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

The New York Yankees’ long history is filled with great shortstops.

Over the past 120 years, the New York Yankees have seen some great shortstops anchor the middle of the infield. From Hall of Famers to role players, from heroes and future broadcasters, 12 players recorded at least 2,000 at-bats and played most of their games at shortstop for the Yankees.

This countdown is objective, based on Wins Above Replacement, and only players who earned a mark of at least ten in WAR are included, so the level of player isn’t watered down too much.

Some much-appreciated New York Yankees will be left off under the parameters mentioned above, such as:

• Tom Tresh


• Gene Michael


• Bobby Meacham

The New York Yankees all-time best shortstops

New York Yankees all-time best shortstops – No. 9: Randy Velarde

10.4 WAR

Randy Velarde was a Swiss army knife for the Yankees for ten years. He played all over the field, logging time at every fielding position but first base and catcher. He played the most at third and short, seeing five more games at the latter, therefore qualifying as a shortstop.

As a super-utility player, Velarde doesn’t have a single year that stands out as outstanding. He never played in more than 121 games, never hit more than seven home runs for the Yanks, and never drove in more than 46 runs.

He was, however, a player to plug in just about anywhere, and Velarde would perform. He hit a respectable .261 over his career in New York but had two seasons where hit over .300, including 1989, when he hit .340 in 115 at-bats.

His best, most productive years came after he moved on from the Yankees. He returned briefly late in his career, playing in 15 unproductive games in 2001.

Still, he was valuable enough of a player to make this list as one of the top shortstops in franchise history.