The best stat to determine a player’s worth is WAR–wins above replacement–an analytical metric that was not available until relatively recently. The formula for WAR differs for position players and pitchers, and I’ll lay it out in layman’s terms. WAR uses every aspect of the game– batting, baserunning, and fielding, factors in position and ballpark and determines how many wins better than a league average player an individual player might be. Using WAR to help us rank them, let’s look at the top 24 players in the history of the New York YankeesThe tale of Babe Ruth has been well documented. Perhaps the most universally well-known baseball player of all time, the Great Bambino was sold to the Yankees by the Boston Red Sox ahead of the 1920 season, in a move that haunted Boston for several generations. In the Bronx, Ruth crushed 659 homers over 15 seasons and was just 22 RBI short of driving in 2,000 in pinstripes. It’s a little crazy to think just how different baseball history could have played out had Red Sox owner Harry Frazee agreed to pay Ruth his desired salary increase rather than sell him to his fiercest rival, but the Yankees are obviously thrilled he did. Ruth’s number three is currently retired in monument park at Yankee Stadium.
