field when needed. Throughout his nine seasons with the Yankees, he played all positions but catcher. He saw plenty of time in the outfield, with over 30 games at each spot in the grass.

Kubek’s career was a curious one in that he debuted reasonably young at 21, winning the 1957 American League Rookie of the Year, and he retired young, at age 29. According to SABR, he retired due to a neck injury he suffered years earlier, and there was a risk of paralysis if he continued to play baseball.

His best overall season was 1960 when he swatted 14 home runs and drove in 62. In 1961, he set the table for Mantle and Maris as they made history, scoring 84 runs.

While he was a starter, he only played in more than 140 games twice and under 130 games four times. He was a three-time all-star.

After retiring from the Yankees, he enjoyed a long and successful broadcasting career culminating in winning the Ford C. Frick award in 2009.

New York Yankees all-time best shortstops – No. 4: Frankie Crosetti

27.4 WAR

Frankie Crosetti played 17 seasons with the Yankees and won eight Wolrd Series rings. For most of his first nine years, he was an everyday starter, with four seasons over 700 plate appearances., leading the majors twice.

He also led the league in stolen bases once, in 1938, and strikeouts twice. Seven times he led the AL in being hit by pitches. While his batting average was seldom very good, topping .265 just once, his on-base percentage was usually healthy. For his career, it was .341.

During the war years, he evolved into a backup player, never seeing action in more than 95 games from 1941 through 1944. He returned to full-time status in 1945, but his numbers overall weren’t good – .238 batting average, only four home runs, and 48 RBI.

After that season, he played in just 48 more games, spread over three seasons. His career ended after the 1948 season, at the age of 37. In the last two seasons, he was a player-coach, and after his retirement, he became a third base coach for the next  20 years.

Over the first half of his career, Crosetti was pretty darn good. He was a two-time all-star and played nearly every day. He was a valuable part of some outstanding Yankees’ squads and practically ran out of fingers for World Series rings.

New York Yankees all-time best shortstops – No. 3: Roger Peckinpaugh

29.7 WAR

Roger Peckinpaugh joined the Yankees in 1913 and spent nine seasons with the team. There wasn’t much he couldn’t do for New York on the field.

His numbers were excellent for the era. He knocked out a lot of hits, had his fair share of doubles, walked a lot, and stole quite a few bases. As a Yankee, his batting average was only .257, but his on-base percentage was a respectable .334.

He was, evidently, pretty good defensively as well, according to Sabr.

Roger Peckinpaugh was one of the finest defensive shortstops and on-field leaders of the Deadball Era…”Peck” was rangy and bowlegged, with a big barrel chest, broad shoulders, large hands, and the best throwing arm of his generation. From 1916 to 1924, Peckinpaugh led American League shortstops in assists and double plays five times each.

Interestingly enough, Deadball Era players were victims of defensive shifts. Maybe things haven’t changed as much over the last 100 years as we suspected. According to Tris Peaker, via SABR, Peckinpaugh could be kept off the base paths with proper positioning.

…opponents were able to cut down on Peckinpaugh’s batting average by cheating to the left side, where the right-handed dead pull hitter found the vast majority of his base hits.

Peckinpaugh was traded after the 1921 season after hitting poorly in eight postseason games, and therefore he missed out on the Yankees rise to power. He did, however, get to play in the World Series two more times with the Senators, winning one championship.

New York Yankees all-time best shortstops – No. 2: Phil Rizzuto

41.3

Phil Rizzuto started his incredible 13-year career with a front-row seat to one of the greatest accomplishments in baseball history – DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. If this wasn’t a good enough start to his career, he also hit .307, scored 65 runs, and drove in 46 in 1941.

Rizzuto’s Hall of Fame career included five all-star games, a runner-up MVP finish in 1949 and an MVP trophy in 1950. He played in at least 125 games 11 times. He also led the majors in sacrifice bunts four straight seasons, in which he averaged over 23 a season. For his career, he had 193 sacrifice bunts.

He could steal some bases too, swiping double-digit bags eight times in his first nine seasons. He also walked 651 times, but only struck out 398 times.

Like so many stars of his era, Rizzuto lost three seasons in his prime to military service during World War II. He would have easily cleared 2,000 hits if he had those three years back.

He held his own defensively too. Six times he was first or second in the AL in putouts by a shortstop, four times in the top three in assists, and seven times he was in the top two in double plays.

He played in an astonishing nine World Series and took home eight rings. His accomplishments were long and plentiful, and he earned his place in Cooperstown.

Luckily for generations of fans, Rizzuto became the voice of the Yankees, a position he held for 40 years.

New York Yankees all-time best shortstops – No. 1: Derek Jeter

71.3 WAR

SURPRISE! It’s Derek Jeter! All kidding aside, everyone knew where this list was heading. Jeter’s WAR is more than Rizzuto’s and Peckinpaugh’s combined.

The Captian’s incredible 20-years career included 14 all-star bids, five Gold Gloves, and five Silver Sluggers. He ranks tenth all-time in plate appearances, ninth in at-bats, 6th in hits, fifth in singles, and 11th in runs scored.

He is, without a doubt, one of the top few shortstops ever, and one of the top tier players at any position all time. He fell just one vote short of being a unanimous Hall of Fame selection.

He also did things like this:

Ironically, defensive metrics weren’t kind to Jeter over the years. According to Fangraphs, since they started using Ultimate Zone Rating, he only recorded a positive in this metric one season in 2009. Overall, he accumulated a -66.1 UZR since 2002.

Defensive Runs Saved was another metric that didn’t treat Jeter well. Again, only in 2009 did he earn a positive mark in this metric, and his DFS for his career was -162.

As far as where Jeter stands as an all-time Yankee, he is fifth in WAR, first in games, first in plate appearances, second in runs scored, sixth in RBI, and eighth in RBI.

He is, hands down, one of the best six or seven position players ever to don the pinstripes, and he is firmly rooted at number one as the best shortstop in New York Yankee history.