Jeter and Rivera Will Replace Mantle and Increase the "Magnificent Seven"

What do Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Phil Rizzuto, Joe DiMaggio, Bill Dickey, Lou Gehrig and Earle Combs have in common?  They are the Yankees' “magnificent seven."  They are the only seven Hall of Famers that spent their entire playing careers with the New York Yankees.

No Yankees player since Mantle has been exclusively a Yankee and is in the Hall of Fame.  Mantle retired after the 1968 season and was inducted in 1974.  Ford retired after the 1967 season and was also elected in 1974.

Lou Gehrig is clearly the best among the six position players, with either DiMaggio or Mantle second, depending on your preference and means of evaluation.

The following presents the number of world championships and pennant winners the Yankees “magnificent seven” helped to win:

Player WS Pennant

Mantle      7    12
Ford          6    11
Rizzuto      7    9
DiMaggio   9    10
Dickey       7    8
Gehrig       6    7
Combs      3    4

Rizzuto, DiMaggio, Dickey and Ford missed seasons defending the American way of life. During the years that Rizzuto, DiMaggio and Dickey were absent, the Yankees failed to win a world championship. Only in 1951 and 1952, when Ford served, did the Yankees win the World Series without one of the "magnificent seven."

The 1951-52 Yankees had enough talent to win despite the loss of Ford and Tom Morgan to the Korean conflict.  During WWII, the Yankees lost many important players besides DiMaggio, Rizzuto and Dickey.

Ford is easily the best of all Yankees pitchers.  While Ford was great, he doesn’t rank with the greatest pitchers of all-time.  It is difficult to determine which Yankee pitcher is second to Ford, but that is just the point.

The Yankees have had fine pitchers throughout their history, but rarely had the top pitcher in the game.  Examine the 1939 team, which was an excellent team that won 106 games (.702) and swept the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series.

The following presents the 1939 Yankees' top pitchers:

NAME    W-L    ERA+

Ruffing      21-7    150
Donald      13-3    119
Gomez      12-8    129
Hadley       12-6    148
Pearson     12-5    98
Hildebrand  10-4    144
Sundra        11-1    159
Russo          8-3    183
Murphy        3-6    100

With the exception of ace Red Ruffing, the 1939 team had six pitchers who were not aces but each of whom was very good.

The recent Yankees teams have had four players that have been only Yankees.  Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada probably won't be elected to the Hall of Fame, but one never knows.

Derek Jeter has broken some of Mantle’s Yankees records, but there is one that Mariano Rivera, not Jeter, will break.  A year or two after Rivera replaces Mantle’s place in the record book as the last Hall of Famer to have been only a Yankee, Jeter will replace Rivera.  Or maybe not.

Rivera will become the last Hall of Famer to have played only for the Yankees. Then it will be Jeter.  Of course, knowing Rivera, he just might outlast even Jeter.

The “magnificent seven” will become the “magnificent nine.” That is definite.