6 former Yankees players who thrived in the New York limelight later in their careers

There's a reason why the line, "If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere," stands out front and center in Frank Sinatra's hit "[Theme From] New York, New York". The city is not for the faint of heart, chewing up and spitting out those without the requisite ice in their veins to handle the pressure. Playing for the New York Yankees takes that pressure and turns it up to eleven.

Playing for the most decorated franchise in North American professional sports is no easy task. Every game, even a mid-April one, comes with high stakes. The expectation isn't just to go far; it is to be the last team standing each and every season.

For some players, the heat of the spotlight made them wilt, while others soared to new heights under the weight of expectations. A demanding, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately fanbase, rabid media and, for much of the club's history, a bombastic owner who demanded nothing short of greatness are all factors that a player needs to contend with.

For those who did not come up in this environment, it could be a culture shock, yet throughout the franchise's history, there are a number of standout performers who thrived in the limelight and used the weight of these expectations like a current of energy, fueling greatness.

To truly get a sense of players who fit this bill, it's important to only consider players who began their careers elsewhere and later flourished in the Big Apple. In some cases, these players were already stars who maintained their high level of performance in the harshness of their new environment, and in others, they reached new heights as soon as the bright spotlight shone down upon them.

Reggie Jackson became a baseball immortal during the Yankees' most chaotic period

Reggie Jackson was already a star when he arrived in Gotham back in 1977. His trophy case included three World Series rings, a World Series MVP, and the 1973 AL MVP award when he joined the Bronx Bombers.

However, it was in New York that he truly became a legend. The Yankees, and the city itself, were in the midst of turmoil. Tensions were rising between hot-headed manager Billy Martin and mercurial owner George Steinbrenner, while Jackson's arrival made waves with team captain Thurman Munson, leading to Jackson brashly claiming that he, not the homegrown star, was the "straw that stirs the drink."

At the time, the city was also gripped by fear and chaos. The summer brought an intense heat wave, widespread power outages across all five boroughs, rampaging fires, and surging crime, while the metropolis' denizens grappled with mortal terror as one of America's most notorious serial killers, the Son of Sam, rampaged throughout the city.

These external factors made the once-glimmering beacon of hope, New York City, seem as if it was plunging into the abyss of decay, while the Yankees' internal strife made it seem like the once-proud franchise was fraying at the seams. Perhaps at no other moment in time was the pressure to perform higher in Yankee history.

It would have been almost excusable to break amongst this backdrop. However, Jackson did what he had always done to that point in his career, and turned in an MVP-caliber performance, slashing .286/.375/.550 with 32 homers, leading the Yankees to an AL East crown and a 100-62 record.

That October, Jackson became an immortal figure in the game. His three-home-run performance in the decisive Game Six of the 1977 World Series would crown him Mr. October and snapped the Yankees' 15-year title drought.

Jackson would play a total of five seasons in New York, cutting down on the swing-and-miss that plagued him earlier in his career and reaching new heights in batting average, hitting an even .300 in 1980.

His Yankee career saw him post a .281/.371/.526 line, and while he was likely on a Hall of Fame trajectory during his Oakland days and brief layover in Baltimore, it was in New York where his legacy was cemented.