Derek Jeter, Future Hall of Famer but NOT a Top 10 All Time Yankee

This is not a slap at Derek Jeter.  He's a great player.  Yes, he's had some clutch hits and amazing playoff moments, but don't fool yourself into thinking that he is more valuable to the Yankees franchise than he actually is.

Jeter has always been classy.  He'll never publicly bad-mouth a teammate, and he'll never create controversy.  In exchange, the press, particularly the New York press, loves him and will always give him a free pass. The myth of Jeter is bigger than the actual body of work.

While Derek Jeter, with his 3000-plus hits and five rings, is destined for Cooperstown, I can make a case that there are at least 10 other Yankees (or more) that have had a bigger impact or were far more influential to their illustrious history than him.

In addition, a lot of Yankee fans under the age of 35 probably don't even remember the lean years of the CBS-owned Yankees or the futility of Danny Cater or Horace Clarke.

There WAS life before No. 2 started playing shortstop in 1996.

Here are some bigger-than-life players who helped shape the franchise...

Casey Stengel

While he might best be known for being the first manager of the 1962 Amazin' Mets, the team that went 40-120 in their first year, Casey Stengel was no slouch.

The "old professor" was a Hall of Fame inductee in 1966.

A .284 lifetime hitter over 14 major league seasons, his greatest work was yet to come.

Hired as the New York Yankees manager in 1949, he promptly won five straight championships.  Although they didn't win the pennant in 1954, the Yankees won again in 1956 and 1958.

Sure, it makes your job easy when you have guys like Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio or Whitey Ford on your team, but pennants are not won on paper.  (Ask Joe Girardi and he'll agree.)

His record speaks for itself.

Joe DiMaggio

Joltin' Joe DiMaggio.

Mr. Coffee.

The lucky man who married sex symbol Marilyn Monroe.

Author of the 56-game hitting streak—a record that might stand forever.

An all-star in all 13 of his seasons—the only Yankee to be selected for an All-Star game every year of his career.

The Yankee Clipper is arguably one of the greatest hitters of all time—2,214 hits and a .325 lifetime batting average.  His stats would have been better, but he missed three full years during the war for military service.

During his magical 1941 season, he only struck out 13 times!

The Yankees won nine championships during his reign and only lost in the World Series once, to the Browns in 1942.

First ballot Hall of Famer in 1955.

Babe Ruth

There really is not much to say about Babe Ruth that hasn't already been said.

The Bambino...the Sultan of Swat.

The old Yankee Stadium was the "House that Ruth Built."

Swatted 714 home runs.  Also had a lifetime .342 average, not too shabby for a slugger!

A member of "Murderer's Row," he hit 60 homeruns for the 1927 Yankees that might be one of the best teams of all-time.

Original member of the Hall of Fame in 1936.

When told that he made more money than the President of the United States, quipped that "he had a better year than the President!"

Probably the biggest sports hero in American Culture.

Mariano Rivera

Mariano Rivera is by far the greatest closer of all time.

He might even be the greatest closer long after he's enshrined in Cooperstown.

For a guy who almost always throws one pitch, the cutter, he's amazing.

He, more than Jeter or any other current or former Yankee, is most responsible for the Yankees winning Championships in 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2009.

Some had suggested that Rivera was slipping and had an "off" year when in 2007 his ERA went up to 3.15.

His stats in the playoffs are just as impressive, with an ERA under one.  ONE!

Without a doubt, one of the most clutch "money" players of all time...in ANY sport!

Billy Martin

I could see some people debating this one, but I'm not sure why.

As a player, he was the 1953 World Series MVP, hitting .500, and was a clutch player when the game was on the line.

Yes, the man only won one World Championship with the Yankees in 1977.  And yes, he was fired five different times by George Steinbrenner yet still called him a "baseball genius."

Billy Martin brought things to the table that cannot be measured in stats or rings.

The man was a winner, plain and simple.  He turned losing teams around with not only the Yanks, but with Oakland, Texas, Detroit and Minnesota.  He may have worn out his welcome and had a few too many adult beverages, but he knew talent and he knew winning baseball.

An innovator, he brought excitement to the game and his teams.  He perfected the art of the double-switch and didn't just sit back and wait for the three-run homer as his teams constantly played hard, ran the bases aggressively, and did anything they could to beat you.

During the his tenure as a manager, he compiled a .553 winning percentage and 1,253 victories.

Reggie Jackson

Reggie Jackson...the man who claimed he didn't come to New York to be a star, but that he brought his star with him.  The main attraction at the Bronx Zoo.  Mr. October.

Reggie was the first high profile free agent lusted after by owner George Steinbrenner when the team signed him to a five-year contract worth slightly under $3 million dollars, an unbelievable sum of money for one player back in the day.

While the Yankees promptly won the 1977 and 1978 World Series with Mr. October, it was Reggie's three home runs on three pitches off three different pitchers in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series that cemented his Yankees legacy.

The Yankees, with Reggie, returned to the World Series in the strike shortened season of 1981, only to lose to the L.A. Dodgers in six games.

Reggie's numbers with New York for 5 season are excellent, 144 homers, 461 RBI's and a .281 average.  He also slugged an impressive .526.

Enshrined in Cooperstown in 1993.

Lou Gehrig

If Babe Ruth was the greatest Yankees hitter of all-time, Henry Louis Gehrig came a close second.

In those ferocious Yankee lineups, Ruth batted third and Gehrig fourth.

While even non-baseball fans may know about his consecutive game streak of 2,130 games, his prowess as a hitter was sometimes overshadowed by being a teammate of Babe Ruth.

A career batting average of .340.  Holder of the record for career grand slams at 22.  Two-time MVP and six-time World Champion.  The greatest Yankee first baseman of all time and probably still the greatest first baseman in baseball history!

It's hard to believe, but in one three-season stretch, 1930-1932, he had an amazing 509 RBI's.  Something that definitely will not be duplicated anytime soon.

Hall of Fame inductee in 1939 with a unanimous vote.

Mickey Mantle

How many young boys growing up in the 1950's and 1960's wanted to be Mickey Mantle?

How many arguments were started based on who was the better center fielder in NYC, Willie Mays of the Giants, Duke Snider of the Dodgers, or Mickey Mantle of the Yankees?

Perhaps the greatest switch-hitter in the history of baseball, Mantle could possibly have been even more amazing had he taken better care of himself both on and off the field.

He was a 16-time All Star and three-time MVP.  The Yankees won the World Series seven times during his reign at Yankee Stadium, and his World Series numbers are fantastic, showing that he hit in the clutch unlike our current crop of Yankee stars.

Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974, he retired with 536 home runs, which at the time placed him in third all time.

Whitey Ford

Modern day Yankee fans who miss the clutch performances of Andy Pettitte would have loved Whitey Ford.

He played all of 18 years in the big leagues with the Yankees and compiled an impressive win/loss record of 236-106, along with an equally impressive ERA of 2.75.  He has a higher winning percentage and lower ERA than greats such as Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, or Greg Maddox.

Some of his best work was in the World Series, as a six-time champion, he won 10 games and posted a 2.71 ERA while also taking home Series MVP in 1961.

Drinking buddy of Mickey Mantle but was all business on the mound.

Hall of Famer in 1974.

George Steinbrenner

The legend and legacy of George Steinbrenner will live in long past his death in 2010.

"The Boss."

During his 37-year ownership tenure, the Yankees won seven World Series titles and 11 pennants.

It's hard to believe, but Steinbrenner was extremely close to buying his hometown Cleveland Indians one year prior to putting together a group to buy the Yankees from CBS.  How would Yankees (And Indians) history be different had that deal worked out?

While George may have been extremely impulsive and not the greatest in player development or talent evaluator, his best work was when he left the running of the baseball operations to guys such as Brian Cashman or Gabe Paul or Gene Michael.

Yes, he was outspoken.  He helped drive up player salaries, and he loved the spotlight. He also never tolerated losing and would do anything to win.

How many fans of losing franchises wish they had a George Steinbrenner running their team?

Honorable Mention............

It's hard to believe that some of the guys below actually couldn't crack the top 10 of an all-time Yankee list, but its true.

The 10 Honorable Mentions in no particular order:

Andy Pettitte

Don Mattingly

Yogi Berra

Thurman Munson

Phil Rizzuto

Bernie Williams

Bill Dickey

Ron Guidry

Lefty Gomez

Joe Torre