New York Yankees: Power Ranking the 20 Greatest Pitchers in Team History
To date, 705 players have toed the rubber wearing the interlocking NY on their caps for the New York Yankees.
From Abbott to Zuber, every letter of the alphabet is included in this list of athletes—some that are memorable, others that we wish we could erase from our memories.
Yes, four players with a last name beginning with "Q" and two with last names beginning with "Z" have thrown a pitch for the Yankees, though none of them made this list.
Two letters that you will not see next to each other on this list?
"A" and "J".
Now, narrowing the list down to 50 was hard enough.
But 20?
Incredibly difficult.
But a challenge that we at Bleacher Report are up to.
So grab your rosin bags, sandpaper and nail files—and get ready to bring the heat as we embark on a journey through Yankees lore.
20. Dave Righetti
1 of 21Yankees Tenure: 11 years: 1979; 1981-1990
Yankees Stats: 74-61, 3.11 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 1136.2 IP, 999 H, 940 K, 224 SV
Average Season: 7-6, 104 IP, 91 H, 85 K, 20 SV
Initially a starting pitcher, Dave "Spaghetti" Righetti is better known as the closer for the New York Yankees from 1983 until 1990.
His 46 saves in 1986 were a Yankees single-season record until 2001 and his 224 career saves were a team record until 2002, when Mariano Rivera broke both.
Random Fact: Righetti threw a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox on July 4, 1983, striking out future Hall of Famer (and future Yankee) Wade Boggs at Yankee Stadium. This would be the team's first no-hitter since Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series.
19. Vic Raschi
2 of 21Yankees Tenure: 8 years: 1946-1953
Yankees Stats: 120-50, 3.47 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 1537 IP, 1347 H, 832 K, 99 CG
Average Season: 15-6, 192 IP, 168 H, 104 K, 12 CG
One-third of the New York Yankees "Big Three" in the late 40's and early 50's, Vic Raschi was a four-time All-Star and six-time World Series champion in pinstripes.
He won 21 games three years in a row, from 1949 through 1951, and was effective in the playoffs, posting a 5-3 record and 2.24 ERA in 11 games.
Random Fact: On August 4, 1953, Raschi set an American League record for pitchers by driving in seven runs against the Detroit Tigers.
18. Catfish Hunter
3 of 21Yankees Tenure: 5 years: 1975-1979
Yankees Stats: 63-53, 3.58 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 993 IP, 879 H, 492 K, 65 CG
Average Season: 13-11, 200 IP, 176 H, 98 K, 13 CG
Not an overpowering pitcher, James Augustus "Catfish" Hunter became baseball's first free agent after the 1974 season. He would sign a five-year, $3.35 million contract with the New York Yankees, one dished out by a young, up-and-coming owner by the name of George Steinbrenner.
His first two years in the Bronx were outstanding: Hunter would combine to go 40-29 with a 2.87 ERA over nearly 630 innings. Injuries would limit his effectiveness after 1976, but he still contributed to the Yankees World Series championships in 1977 and 1978.
Those same injuries, coupled with diabetes, forced Hunter to retire early in the 1979 season.
Random Fact: Hunter's contract with the Yankees paid an average salary of $670,000. Dick Allen of the Chicago White Sox was baseball's highest paid player in 1974, earning $250,000.
17. Sparky Lyle
4 of 21Yankees Tenure: 7 years: 1972-1978
Yankees Stats: 57-40, 2.41 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 745.2 IP, 666 H, 454 K, 141 SV
Average Season: 8-6, 107 IP, 95 H, 65 K, 20 SV
A three-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, Sparky Lyle was one of the preeminent closers of the 1970's.
Lyle would become the first relief pitcher to win the AL Cy Young Award in 1977, posting a 13-5 record with a 2.17 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 26 saves over 137 innings.
His postseason numbers with the Yankees are equally as impressive: 3-0, 1.89 ERA, 1 save and 0.74 WHIP.
Random Facts: While not as well known as Mariano Rivera's "theme music" of Enter Sandman by Metallica, Sparky entered games to Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D, the tune played by then Yankee Stadium organist Toby Wright.
Additionally, Lyle was traded to the Texas Rangers in 1978 in a multi-player trade that saw the Yankees acquire, among others, a young starting pitcher named Dave Righetti.
16. Mel Stottlemyre
5 of 21Yankees Tenure: 11 years: 1964-1974
Yankees Stats: 164-139, 2.97 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 2661.1 IP, 2435 H, 1257 K, 152 CG
Average Season: 16-13, 253 IP, 231 H, 119 K, 14 CG
Mel Stottlemyre may be more well-known for his tenure as pitching coach for the New York Yankees under Joe Torre, but he was an excellent pitcher in his own right who spent his entire career with the Bronx Bombers.
A five-time World Series champion and five-time All-Star, Stottlemyre's out pitch was a sinker ball that befuddled hitters.
Three times a 20-game winner, Stottlemyre was forced to retire in 1974 due to a rotator cuff injury.
Random Fact: On July 20, 1965, Mel and the Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 6-3. Stottlemyre threw a complete game, allowing 10 hits and two earned runs while walking one and striking out five. He also hit a game-winning inside-the-park grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning.
15. CC Sabathia
6 of 21Yankees Tenure: 3 years: 2009-2011
Yankees Stats: 58-22, 3.18 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 678.2 IP, 602 H, 595 K
Average Season: 19-7, 226 IP, 200 H, 198 K
One of only two active players to make the cut, Carsten Charles Sabathia has a chance to pass a number of people before him on this list before his career is over.
In his three seasons with the New York Yankees, Sabathia has one World Series championship under his rather large belt and remains one of the elite pitchers in all of baseball.
Sitting at 19 wins with a month to go in the season, Sabathia will certainly reach the 20-win plateau for the second time in his three years in pinstripes.
Without question one of the five best pitchers in all of baseball, Sabathia is in the prime of his career and should continue to flourish in the Bronx for years to come.
Random Fact: CC's seven-year, $161 million contract that he signed in 2009 is the largest ever given to a pitcher.
14. Eddie Lopat
7 of 21Yankees Tenure: 8 years: 1948-1955
Yankees Stats: 113-59, 3.19 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 1497.1 IP, 1507 H, 502 K, 91 CG
Average Season: 14-7, 187.1 IP, 188H, 63 K, 11 CG
A five-time World Series Champion, Eddie Lopat comprised one-third of the "Big Three" for the New York Yankees; the other two members are on this list as well.
Not known for overpowering hitters, Lopat used a variety of different pitches at different speeds—all thrown with the same pitching motion. This earned him the nickname of "the Junkman" and eventually "Steady Eddie".
His best season came in 1951, one in which he set career highs in wins and earned his only All-Star selection. Lopat went 21-9 with a 2.91 ERA over 234.2 innings pitched, picking up 20 complete games along the way.
Wisdom From Eddie: On how he pitched to Ted Williams, one of the greatest players of all time: "I never threw the same pitch twice and never to the same spot twice and he didn't like it."
13. Andy Pettitte
8 of 21Yankees Tenure: 13 years: 1995-2003; 2007-2010
Yankees Stats: 203-112, 3.88 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 2535.2 IP, 2688 H, 1823 K
Average Season: 16-9, 195 IP, 207 H, 140 K
Part of the "Core of Four", Andy Pettitte is a five-time World Series champion and three-time All-Star who is one of two left-handed pitchers to accumulate at least 200 wins for the New York Yankees.
A two-time 20-game winner, Andy never had a losing season—his 14-14 record in 2008 was the worst winning percentage of his career.
While Mariano Rivera has been the Yankees closer for nearly two decades, Pettitte was the Yankees stopper—often taking the mound with a chance to stop a losing streak—and succeeding more often than not.
Andy finished second in the 1996 AL Cy Young Award voting to Toronto's Pat Hentgen and was the winner of the 2001 ALCS MVP award. His 19 postseason victories are a major league record.
Random Fact: Mariano Rivera saved 68 of Pettitte's games, the most by any starter-closer combination in baseball history.
12. Ron Guidry
9 of 21Yankees Tenure: 14 years: 1975-1988
Yankees Stats: 170-91, 3.29 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 2392 IP, 2198 H, 1778 K, 95 CG
Average Season: 17-9, 235 IP, 216 H, 175 K, 9 CG
Ron Guidry spent his entire 14-year career as a member of the New York Yankees, the last two as team captain. This four-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion compiled one of the greatest seasons in the modern era by any pitcher in 1978, when he went 25-3 with a 1.74 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 248 strikeouts en route to winning the AL Cy Young Award and finishing second in the AL MVP voting to Boston Red Sox OF Jim Rice by 61 votes.
Guidry won 20 games three times and on five occasions won the AL Gold Glove award for pitchers. His 1978 season was record setting, as Guidry holds single season team records for lowest ERA by a LHP, most strikeouts by any pitcher, most shutouts in a season and highest winning percentage. His 18 strikeouts against the California Angels also stand as a team record.
Random Fact: In the three losses Guidry took in 1978, all three were against starting pitchers who all had the first name of "Mike"; He lost 6-0 to the Milwaukee Brewers and left-hander Mike Caldwell on July 7, lost 2-1 to the Baltimore Orioles and the late left-hander Mike Flanagan on August 4, and lost 8-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays and left-hander Mike Willis on September 20.
11. Goose Gossage
10 of 21Yankees Tenure: 7 years: 1978-1983
Yankees Stats: 42-28, 2.14 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 533 IP, 390 H, 512 K, 151 SV
Average Season: 6-4, 76 IP, 56 H, 73 K, 22 SV
Rich "Goose" Gossage was one of the premier relief pitchers in baseball during his time with the New York Yankees, a tenure that saw him win a World Series championship in 1978.
A four-time All-Star, Gossage was a four-time All-Star as a Yankee and led the league in saves twice, in 1978 and 1980, with 27 and 33 saves respectively.
Gossage was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.
Random Fact: Goose was on the mound during the infamous "Pine Tar Incident" against George Brett and the Kansas City Royals.
10. Allie Reynolds
11 of 21Yankees Tenure: 8 years: 1947-1954
Yankees Stats: 131-60, 3.30 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 1700 IP, 1500 H, 967 K, 96 CG
Average Season: 16-8, 213 IP, 188 H, 121 K, 12 CG
A six-time World Series champion and five-time All-Star, Allie Reynolds would only have one season with double digit losses in his career with the New York Yankees—a 16-12 mark in 1950.
From 1947 through 1952 Reynolds would throw at least 213 innings a season and his 2.06 ERA and 160 strikeouts in 1950 both led the league. "Superchief" as he was known—Reynolds was part Native American—Reynolds, along with Eddie Lopat and Vic Raschi would comprise the Yankees "Big Three" in the late 40's and early 50's.
In 15 World Series games, Reynolds posted a 7-2 record and 2.76 ERA. The Yankees would win the series in each of the six World Series that he played in.
In 1951, Reynolds became the second pitcher to throw two no-hitters in the same season, achieving the feat against the Cleveland Indians on July 12 and the Boston Red Sox on September 28, both shutout victories for the Yankees; 1-0 and 8-0 respectively.
Random Fact: Reynolds had a plaque dedicated to him in Monument Park in 1989 yet his No. 22 was never retired by the team.
9. Bob Shawkey
12 of 21Yankees Tenure: 13 years: 1915-1927
Yankees Stats: 168-131, 3.12 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 2488.2 IP, 2304 H, 1163 K, 164 CG
Average Season: 13-10, 226.2 IP, 209 H, 106 K, 15 CG
A four-time 20 game winner and two-time World Series champion with the New York Yankees, Bob Shawkey would log at least 200 innings pitched in eight of his 13 seasons with the team.
His 15 strikeouts in a game stood as the team record until Whitey Ford would break it nearly 40 years later.
Random Fact: Bob Shawkey was the first starting pitcher for the Yankees in Yankee Stadium in 1923. 53 years later, in 1976, Shawkey would throw out the ceremonial first pitch in the renovated Yankee Stadium.
8. Waite Hoyt
13 of 21Yankees Tenure: 10 years: 1921-1930
Yankees Stats: 157-98, 3.48 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 2272.1 IP, 2405 H, 713 K, 156 CG
Average Season: 16-10, 227.2 IP, 241 H, 71 K, 16 CG
A three-time World Series champion and two-time 20-game winner, Waite Hoyt was one of the premier pitchers of the 1920's.
Hoyt threw three complete games in the 1921 World Series. In his 27 innings of work, Hoyt posted a 2-1 record and a 0.00 ERA—he did not allow an earned run against the New York Giants as a 21-year-old.
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.
Random Fact: Hoyt was known as "the Merry Mortician" because he worked as a funeral director in the offseason.
7. Herb Pennock
14 of 21Yankees Tenure: 11 years: 1923-1933
Yankees Stats: 162-90, 3.54 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 2203.1 IP, 2471 H, 700 K, 164 CG
Average Season: 15-8, 201 IP, 225 H, 64 K, 15 CG
A four-time World Series champion with the New York Yankees, Herb Pennock is one of many pitchers on this list to be acquired by the Yankees from the Boston Red Sox who would have their greatest success wearing pinstripes.
Twice a 20-game winner, Pennock was undefeated in the World Series as a member of the Yankees: 5-0 with a 2.07 ERA, four complete games and three saves.
He was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 1948.
Random Fact: In 1928 Pennock was trying to treat his sore pitching arm, so he turned to bee-sting therapy, which is exactly what it sounds like. A swarm of bees was allowed to sting his pitching arm!
6. Spud Chandler
15 of 21Yankees Tenure: 11 years: 1937-1947
Yankees Stats: 109-43, 2.84 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 1485 IP, 1327 H, 614 K, 109 CG
Average Season: 19-7, 256 IP, 228 H, 106 K, 19 CG
A career Yankee, Spud Chandler was a four-time World Series champion and three-time All-Star for the New York Yankees.
Twice a 20-game winner, Chandler's best season came in 1943 when he was named the AL MVP. Chandler went 20-4 with a 1.64 ERA and 0.99 WHIP over 253 innings pitched. 20 of his 30 starts resulted in complete games.
His 1.64 ERA is a Yankees record for right-handed pitchers and the lowest in baseball between 1920 and 1967. He never had a losing season.
Chandler only made five starts between 1944 and 1945, serving the United States Army in World War II.
Random Fact: Spud's career winning percentage of .717 is the highest for any pitcher with at least 100 wins since 1876.
5. Jack Chesbro
16 of 21Yankees Tenure: 7 years: 1903-1909
Yankees Stats: 128-93, 2.58 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 1952 IP, 1752 H, 913 K, 168 CG
Average Season: 18-13, 279 IP, 250 H, 130 K, 24 CG
Jack Chesbro played with the New York Yankees when they were known as the New York Highlanders, and throwing his signature spitball was the starting pitcher in the franchise's first game in 1903.
His 1904 season is the stuff of legend: 41-12. 1.84 ERA, 454.2 IP and 239 K. Of his 51 starts that season, Chesbro would go the distance a ridiculous 48 times.
He holds single season team records for most wins, most starts, most innings pitched and complete games.
Random Fact: Chesbro's 41 wins in 1904 is a record that is essentially unbreakable in today's game. The only pitcher to come close since World War II was Denny McClain of the Detroit Tigers in 1968 when he went 31-6.
4. Red Ruffing
17 of 21Yankees Tenure: 15 years: 1930-1946
Yankees Stats: 231-124, 3.47 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 3168.2 IP, 2995 H, 1526 K, 261 CG
Average Season: 15-8, 211.2 IP, 200 H, 102 K, 17 CG
Acquired from the Boston Red Sox during the 1930 season for OF Cedric Durst and cash, Red Ruffing's name can be found behind only Whitey Ford in the record books of the New York Yankees.
Six times an All-Star and World Series champion, Ruffing won 20 games four seasons in a row, from 1936 through 1939. In the 10 postseason games, Ruffing posted a 7-2 record and 2.63 ERA while going the distance in eight of his ten starts.
Ruffing missed the 1943 and 1944 seasons serving the United States in World War II, and upon his return to the Yankees in 1945, he only appeared in 19 more games over the next two seasons before his release in November of 1946.
His 261 complete games is a team record that will never be broken. Ruffing holds a 88 CG lead over Lefty Gomez and the closest active Yankee pitcher is CC Sabathia with seven. That's a 254 game advantage for those who lost count.
Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967, Ruffing would be honored with a plaque in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium before Old Timer's Day in 2004.
Random Fact: Ruffing was the last pitcher to throw a complete game shutout and hit a home run in a 1-0 game, achieving the feat in a 10-inning victory over the Washington Senators on August 13, 1932. During that game, Ruffing became the first pitcher in history to win a game 1-0, hit a home run and strikeout more then 10 batters during the same game. In the nearly 80 years since then, only Early Wynn in 1957 and Yovani Gallardo in 2009 have joined him.
3. Lefty Gomez
18 of 21Yankees Tenure: 13 years: 1930-1942
Yankees Stats: 189-102, 3.34 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 2498.1 IP, 2286 H, 1468 K, 173 CG
Average Season: 15-7, 192.1 IP, 176 H, 113 K, 13 CG
A five-time World Series Champion and seven-time All-Star, Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gomez was one of the great characters in the history of the New York Yankees.
Twice Gomez won the "Triple Crown" of pitching—leading the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts and is a four-time 20 game winner.
Lefty would go undefeated in the postseason, posting a 6-0 record with a 2.86 ERA and four complete games in seven starts.
His seven All-Star appearances were consecutive, from 1933 through 1939, and he was the starting and winning pitcher in the first ever MLB All-Star Game in 1933. Lefty was also the first player in All-Star history to drive in a run, sending Chicago White Sox 3B Jimmy Dykes home on a single in the bottom of the second inning.
Gomez knew he was a terrible batter, a claim that can be backed up by his career .147 batting average. So the story goes that in one game against the Cleveland Indians and Hall of Famer Bob Feller, there was a slight fog on the field. As he approached the plate to take his turn at bat, Lefty lit a match. The umpire, obviously annoyed by his antics, asked "Do you think that match will help you see Feller's fast one?" Lefty replied ""No, I'm not concerned about that...I just want to make sure he can see me!"
Wisdom From Lefty: As quick as Gomez was to throw "high and tight" to batters, he was even quicker with a one-liner. Some of his more memorable lines:
"A lot of things run through your head when you're going in to relieve in a tight spot. One of them was, "Should I spike myself?"
"I want to thank all my teammates who scored so many runs and Joe DiMaggio, who ran down so many of my mistakes."
"When Neil Armstong first set foot on the moon, he and all the space scientists were puzzled by an unidentifiable white object. I knew immediately what it was. That was a home run ball hit off me in 1933 by Jimmie Foxx."
2. Mariano Rivera
19 of 21Yankees Tenure: 17 years: 1995-present
Yankees Stats: 75-57, 2.23 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 1199 IP, 927 H, 593 SV
Average Season: 5-4, 78 IP, 61 H, 39 SV
Without question the greatest relief pitcher of all time, Mariano Rivera is arguably the most dominating pitcher baseball has seen in the past 30 years.
A 12-time All-Star and the owner of five World Series rings, "Mo" is the all-time leader for the Yankees in games pitched and saves. He only needs eight more saves to pass Trevor Hoffman, baseball's career leader with 601—a feat he should reach before the end of this season.
His signature cut fastball is simply one of, if not the most dominating pitch ever thrown in Major League Baseball. After a game in 2006, Jim Thome remarked: "For me, I think he has the single best pitch ever in the game. You’re talking about a cutter that does unbelievable things."
In Game Four of the 1999 World Series, Rivera's cutter would break the bat of the Atlanta Braves Ryan Klesko three times in Klesko's last plate appearance.
Speaking of the postseason, Rivera is even more dominant.
In 94 postseason games, Rivera is 8-1 with a 0.71 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 42 saves. He holds multiple team and 13 MLB postseason records, including most saves, lowest career ERA and most consecutive scoreless innings pitched with a ridiculous 34.1.
Random Fact: Mariano's cousin is one-time Yankee OF prospect Ruben Rivera.
1. Whitey Ford
20 of 21Yankees Tenure: 18 years: 1950-1967
Yankees Stats: 236-106, 2.75 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3170.1 IP, 2766 H, 1956 K
Average Season: 17-8, 230 IP, 201 H, 79 BB, 142 K
Arguably one of the five best left-handed pitchers to ever take the ball, Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford comes in as the best pitcher in the storied history of the New York Yankees.
Ford spent his entire 18-year career with the Yankees, and even though he missed two seasons (1951-1952) serving the United States Army during the Korean War, he is the franchise leader in wins, games started, innings pitched and shutouts.
A 10-time All-Star and six-time World Series champion, Ford won the AL Cy Young Award and World Series MVP in 1961.
He holds 10 World Series records for pitchers including 10 wins and 22 starts. His career winning percentage of .690 is better than any other pitcher during the modern era with at least 300 career decisions.
A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Yankees retired Whitey's No. 16 in 1974.
Random Fact: Ford's .690 career winning percentage is lower than his career minor league winning percentage. In just over three seasons in the minors, Ford went 51-20 with a 2.73 ERA, good enough for a .710 winning percentage.
Who Fell Short and Closing Thoughts
21 of 21This was an incredibly difficult list to compile though I'd be lying if I said I did not have a ton of fun putting it together.
Tough choices had to be made. Those who fell in the 21-to-30 category, in no specific order:
Mike Mussina
Ray Caldwell
David Wells
David Cone
Tommy John
Fritz Peterson
Bob Turley
Al Downing
Roger Clemens
Rudy May
What do you think Yankee fans?
Is someone missing who should be in the Top 20?
Do you think someone is ranked too low or too high?
Let's talk about it in comments.
